Page 33 of The Secrets We Share

“We’ll have something by noon,” James confirms. “Oh, and I’ve sent over everything I found about the missing money from your dad’s company. It doesn’t look good.”

I expected as much. From what little I could get into between getting my mom situated and heading back on a cross-country flight, the news reports seemed more likely than I’d wanted to admit. The click of his laptop closing pulls my eyes from my screen.

“This place has a gym, right?”

“Downstairs somewhere. We haven’t taken a tour yet.”

His eyes narrow, scrutinizing, before adding, “Stacey went up to sleep. She’ll be out for a while. I’ll see you later.”

The only sound keeping me company when the silence creeps back in is the rhythmic tapping against my keys as I scour through the information James sent over. I’m looking for the smallest detail that could lead to a rabbit hole of information. Sofar, no luck. Though there’s this feeling deep in my gut that I’m missing something so blatantly obvious, it’s driving me mad.

Dawn breaks through the skyline, lighting the open area with a golden glow. I’m finishing off my third cup of coffee and pushing the laptop away to take a break when the creak of a door sounds down the hall. Soft footfalls signal her approach before a sleep-weary Keira pokes around the corner, the dark sheet wrapped around her body. I’d gotten caught up in the search and forgot to drop her bag in the room.

Her body folds onto my lap, curling into me. “Mm, I wondered where you’d gone. Sneaking away from my bed to be with your true love, huh?”

I laugh at her quip, pulling her in tighter against my chest. A satisfied purr rumbles from her chest. “Someone was snoring and woke me up early.”

She quickly untangles her hand from the sheet, slapping me across the chest. Leaving me access to her naked body as the sheet falls open to her waist. I stare greedily, marking the bruises and bite marks from last night.

“I do not snore,” she says adamantly, pulling my attention away from her hard nipples.

“If you insist, sweetness. But now that you’re awake, we need to settle what got pushed to the side last night.”

“What do you mean?” Her face scrunches up in what seems to be genuine confusion. The look is a change from her standard resting bitch face that I’m used to being thrown my way.

“Your trip to the city. Out with it. Why did you really go on your own instead of waiting for me to get back.”

Her entire body deflates in my arms, a huge sigh leaving on a loud exhale. “It’s not fair, you know?”

“What’s not?”

“The way you read me. I hate it.”

My fingers latch onto her chin, redirecting her gaze from the kitchen cabinets to my face. “That’s my responsibility, sweetness. You decided to put your trust in me as your Dom. Yes, we may not live a twenty-four-seven lifestyle like some, but that care and notice doesn’t automatically switch off for me when we exit a scene. What do you expect to happen when you take off without a word, turn off your phone, and try to avoid me? You know I won’t let you go. I do think you wanted to help, and your idea was smart. But there was no reason you needed to do it how you did. So, I’ll ask you one last time, and I expect the truth, Keira.”

She’s eerily still in my lap, holding her breath as she weighs what I’ve just told her. Every last word is the truth. And then I watch the defiance wash out of her mind and body.

“You discovered something in California. I don’t know what it is because you refused to tell me, but you told James.” She pauses, but there’s still more on the tip of her tongue, so I wait. “You’re mine, Harkin. It’s been you and me for months, and then the moment we get back to New York, you cut me out. It pissed me off. So, I figured if you wanted to play things that way, I’d figure some shit out on my own. Maybe then you’d realize I’m more than just a piece that needs keeping safe.”

Her words sink in. My body wants to react with a laugh, but that’ll fuck up the openness between us. “Baby, you’ve got to be fucking kidding me! I didn’t want to tell you over video chat. I had every intention of telling you when I returned from my trip. The only reason I told James was so he could reach out to a contact of his and get blueprints for the coordinates I needed information on by the time I was wheels down.” My hands grip the sides of her face, holding it inches from mine. “You headstrong woman. I’ve never thought of you as only a liability to keep safe. I know you can do that on your own. I feel sorry for anyone that gets in your way. But I won’t apologize for doingeverything under the fucking sun to keep you safe. Because I love you, Keira. You’re my world. My reason for breathing. We could leave this place behind. Say fuck everyone else involved and let them deal with all the shit they’ve caused. Just say the word.”

Her eyes are glossed over and a tear threatens to fall from the corner. She looks more vulnerable than I’ve ever seen her, and that’s saying something.

Her lips finally tip up in a shy smile. “You know we can’t do that.”

“We could. You’re the most important thing to me. Let my dad lie in the bed he made. Domenico can have him.”

“Domenico has your dad?”

“It seems that way. Though I suppose it’s possible, with him being wrapped up with Domenico, he could have business with other men who cut off fingers to send a message.”

“Jesus. But no, we’re not running from this. I’m not going to spend the rest of our lives looking over our shoulders, wondering if the person across the street was sent to take us out or kidnap me again. I need to know what Domenico wants from me. You need to get your dad out of this. And I need to go to the clinic for the procedure.”

“You’re too good for them, you know that,” I tell her.

“That’s what sets us apart.” She winks, leaning forward to brush those soft lips against mine. “Now, please tell me there’s more coffee?”

“Our bags are in the living room. Why don’t you go hop in the shower, and I’ll make a fresh pot.”

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