felt the burn of eyes on me as I sauntered around to the driver’s side. I didn’t look up though. I didn’t want a distraction, not while Luna was here. I had to get her as far away as possible. We were on borrowed time, and now we had no choice in the next steps we’d have to take.
I started the engine, drove out of the mansion gates, and headed toward the apartment block. I hadn’t been back here since I’d watched her from my SUV. Fuck.
“Who’s his wife?” she asked, her voice raw.
“Aida.” I didn’t give her anything else. The farther we got from the mansion, the more my need to keep her safe made way for my own anger. She’d put herself in a situation that was going to change both of our lives. She’d caused this. She’d tied me down when I’d never wanted more than a one night thing.
At least, that was what I was going to keep telling myself.
The familiar roads of my old neighborhood came into view, and I couldn’t keep it inside any more. I couldn’t keep a lid on it, no matter how much I tried. “Why?” I slammed my hand on the steering wheel. “Why the fuck would you steal from Romeo?”
“I…” I turned, narrowing my eyes on her arms as she wrapped them around herself. “I didn’t know who it was.”
“I didn’t ask that,” I fumed, pulling into the apartment block. I squealed to a stop then reversed in the spot I’d always used. “I asked: why?”
Her head tilted, her eyes narrowing up at her apartment. “It doesn’t matter.”
“The hell it doesn’t.” I turned the engine off, my breaths coming faster. I wasn’t going to get anything out of her. Not here. “Get out.”
She didn’t say a word as she reached for the handle and opened the door. She glanced back but frowned when she saw me getting out too. I clicked the button on my fob to lock the SUV, then walked around to her.
“What are you doing?”
I grasped her hand, not letting it go when she tried to pull away, and walked us up the stairs and to her apartment. She didn’t want to explain to me why she’d done it, so I wouldn’t tell her what I was doing.
“Mateo.”
Not answering her, I pushed open her apartment door, already knowing it would be unlocked. People like her parents had no grasp of safety. “Get your things,” I told her, letting go of her hand as I slammed the door closed.
“My things?” She shook her head, glancing around the empty apartment. “Why?”
“Because I fuckin’ said so, Luna!” I pulled in a breath, my nostrils flaring. I needed to keep control of myself, but it was damn hard. “What did you think?” I advanced on her. “That I would drop you here and forget all about you?”
She scoffed. “You didn’t find it that hard the first time.” She pursed her lips, her own anger mixing with mine.
“That was different,” I told her, backing her up until her body was flush with the wall. I didn’t stop until our chests were pressed together. “You just committed the rest of your goddamn life to me, baby. Now do as I say and get your fuckin’ things so we can leave.”
Her chest heaved, her cleavage spilling out of her top with each breath she took, begging me to touch her. But I wouldn’t. Not now. Not here.
“You…” She growled low in her throat. “I don’t want to lea—” She cut herself off, sadness and pain swirling in her eyes. Had she said that before today, I probably would have believed her, but right then, even she was doubting herself. “Fine,” she relented.
I bent at my knees, bringing our faces level. One last look then I backed away. She was going to be the fuckin’ death of me, but somehow I thought I might just enjoy it.
CHAPTER 11
LUNA
He was bossy.
Infuriating.
Overbearing.
But damn if I couldn’t be grateful for what he’d done.
He’d gotten me out of an impossible situation, and now I was back here, in my apartment. My empty apartment.
I had no idea where my mom and dad were, and if I was being honest, I didn’t care in that moment. I didn’t want to see them, not after everything that had happened. Footsteps echoed from downstairs, and I had no doubt Mateo was taking a look around the apartment, witnessing what I had to live with on a daily basis.