Page 85 of Milo

"Fuck sakes!" Milo abruptly stands up, jaw twitching. "Kiara!"

I open the flap and pull out the contents, my eyes widening in terror and revolt as I scan the graphic crime scene photos. "Oh my God!" I drop the folder, covering my mouth, bile creeping up my throat. "I'm going to be sick."

"I told you not to look, Kiara.” Milo strides toward me. He picks up the photos off the floor and slides them back into the envelope. "I need you to start trusting me. One day that trust might save your life."

A foul taste lingers in my mouth as the vivid images of cuts, gashes, slashes, and blood flash through my mind. So much fucking blood.

"Trust is earned," I mutter, calming myself down. "I would be an idiot to blindly trust someone that I've only known for a few weeks."

I immediately regret my words.

Hypocrite. I'm a hypocrite. I'm asking him to trust me yet, here I am, unwilling to reciprocate. Trust requires give and take. I want so badly to give. I do. I just don't want to deal with the repercussion of broken trust. Like a shattered plate, once broken, it's forever changed.

"Have I not earned your trust?" Milo frowns, stopping in front of me. "Have I not kept my word? Have I not kept you safe?" He arches down, feathering his lips across my ear. "Have I not fulfilled all of my promises?"

His promises haunt my skin like a ghost. "You have."

"Then you should trust me, tesoro," he whispers, cupping my cheek.

I lean into his palm, my body relaxing, melting from his delicate touch. "Do you trust me?"

"I am trying—" And he is. I can tell. He's shared more with me today than ever before. He's opening up to me. His shield is cracking. Light peeking through. Pulling me out of the dark. "You and I, we are very similar, Kiara. We do not trust easily, we are both guarded, reserved, but in order for us to work together, we must have faith in one another."

Work together? He couldn't have chosen a more confusing phrase. Work together as boss and employee? Or as something more? I'm scared to know the answer. I'm scared that I'll like it.

"Ever since I met you my faith has been shaken, Milo," I breathe, fighting back tears as I grip his blazer. "Everything I've ever been taught to believe is unraveling before my eyes, one tiny thread at a time."

"Then I shall restore it.” He rests his forehead against mine, our noses brushing together. "You simply need to trust me."

Knowledge is power.

I inwardly brace myself for destructive impact. "What am I to you?"

He's silent for a beat. The longest ten seconds of my life. I shouldn't have asked. How juvenile.

"I wish I knew." An airy hum flutters across my lips, his hot breath filling my lungs as he laces his fingers through my hair. "I find you to be—" He releases a long exhale. "Enchanting."

"What does that mea?—"

I'm cut off by his mouth slamming against mine; the softest collision I've ever experienced. His lips have the force of a brick but the touch of a damn cloud, and it's consuming, confusing, and clarifying all at the same time. A dirty trick. A dirty, beautiful, clever approach to put this conversation to rest.

When he pulls away, I'm light-headed, dizzy with delight. "That's not an answer."

"Yes, it is," Milo smirks, reaching for my hand. What the hell does that mean? "Let's go have lunch with Julia. She misses you."

"I saw her two days ago," I note as Milo leads us out of his office. "She's kind of needy, isn't she?"

"Very needy." Milo expels a low chuckle. "My father used to call her an orchid. Very temperamental. Needs constant attention."

I grin. “And what did he call you? A cactus? Prickly and never dies?"

"Hilarious." Milo tosses me an unimpressed scowl as we round the corner and bump into Marchello, whose gaze instantly darts to our intertwined fingers. His lip twitches. "Were you looking for me?"

"Yes," Marchello grumbles in Italian, clearing his throat. "The sparrow is chirping."

I narrow my eyes at Milo. "I wouldn't have pegged you for a bird watcher."

Milo's lips stretch out in a forced smile. "I have many hobbies, Kiara.” He turns his attention back to his underboss. "I will come after we eat. Take pictures for me, si?"

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