standing before me as clear as could be.
“Tony!” I exclaimed.
He was there. He’d come for me. Before rational thought consumed me, I leapt off the step straight into his arms. He hugged me tightly to his body. It was him. Yes! It was really him. But how? How did he get here? I decided I didn’t really care. I was so happy to see him. He was really there for me. I couldn’t believe it. It had to be a dream. It had to be.
But no. He was real. His strong arms were holding me tightly and pressing his warmth close to me. His broad chest against mine, his face nuzzled into my neck, his mouth kissing my skin and tasting me. Oh, I needed him so badly. Three long months of missing him had been pent up so badly. It was ready to be released now. I found myself just melting into him.
“Baby,” Tony said. “Oh, it’s really you.”
He stared into my eyes and rubbed my face with his large, muscular hands. His touch felt orgasmic over my entire body. He stared into my eyes disbelieving, shaking his head and then he pressed his sweet lips to mine and took me into him.
I closed my eyes and let him melt with me. The kiss was full of love and passion. It had been too long. All that mattered in that moment was that we were there together. He’d come for me. I wasn’t sure how he’d found me, and I didn’t really care at the moment. His touch was all I needed.
His mouth was warm and soft, but powerful. His jaws massaged my mouth with his lips, and he kissed me moving from the top to the bottom, then to my chin for a quick peck, my cheek for a taste and then back to my lips for a deep passionate kiss. His tongue invaded my mouth and I let him wiggle it against mine, awakening me finally after this long slumber.
“How?” I asked when the kiss had ended. “How did you find me?”
“It wasn’t easy, but I was able to have one of our tech guys trace your IP address when you logged into your email. We had to wait until you logged onto it.”
I shook my head. “I knew it was a bad idea, but I had to see if anyone I loved was trying to contact me that way. I went to the library and used their computer hoping that would mask it.”
“My tech guys are the best,” he said.
“Well, I’m glad you found me. Come inside.”
I led him into my apartment. He didn’t pay any attention to how I was living. The size of my little place seemed lost on him. He was far too focused on me. And that was beautiful to me, the way he could only see me. I saw the love in his eyes. And I felt the same for him. Why had I ever denied it? I was afraid. I was just afraid, and now I saw I had no reason to be. I was with the only man who could protect me in this world and I never wanted to leave his side.
I sat him down on the couch and he told me how he knew everything about Saul. He’d still been unable to locate him. The guy was doing everything he could to stay under the radar. He’d even tried faking his death, but the cops had discovered he wasn’t really dead.
“I’m so scared,” I said. “I just had to run. I’m so sorry I did that to you. I knew it would hurt you, but I was too scared to say anything.” I wiped the tears from my eyes.
Tony was understanding. He wrapped his arm around my shoulder and looked into my face. “You should have told me. I could have helped.”
“I didn’t want you getting mixed up in this. I hate that you are now. But I’m glad you found me. We can’t go to the police. Saul has too many of them on his payroll.”
“There are a few I trust,” Tony said. “They are old friends of mine, but I’m starting to question whether even trusting them is a good idea. Saul has these cops on a tight leash and pays them well. That sort of money is hard to pass up. It becomes addictive.”
“Right.”
“Now, we have to figure out what we are going to do about Saul…”
I’d never seen Tony’s eyes look more serious.
13
Tony
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