Leo (Vigilance 3)

“Why can’t the police… I mean… You’re not…”

“Surely you’re not naïve enough to think the police can solve everything or that they can always be trusted.”

“I know that, but people can’t just go around murdering people when—”

“I’m not just anyone.”

I huffed. “That’s for damn sure.”

His lips quirked up like he was fighting a smile. Once again, I’d spoken when I shouldn’t have.

“I have… training.”

“Are you like a spy or something?”

For just a second, Leo looked shocked. Had I actually broken through his usual relaxed control? He pressed his lips into a hard line and scowled at me.

Why hadn’t I just kept my mouth shut? Did I want to disappear or have my body parts found in the dumpster out back?

Cathy trusts him.

That didn’t mean she wasn’t wrong too.

Leo glared at me. “If you know something, if someone sent you to investigate me, tell me now, because if I find out later that you deceived me, you will be sorry.”

I shook my head. “What? No. I only talked to you because you came into the café, and I mean, yeah, I think you’re… I mean, who wouldn’t? But I only wanted you because… I only wanted to talk to you because…”

He was smiling now.

“I was kidding about the spy thing.” Sort of.

“Don’t. My past is classified.”

“Navy SEAL?” Fuck, I’d done it again.

“Stop guessing.”

I pressed my lips together and willed myself not to say another thing.

He stared at me, letting his gaze sweep down my body, which made me feel an interesting combination of hot and scared.

Finally, I couldn’t take the silence. “Are you going to fire me?”

“No, but you are going to promise me you won’t listen to any more of my conversations, and you won’t come back here if I’m meeting with someone.”

“I needed more business cards for the front. They’re in the storage closet. That’s really the only reason I came back here.”

Leo looked down at my hands as though just now realizing I was holding a stack of cards.

“Stay away from the meeting rooms, and ignore anything you hear. It’s safer that way.”

“You’re really not going to tell me what you’re involved in?”

He shook his head. “And you’re not going to ask again.”

I glared at him. “It’s not fair to expect me to—”

“It’s fair to do what’s necessary to protect you. There are people involved in this who would not hesitate to kill you.”

“To kill me?” The words came out as a squeak.

“Yes.”

“Then maybe I should go back to the café.”

“No!” I jumped when he yelled the word, and he ran a hand over his hair. “I’m sorry. Look, just stay out of this, okay? If no one thinks you know anything, no one will come after you.”

“Why would they come after me anyway?”

He raised his brows and stared at me like he expected me to already know the answer.

“Because they’re evil?”

“Partly, but more because they’ll do anything they can to get to me.”

“But if they go after me…” I looked up from where I was twining my hands together in my lap and stared at him. Was he implying…

“I don’t want you to get hurt. You—all my employees—are under my protection. Harming them will harm me.”

Why did that hurt when it shouldn’t? He felt responsible, and he didn’t want his business to suffer. There was no reason to think this was personal. “Okay.”

“I promised Cathy I wouldn’t let you get hurt.”

“I’m not a child. I know I wasn’t a very good waiter, but—”

“You’re an incredible office assistant. You’re good at organizing and streamlining things. It’s never been so easy to find stuff in the storage closet, and the calendar has never been laid out more clearly. I never doubted you were competent.”

His words took away the sting. He was pleased with the job I’d done. He’d seen me excel at something and recognized it. I craved his validation, but I didn’t think he’d ever tell me so forthrightly. “Thank you.”

He didn’t say anything else. He was staring out the window, seemingly lost in thought, except… I remembered he’d said he was always listening, always aware. What had his training been and where?

I rose from my seat and started to move toward the door, walking backwards at first. I didn’t want to take my eyes off him. I could pretend it was because I was afraid of him, but that wasn’t it. He was simply too gorgeous. I wanted to take every opportunity to drink him in.

6

Leo

I held myself still, muscles tense. Ezra began making his way toward the door. I should let him go. In fact, I should tell him to keep on walking right out the front door and across the street to the café.

I wasn’t going to do that, though. He did well here, and he deserved to be somewhere his skills were needed. Despite what I’d told him, he would be safer with Cathy. No one in Swain’s entourage would pay any attention to him if he weren’t at the shop with me. Had he been here long enough to already be a target?