Page 42 of Hidden Rocco
He would swear they were alone.
He opened the refrigerator and grabbed a bottle of formula for Jacob, the powder mix from the pantry, and a gallon of milk, tossing it into a sack. He remembered to get Mica’s medicine from the fridge and an ice pack. If they had to run, it was good for the baby to have food, but his skin buzzed with adrenaline.
Something ate at his gut to run.
The police usually had loud sirens so it wasn’t them.
This was something else.
He checked all the rooms downstairs—the chalet had over fifty empty units, then went downstairs to the parking area. Nothing. He returned to the library. Rocco knocked with her designated signal and she unlocked the door to let him inside. He handed her the bottle for Jacob. “Every window is bolted and the doors are locked.”
She waited until he locked the library door behind him. “Was someone there?”
Her eyes were big as saucers. He pressed his hand against her arm. “There were no packages, and nobody was there. I went through each room." He had to be honest with her. "I thought I heard a knock.”
“Me too,” she said. “Bad guys don’t knock though, right?”
In his desperate escape he’d have broken into anything to evade capture, like he'd done in this chalet.
What would he do if someone came at Mica? His gut twisted as he said, “Maybe we shouldn’t have kissed like that.”
“What does that have to do with anything?”
“Just that wanting you confuses me.”
“Or you’re trying to keep me calm.”
“Maybe.”
“I can play.” She reached up and brushed her fingers against his rough skin. “Maybe it was the thumping of my heart?”
Her eyes were pools that made him ache to stay right here, at her side, forever, but her words made no sense. “What?”
"The knock we heard." She pushed her lower lip out, tempting him to kiss her. “Rocco, I’ve never wanted any man like I want you.”
Yet he was here to protect her, not bed her. He stepped back. “You shouldn’t.”
Her lips quivered as she held Jacob’s bottle in her hand for her sleeping son. “But I do. I’ve never known anyone like you.”
He glanced at the floor as his heart raced. “I’m not a good man for you.”
She let out a sigh which made him stare at her and she hugged her waist. She never seemed nervous, ever, so he stood taller as she said, “If you’re thinking I should only marry a man with more money than me then you’re wishing me back to men like Ali.”
No man had the right to hurt her, no matter how rich or poor. “Not every man is evil.”
She stood in front of him with her lips slightly pouting and captivating as she said, “You’re not. Why can’t I crush on you?”
If he hadn’t literally waded through sewage, or gone to jail, maybe he’d have a different viewpoint but money was not the only thing that divided them. His mind returned to his recent past as he shook his head, “Because I’m not fit to wipe your feet.”
She swayed like she trembled, but Mica was too powerful of a woman to ever do that so he had to be mistaken. “Who is then?”
It was time to tell her who he was. His heart raced but he said, “A man who doesn’t…”
Another knock. This time he didn’t wait for instructions. He headed toward the door to find out who was there. “Stay here.”
As he reached for the handle, she said, “Stop. Rocco, I’m nervous.”
He wouldn't let anything happen to her. “Lock the door behind me.”
