Page 86 of Strictly Forbidden

The way he gripped my face and chin again was with more pressure than before. “I need you to do nothing more than to enjoy writing and observing. Those are the rules you’re required to follow. If not…” He grinned and playfully tapped me on the butt with his other hand. I don’t know if he’d believed that would make me feel comforted or not, but it didn’t. “Now, come on, sunshine. We should get this over with.”

I watched him heading down the hallway toward his office and for about a million reasons I didn’t want him to leave today. I knew if he did, he’d return a different man.

And I didn’t want to lose him.

The man I was falling in love with.

CHAPTER 23

Noel

Rules.

Don’t stay outside too long.

Lock the doors when you’re inside.

If you see any movement outside, call me. Do not investigate yourself.

Do not call anyone you knew from before. We can’t risk anything at this point.

Keep the gun with you and don’t hesitate to use it just like I taught you.

Kage’s last commands remained fresh in my mind. I was staring out the window as the sky started to turn gray. It had been a beautiful morning, but I feared another storm was on the horizon.

“What do you think, boy? Is everything going to be okay?” I was asking Max as if he could speak English.

Woof. Woof.

His two subtle barks did help me to laugh a little. “Maybe you’re right and I need to stop worrying.”

Or maybe I wasn’t worrying enough. The man who’d awakened me had something up his sleeve. I could feel it in my bones. Why did I continue to have a terrible feeling it was going to land him back in prison or worse?

No. That just couldn’t happen.

He’d been wearing a suit when he’d left. I hadn’t even known he’d brought one with him. Granted, I hadn’t gone through his things either. I’d left with barely any clothes, forgetting half my makeup and he’d come with Armani and Gucci shoes.

That meant one thing.

He was doing business, and not the kind he wanted me in close proximity to.

I had no doubt the man had a death wish. I would give him a piece of my mind when he returned.

Or if…

I glanced at my wrist as if I was wearing my watch. It was just another thing I’d left behind. As I turned around, I wanted so much to be able to relax and just write to get my mind off everything but right now it was impossible. I had too much fear and dread swirling in my system.

How long had Kage been gone anyway?

It felt like hours when I had a feeling it was less than one or maybe two.

Time wasn’t very relative when you were hiding out like a criminal. I’d already glanced at the burner phone he’d given me a half dozen times, thinking of who I should call, sharing the news I was alive. The strangest reality I’d faced yet when I decided it was more of a hassle than anything.

Even with Zoe. She’d ask me a million questions, doing her best to be a sleuth given her profession. I wanted nothing more than to ask for her help in finding out what if anything could be done about Kage’s life. But what did I have to go on? That I said he was a nice guy?

I rolled my eyes and headed into the man’s office, checking the cameras as he’d told me to do several times while he was gone. Was it really possible I cared so much about the man I could be falling in love?

As I’d pointed out to both of us before, what we were going through wasn’t some romance novel trope; more like the curl your toes kind of danger that I wrote about and made money off of.

---