Page 44 of The Shadow

He plants a kiss against my forehead, the pain of heartache evident in his eyes. “Thank you.” It comes out in a rush. “I’ve kept this inside for so long… It feels so good to share it with someone I can trust.”

For the first time in forever, it feels like I can actually take a deep breath, a sense of relief washing over me as I let it out. For the first time since Jaxson left, it feels like I can finally face my past with Harvey at my side.

“You’re incredibly brave, you know that?”

“I don’t feel very brave. I just did what I had to do to survive.”

He pulls my gaze back toward his. “That’s exactly what makes you brave,” he insists. “You faced unimaginable horrors and didn’t let them destroy you.”

I stare at this man, knowing full well that I’m in love with him. I want to tell him, to scream it from the rooftops, but I know that I’m not ready. I’m overwhelmed with emotion in the moment. I want to tell him when I haven’t just confessed my most hideous secrets.

“I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

“You’ll never have to find out,” he promises, burying his face in my neck. “I’m never letting you go.”

Chapter 16

Harvey

“You’re going to stand there like that?” The look on Connor’s face is the same one I’ve seen on other silver-spooned yuppies just like him. Cocky with a heavy dose of do you have any idea who I am?

“That’s the plan,” I button my suit jacket, making sure my double holster isn’t on display.

“All day?” His smile widens. He thinks this is humiliating for me. Which makes me curious why’d he’d think that.

“Until you leave, and then I’ll follow you,” I remind him.

“What happens when I’m home tonight—will you be outside?”

“Yes. As we previously outlined with you on the phone and in the new contract we sent over, you will be under twenty-four seven protection by my team and me.”

“Will you be outside my house tonight?” he repeats the question slowly, pointing a finger directly at me.

“No. Jimmy will be part of the night crew as well as Luka Storm from my team.”

He scoffs, this time stepping toward me when he jabs his finger in my chest. “I thought I told you and Jimmy I wanted you there specifically. Some protection service this is, just wait till I?—”

I don’t let him continue. I have him on his knees with his arm twisted behind his back, screaming obscenities at me as his face turns bright red.

“You fucking prick! I’ll have your job!” he shouts just as his assistant Natalie comes running around the corner, her mouth hanging open as she runs toward us.

“Mr. Blake!”

“Go, now.” I point toward her office before turning my attention back to Connor who’s sweating at my feet. “I think what you meant to say is, ‘I’m sorry, I guess I didn’t read the contract clearly or listen when you told me that you can’t be my bodyguard twenty-four seven because you’re a human being that requires sleep and food.’ You dumb motherfucker.” I release his arm, pushing him away from me so that he falls into a heap on the floor.

“You’re fucking fired!” Spit sprays from his mouth as he staggers to his feet, pointing toward the elevators. “Get the fuck away from me.”

“Now see”—I take a step toward him and he stumbles backward—“that’s not how this is going to work.”

“Help!” he screams but I grab him by the lapels and push him through his office doors, slamming them behind us once we’re inside.

“Sit.” I point toward his desk. His face scrunches as if he’s about to threaten me again, then he glances toward his desk and scurries over to it, almost falling over when he reaches his chair. He fumbles with the bottom drawer, finally yanking it open to retrieve his 357 mag he’d shown Jimmy and me previously. “Do you really think that is a good idea?” I say as I undo my suit jacket and flip it behind my holster on one side.

“Do you think your partners would think assaulting your extremely powerful client is a good idea?” His eye twitches, the hammer of the gun cocking in his lap piercing the silence.

“Is that a risk you want to take?” I stare at him unblinking, his jaw clenching in rage. His hand hesitates beneath the edge of the desk for a second before he releases the hammer. A second later, I hear the thunk of the gun being dropped back into the drawer before he slides it shut.

“I was hired to protect you, to keep you safe, and that’s exactly what the fuck I’m going to do so if you think for one second I’m going to let you disrespect me or question my judgment, I will remind you who the fuck is in charge here.”

---