Demand - Lisa Renee Jones Page 0,51

you before we could even get here.”

“So you did, instead?”

“I knew you’d get to a yes eventually, so why give you more hours to worry, when all you do right now is worry?” He doesn’t wait for a reply. “Do you trust me?”

“I did.”

“Do you trust me?”

“Maybe I shouldn’t.”

“Ella—”

I sigh. “Yes. Beyond obvious reason right now, I do, and you clearly believe this is the right decision.”

“I do. I absolutely believe this is a path to the freedom and the answers we both crave.”

“And if Niccolo’s people try to grab me?”

“Once we make a public showing, with you wearing that bracelet, there are politics in play. You don’t touch The Hawk’s woman. If he does every division of The Underground, every hacker, every ex-mercenary, everyone who is anyone, will be his enemies, and believe me, Ella, no one, especially Niccolo, wants that. This makes you safer than you’ve ever been. The only reason I haven’t done it before is that it means you aren’t just with me. You’re with The Underground.”

“You are The Underground,” I say, thinking of what Marabella had revealed about Elizabeth today. “And why would you even want me by your side if I couldn’t accept that and all that comes with it?”

His eyes glint. “I wouldn’t,” he says firmly. “And if I hadn’t made that decision before now, I wouldn’t have given you that bracelet to wear. But even more, I wouldn’t have asked you to keep it and put it on again by choice, not necessity.”

No part of me questions that I belong with him, and my father’s advice about actions meaning more than words has never rung more true. I reach down and unhook the bracelet, catching it in my hand. “Now I’ll put it back on, by choice,” I say, my hand trembling with the swell of emotions I feel for this man, the clasp refusing the connection.

Kayden’s hand closes over the bracelet and my wrist. “Until you know everything—”

“My father said to look in a man’s eyes, and watch his actions, and you will know the true person. I have looked. I have watched. I know you. I know I want to stay with you.”

“You don’t know the things I’ve done. You can’t know my actions or my reactions.”

“I know all I need to know. Please, help me put it back on.”

He stares at me, those pale blue eyes glinting a deeper blue, the air between us thickening before he leans in and cups my head for a deep, passionate kiss that’s over too soon. When it is, he stares at me another few beats, searching my face for something I hope he finds. “I’m not going anywhere,” I whisper.

“You’re right. You’re not.” He reaches down and fastens the bracelet, and then does the most remarkable thing. He connects our palms, flattening The Hawk on his wrist against the one on mine, and in that moment there is understanding between us; there is commitment. There is a certainty that no matter what the future holds, no matter what the past reveals, we have decided we’re in it together.

“There are many reasons I want this night to be over, starting with all the things I want to say and do to you,” he says.

“There are many things I want to say and do to you, too.”

His lips curve. “Well, then why the hell are we sitting here?” He kisses my hand. “Let’s go get this over with.” He releases me, shifts into gear, and pulls a fast, tight U-turn toward the party. “Any last-minute doubts?” he asks.

“No,” I say. “I might not know all of my past, but I’m not Rapunzel in the tower. I want answers and freedom.”

“Just remember that maybe nothing will come from tonight,” he warns. “It could be another event or ten, for all we know.”

“Considering neither of us is good at waiting for things to happen, I really hope tonight is it.”

“If I could force it I would, but letting Niccolo come to us is the ticket to the outcome that we want—not what he wants.” He turns into the half-moon driveway, and I lean forward to look at the incredible stone building hugged by six round pillars that seem to go on for miles and miles, the roof steepled and framed by two lion sculptures.

“It’s almost castle-like,” I say, noting the railings and overlooks wrapping the top of the structure.

“Try one of the oldest privately held palaces in Italy,” he says, stopping behind the line of cars

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