Page 21 of Taking Care of the Target

He took two long strides and hugged her to him. “I’ll stay.”

Cassie wrapped her arms around his waist and dropped her head to his chest. They stood like that for a long moment, and it seemed like she wasn’t the only one who didn’t want to let go.

Reluctantly she pulled away. “I’ll grab you a blanket. Or I can sleep on the couch since I’m the one who—”

He pressed a finger to her lips. “The couch is perfect. It takes a real man to sleep on a couch that pink.”

“Good thing you’re a real man, then.”

“Damn straight,” he said, returning her smile. She headed to her bedroom and grabbed a blanket. When she came back out, he’d taken off his shoes and was on the couch. She laughed under her breath, because he did look completely out of place.

She handed him the blanket, and in her second—or was it now third?—bold move of the night, she leaned down and kissed his cheek.

Chapter Twelve

Cassie awoke to the sun streaming through her bedroom window. She’d tossed and turned all night, fighting the urge to go out to her living room and do something crazy, like invite Vince to sleep in her bed.

Last night she’d been too freaked out to be embarrassed about asking him to stay, but she was definitely feeling it now.Let’s not forget that I kissed him, too.A simple kiss on the cheek, but still.Good thing I resisted asking him to come to bed to keep me safe.

But then she thought about the way her pulse leapt at every touch, and suddenly she couldn’t wait to see him, embarrassment be damned. She grabbed her glasses off the nightstand. The thought of pulling pants over her stiff knees made them ache more, so she decided to stick with the tank top and shorts pajamas. She ducked into the bathroom and brushed her hair and teeth.

Her heart sank when she stepped into the living room and spotted the folded blanket on the arm of her couch. The sharp pang in her chest reminded her why she’d always avoided getting too close to people—it hurt too badly when they inevitably left.

At one point in her life, she’d used fake intimacy to forget her problems. She’d show up at her suddenly-not-so-exed boyfriend’s house, weepy and in need of distraction. They’d have sex, and her problems would fade to the background, if only for a while. He never seemed to mind the arrangement, but just when she thought they should spend time together doing other things, he’d told her he couldn’t “hook up” anymore because he’d found someone who actually had time for him.

Then she’d had to face what she’d been running from in the first place—that she was totally alone.

She shook her head, not wanting to relive that awful year after Dad died.

Getting close to people meant getting hurt sometimes, but not having anyone hurt, too. So she was going to try a new way. Real intimacy and letting people in, even if the thought made her blood pressure kick it up a notch. She’d hoped maybe it’d be with Vince, but even if he never called, she vowed she wouldn’t use it as an excuse to stop trying.

As she moved to the kitchen, she noticed the unlocked door. Her heart hitched in her chest, and she moved to lock it.

The deep voice on the other side made her pulse steadily increase, the unlikely scenario of the guys who’d shot at her coming to finish the job running through her head. She quickly flicked the deadbolt into place and peeked out the peephole.

Vince was in the hallway, his phone pressed to his ear.

Attraction and happiness fought for control.He didn’t leave.

As quietly as possible, she unlocked the door. Then she pulled items out of her fridge and got to work making breakfast for two.

***

Vince paced the hallway, waiting for Carlo to pick up the phone. He’d waited as long as possible to make this call, partly because Carlo wasn’t a morning person, but mostly because of how much was on the line.

But after a quick call to his vendors to check if Angelo had placed the food order—miracle of all miracles, he actually had—Vince couldn’t put it off any longer without driving himself completely insane.

“Is everything taken care of?” Carlo asked instead of bothering with a greeting.

“There’s been a new development. I need to meet you at the restaurant. And I need Sal to be there, too.”

The more he’d thought about the way-too-close-to-death-encounter as he’d tossed and turned on Cassie’s blindingly pink couch, the surer he became that the drive-by had been Sal’s doing. He probably thought it’d win him points with Carlo, because the idiot clearly didn’t understand it was the stupidest, most attention grabbing…

Vince clenched his fists and then slowly forced the one not holding the phone open. Getting through to his uncle was more important, but he wanted to do it in person so he could read his reaction.

Definitely not with Cassie a few feet away, only a thin door between them. He glanced toward the apartment, wishing he could see through the wood. A moment ago he thought he’d heard movement.

“Is there a problem?” Carlo asked.

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