Bound by Danger (The Alliance #6) - Brenda K. Davies Page 0,65
days and nights, he planned to make her so happy she wouldn’t want to leave.
Callie closed her eyes and listened to the reassuring beat of his heart as she held him. “I still have to go home for some of my things.”
Lucien wasn’t going to argue with her about it. “We’ll talk about it again in a week.”
“My rent is due soon; I have to get into my bank account so that I can pay him, and I need to let my boss know I’m not coming back. Though, I’m sure he’s figured that out.”
A new possibility occurred to her. “My friends and boss have probably reported me missing. The police could be looking for me.”
“The Savages probably already took care of that in case you turned up again. I’m sure they’ve gone to the police and buried your case. If you’d died like they planned, they wouldn’t have bothered, but since you survived, they’ll cover their tracks.”
That realization made nausea churn in her belly. “If my landlord has heard anything about me being a missing person, he’ll throw my stuff on the curb the second he doesn’t get his rent. I love my place, but the guy is an asshole, and I can’t let that happen. I have to get into my bank account and send him a check or something.”
“The Savages will be watching your accounts. They won’t be able to figure out where you are, but if they see you pay your landlord, they’ll keep an eye on your apartment.”
“That can’t happen,” she muttered.
“I’ll pay him.”
“I don’t want you to pay him. I have money; I just need to get to it.”
She still had most of the money from her father’s life insurance policy, and she’d saved some from her job over the years. She planned to buy a small farm where she would have plenty of room to rehabilitate injured wild animals and foster shelter animals.
She had a vivid image of her future home in mind, so she was saving up enough to buy the house of her dreams while making sure her mortgage payments were low enough to live out those dreams.
And now those dreams lay in broken pieces around her.
“You can pay me back,” he said. He would never take money from her, but he hoped to appease her unease with his words.
“You’ve been taking care of me since all this started; you shouldn’t have to.”
And she hated her continued reliance on him. She’d always been independent, and she missed her ability to take care of herself. However, she never could have seen this coming.
Lucien gripped her shoulders as he leaned back to stare down at her. “I don’t have to do it; I want to do it. I’ll make sure you don’t lose your place or your things, and we will get them for you.”
She bit her lip as her gaze traveled to the curtains. “Maybe we can have them mailed somewhere. I have some friends who would pack up some of my things and send them to me. It will be difficult trying to convince them that I’m okay enough to do it, but I’m sure I can think of something.”
“No,” Lucien said. “If the Savages are watching your place, you’ll only be putting your friends at risk.”
“Then I can hire a moving company!” she cried as the idea struck her. “They can ship it out.”
“And the Savages will learn the mailing address and be waiting there for someone to pick it up.”
“I hate them,” she muttered.
“So do I, but we will get your things for you, and until then, I will pay your rent.”
Her shoulders slumped. “Okay, but once I can access my money, I’ll repay you.”
“Don’t worry about that right now. Try to relax and enjoy yourself; you’re safe here.”
“Safe,” she breathed as the truth of the word sank in.
Then she laughed as she leaned into him.
“What’s so funny?” he asked.
“I’m safe in a place I don’t know, where I’m stared at by a bunch of strangers, and half of those strangers are vampires. It’s a little weird, and not where I thought my life was going a week ago.”
Lucien chuckled. “I didn’t see my life going this way either a week ago, but then, I was barely coherent a week ago.”
She couldn’t stop herself from laughing.
“Although,” he continued, “I wouldn’t change it for the world.”
His sweet words caused the last of her tension to fade away. He kissed the top of her head before moving lower to her temple