Giorgio (Vigilance 1)

I glanced at him quickly before dropping my gaze back to the ground. I couldn’t stay out here, and while it was true Giorgio couldn’t force me to remain with him, I also couldn’t leave without packing and arranging a ride. I’d been crazy to just take off running.

I should apologize for being such a fucking mess, but I didn’t. I pushed to my feet and started walking toward the cabin.

I went straight to the bedroom where I closed the door behind me and dressed in an outfit that made me feel good—tight, hot-pink skinny jeans and a white t-shirt with a pink rhinestone heart. Giorgio would probably laugh at it, and I would have to change before I did any painting, but I needed to feel good. I styled my hair and put on some lip gloss and a touch of eyeshadow. When I was satisfied, I stepped out of the bedroom, ready to face unpacking my art supplies.

Giorgio looked up when I left the bedroom. His eyes went wide, and the wooden spoon he was holding clattered to the floor.

At least I could still affect him.

“Are those your painting clothes?”

I glared at him. “No. I like this outfit, so I’m wearing it while I unpack.”

He didn’t make any more comments. He just turned back to the stove. Now that he wasn’t watching me, I tried to figure out what he was cooking. I smiled when I saw sausage, eggs, and a pan of the little croissants that came in a can.

“Do you want a sausage, egg, and cheese sandwich, or do you want everything separate?

“Separate, please.” How the hell was I supposed to stay mad at him when he’d held me while I cried without admonishing me, then cooked me breakfast? Was that his way of apologizing? I doubted he was the kind of guy who said sorry easily.

He set a plate loaded with sausage, scrambled eggs, and two croissants on the table.

I considered being petty, getting the plate, and bringing it over to where I was unpacking, but if I was going to convince anyone I was capable of taking care of myself, I had to act like an adult.

He put his eggs and sausage on the croissants and added pieces of cheese. After making two sandwiches for himself, he joined me at the table.

“Once we eat, I’ll drive you into town, and we’ll see what we can find in terms of coffee. Until then, it’s black, or you can add regular milk.”

I felt like a fussy toddler throwing a tantrum over the lack of cream, but goddammit, I deserved to have a decent cup of coffee if I was expected to survive this situation. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. I took advantage of the situation last night. I’m sorry.”

I slammed my hand on the table and looked up at him, anger boiling back up inside me. “No. You’re not going to turn what happened into something it wasn’t. I wanted you. I’d wanted you all day.”

“It was a mistake.”

“Coming here at all was a mistake. For both of us.”

“No. You’ve got to take the situation with Hendon seriously. There are things you don’t know yet.”

“What do you mean?”

“He’s dangerous, maybe more dangerous than you or even your mother ever thought.”

“What are you keeping from me?”

Giorgio sighed. “We don’t have all the facts. I can’t tell you more now.”

I scowled at him. “Yes, you can. You just won’t.”

He took several gulps of coffee. “My boss is already going to fucking kill me.”

“I told you I’m not going to say anything about what happened.”

“It’s so much more complicated than that.”

“I’m a client. There’s a rule against sleeping with the clients. I get it.”

He shook his head. “Your mother is a good friend of my boss. And this is… personal for him.”

I snorted. “I don’t know why. I’ve never met the man.”

11

Giorgio

Lane had met X at some of Sandra’s social events, but Lane had no idea X was anything more than an acquaintance of his mother’s. I cursed X in my head. I understood why he’d chosen not to be in his kid’s life, but he was making this really hard for me, and it wasn’t like I could tell him I needed to spill his secret so his son would understand why I wouldn’t fuck him. Again.

“So my mom’s friend will freak out if he finds out your sleeping with me?” Lane asked.

“Yes.”

He huffed. “Fine. What’s going on that makes Alan so dangerous?”

“I’m not supposed to give you any more details.” I shouldn’t have said anything to start with, but I’d hated how sad he looked, and there was no way in hell I was going to let him go back to his apartment and ignore the danger he was in.

“You can’t say something like that and not elaborate.”

“I told you when you signed the contract that I was in charge. I make the decisions about your protection.”