Secret Beast - Amelia Wilde Page 0,73
Ronan asks. “I’ve got other jobs today.”
I inch myself close enough to see through the door. Ronan’s back is to me. He has both feet planted and a gun in one hand. He taps it impatiently against his jeans.
Leo is leaning against his desk.
I breathe in air that feels like knives. No—it’s not the air, but the distance between us that’s sharp enough to cut. The empty air is a travesty. And Ronan is an abomination. I know I should be watching him, waiting for the right moment to act, but I can’t take my eyes off Leo.
He’s in the same golden firelight as he was the first night I came here. It draws him in rich color, though his clothes are dark. A black shirt that looks like mine. It’s not like mine. I’ve touched his shirts. They feel so expensive. It’s only now, in this horrible moment, that I connect his highly specific wardrobe to something more than money and status. Soft shirts for damaged skin. He can’t bear to have anything else touch his scars.
Leo has one foot crossed over the other, his arms folded below his chest, his head bowed. His eyes are closed. Shadows from the firelight cling to his eyelashes. On my next breath, some of the knives pull out. They’re replaced by a sensation that feels like a shimmer. Like I’m looking into a church and not into my greatest fear.
A subtle shift in Leo’s body. He makes the sign of the cross.
“Fucking finally,” says Ronan, and he lifts the gun.
“Stop.” I rush into the room between them, conscious with every step that I look ridiculous. I look like nothing. Leo’s head snaps up and the shock in his eyes breaks my heart. “Jesus. Stop.”
Putting myself between Leo and a man with a gun is not something I’ve technically rehearsed. I had a vague idea that I would just stand between them, but once I’m headed toward him, I can’t stop. I throw my arms around his neck and pull him close. His heart beats so hard I can feel it through my shirt. Leo’s hands are on my face, on my hair. He pushes me back so he can look into my eyes.
This close, I can see how blown out his pupils are. I’ve never felt him tremble before, but it’s happening now. Leo Morelli is shaken. Rattled. Like he’s seeing a ghost. He expected to be dead already, I realize. He was about to be free of his pain. “What are you doing here?” He crushes me to him and kisses my hair.
"I came to protect you," I say into his shirt. Like my flesh-and-blood body can save him from a bullet to the head.
Leo's breath hitches and he makes room between us, eyes searching my face like it's the last time he'll ever see. “Why? Why?” He swallows. “Why would you do this? I'm the worst kind of person. Why wouldn’t you stay where it was safe? I let you go.” His teeth click together and he works to unclench them. “I let you go.”
Tears come in spite of my best efforts but I refuse to let them fall. “When I look at you, I see someone strong.” He’s hanging on every word, and it’s too much power. The stakes are too high. Too bad. We're here now. “Someone determined. I know—” My voice breaks, god damn it. “I know it hurts. I know it’s hard to live with. But don’t let her do this to you.”
He strokes my hair. “It’s already done, darling.”
“I believe in you.” One tear breaks free of my self-control and runs down my cheek. Leo catches it with his thumb. His eyes go to that silvery droplet like it’s a miracle. It was made in pain and love. “And I’m not going to let this happen.”
I take Leo’s hand and stand beside him, getting as close as I can. Ronan’s gun hangs by his side, but impatience twists the corners of his mouth. “That was precious.”
“You’ll have to kill me too.” I’m outside my body already. It’s a surprisingly peaceful feeling. I have to die someday. I might as well do it to give this man a fighting chance. “You’ll have to kill me first.”
Ronan snorts. “Caroline won’t be bothered about that much.”
Caroline’s hitman raises his gun to shoot and I move. What the hell was I doing, standing next to him instead of in front of him? I throw myself in front of Leo