I can’t think of a single thing I want more. I don’t trust myself and I know if I let my heart overrule my mind, I’ll regret it in the morning.
Reid is the man who makes my skin hum and my blood sizzle, but he would take me out on Zodiac’s order, and that means there can never be a future for us. Nothing is more important to me than loyalty, and Reid is loyal, just sadly not to me.
I make my way into the bedroom and pull back the thick comforter and climb underneath it, so beyond tired that I’m almost asleep by the time Reid joins me.
He tucks me up against him, my back to his chest, and wraps his arms around me, holding on tight. And that’s where I stay for the rest of the night, safely in the arms of a killer whose loyalty is to my enemy.
Chapter Twenty-Four
“Hey, we’ve been waiting for you. Come on in.” I follow Leo in through the front door of his large townhouse and into a brightly lit kitchen where a little girl who can’t be any older than eighteen months is strapped into a highchair bashing a spoon against the tray in front of her.
“Gem—” I cut him off with a shake of my head.
“It’s Viddy,” I offer with a smile.
“Viddy, I like it. Well, Viddy, you can call me Cash, and this little princess is Lily.” He indicates his daughter, who turns to look at me and offers me a grin that shows more gum than tooth. I can’t help but smile back.
“Well, aren’t you just the cutest thing in the world,” I coo, laughing as she claps her hands. I lift my head when an older woman walks into the room with her silver hair pulled back into a tight bun. She has on a simple black dress and a towel with a picture of a large yellow rubber duck printed on it thrown over her shoulder. She pauses when she realizes Cash has company.
“I’m so sorry. I just came down to give Lily her bath.”
“It’s fine, Jen, you can take her up. I’m pretty sure she has more pureed carrots in her ears then she managed to get in her mouth.” He laughs, making her smile.
“She’ll get the hang of it eventually. It’s all part of the fun. I’ll get her all cleaned up and bring her down unless you want me to keep her for a little while?”
“No, I want to spend some time with her.”
She nods, bending down and unclipping the squirming girl who reaches her arms up for her.
I wait until they’ve both disappeared before turning to look at Cash, who is much closer to me than I realized. “She’s adorable, Cash,” I tell him.
He doesn’t answer, crowding me instead as he backs me into the counter.
“A part of me wants to rip your eyes out just for seeing her, but I can’t deny the relief I feel at the thought of having someone else to watch over her if something happens to me,” he admits, his face showing just how conflicted he feels.
“I won’t hurt her, and I won’t ever knowingly put her in danger. I know you have no reason to trust me, Cash, but I’m asking you to anyway.”
He sighs and steps back with a nod, moving to grab two bottles of water from the fridge. “Come on, let’s go sit.”
I follow behind him, down a short hallway into a large sitting area. A cream leather sectional sofa takes up most of the room, with a large television on the wall facing it and in the corner three huge colorful buckets filled with toys. Otherwise, the place is pretty sparse.
“Take a seat. Jen will bring Lily down in a bit. She’ll play then snuggle up for a while before bed. You okay with that? If you want to talk business, it will have to wait until after that.”
“No, that’s fine. I have to say, I didn’t picture you in a townhouse.” I kick off my shoes and tuck my legs up underneath me.
“Yeah, well, the penthouse is out now.” He scowls, likely thinking about the cameras I found.
“So, what were you expecting?” He sits close to me, turning toward me so his knee brushes mine.
“I don’t know, maybe a castle with a shark-infested moat and a dungeon underneath it.” I smirk.
“Ah, that’s the holiday home.” He winks, offering me one of the bottles of water.