Page 68 of Who's Saving You
And I completely ignored the fact that I stole the key card from the hotel, tucking it away to be nothing but a memory.
I crashed and slept fitfully. When I awoke in the morning, Nik had already gone to training. Stone let me know he was there, but left me alone to work. I stumbled from my room, hungover from amazing sex, grabbed coffee from the kitchen and spent the day in a bubble researching and beginning the opening lines of this piece my editor is begging for.
Before I knew it, the day grew past dinner, and I realized he wasn’t coming back. I left the corner of the living room I had been holed up in all day and tried to keep busy by doing some laundry. Only when I took everything back to my room, did I find a bowl full of candy on my bedsidetable. Nerd ropes, sour candy, and push pops filled the bowl. And my closet was already full. Clothes in my size with tags on them: jeans, sweaters, dresses. I checked the drawer where I had put a few T-shirts and found bras and underwear. Lacy, sexy ones. They were gorgeous, actually, and I found myself feeling jealous becausewhose stuff was this?
“What the hell?”
I went into the bathroom and found my brand of shampoo, conditioner, and face wash. Everything down to my makeup. It was everything I used. I grabbed a couple of shirts, still on the hanger, and hurried out into the hall.
“Stone?”
He looks up from his seat, and I freeze. There’s a love seat and table, a small television, and even a mini fridge at the end of the hall. It’s like a cozy waiting room outside of the condo door.
“Are you okay?” he asks.
I wave my hand at the little setup. “What is this?”
“Boss has me here permanently while Nik is at the field. This was here when I got in.”
“But you’ve been staying in the guest room on the other side of the condo.”
He nods and glances back at the television. “I don’t know why he did it, but I like it. A different space is good. Plus I won’t bother you while you’re working.”
I walk closer to him, jumping slightly when the door shuts behind me. “Dante did this? Or Nik?”
He shrugs and throws his arm across the back of the love seat. “I’m guessing Dante did since he sent me here.”
I shake my head, holding up the shirts, tags hanging. “Would you know anything about the clothes in my closet? And toiletries? And candy?”
His eyes flick to the screen, then back to me. “That was Nik. He made a few calls, then sent me to pick things up.”
“Why didn't you just take my stuff from my apartment?”
“If anyone comes back, he wants it to look like you’re still living there. I was told only to grab a few of your items from there.” He gives a sly look. “And to feed your sugar addiction.”
I stand there, my mind spinning. It was too much, too planned, tooSaint Nik. I turn around, leaving Stone where he is, enter the code to the condo, and walk back to my room, touching the items in my closet. Every item isme, in both color and size.And I’m not sure how I feel about it. It wasn’t a romantic gesture. It was a strategy. Stone said he did it because he didn’t want them to think I had left. But if they’re watching me, like he says, they’d know I haven’t been home. But the thoughtfulness part? That was the worst part because some traitorous part of me liked that he did it.
~~
Sometime around eleven at night, I hear Nik enter the condo. I leave my room and walk down the hallway. Seeing him in the kitchen, I take a seat on the couch and watch him. He’s in a suit and looking amazing. It hits me, he could have been on a date tonight. And for whatever reason, that makes me mad.
He turns and sees me sitting there, but I give him nothing. I just eye him in silence until he cracks.
“Something wrong?”
“You planning on buying me a new identity, to match the new clothes in my closet?”
“Only if the one you’re living in isn’t safe anymore.”
His answer hits me sharp as a knife, but somethingabout him feels off. I don’t know if it’s because we’re in this awkward space of what comes next. Or if he had a bad day and it has nothing to do with me. I want to tell him what I found while researching online, but I've no idea how to even bring it up. He doesn’t say much about his sister to begin with, so I don't want to offend him with my thoughts. But the clothes, makeup … and lingerie, it’s too much, and I don't understand why he’s doing it.
So, I talk. Maybe if I give a little, he will, too.
I sigh and grab the pillow, holding it in my lap. “I don’t do well with others controlling my life, Nik.”
He grabs a water bottle, loosening his tie as he walks toward me. I'm immediately taken back to our night at the hotel and how he looked in a suit. How he looked stripping out of said suit and how he felt against me in hisbirthdaysuit.
Focus, Noelle.
