“Since your parents’ divorce?”
“It felt like he abandoned us. Although, to be honest, we were never close.”
“When’s the last time you saw him?”
“It’s been a long time,” I mumbled, looking out of the passenger window and praying he wouldn’t ask for details. “How well do you know him? You said before that you’d only met him once or twice.”
“I recognized him, but didn’t know him well enough for him to recognize me.”
“That concerns you.”
“It does. I’m also concerned that he had someone following us.”
I turned in my seat so I could keep my eyes on him as he drove. His jaw was locked tight on the toothpick that hung from the side of his mouth. Every so often, he’d take one hand off the wheel and flex his fingers.
He turned his head, smiled, and winked. “You’re awake.”
“I like looking at you, Decker.”
He reached over and took my hand in his. “Likewise, baby.”
“I wasn’t sure I’d ever…”
“Keep talkin’. I’m listenin’.”
I laughed. “I don’t want to scare you.”
“Not much does, Mila.”
“I just didn’t know if I’d ever want to be with a man. But I do, Decker. I want to be with you.”
He lifted my hand to his lips and kissed my palm. “I want that too, at whatever pace you’re comfortable with.”
I closed my eyes and thought about the way Decker had kissed me before he pulled back and noticed the SUV parked not far from us.
At that moment, I’d wanted him so badly I was ready to crawl across the console and straddle his lap. I’d never known what it felt like to desire someone without control, without reason, even before…
When I thought about Decker’s hands on my naked body, there was no fear lurking in the back of my mind, only impatient anticipation.
“Will your friends be staying at the house with you?”
“Colleagues, and absolutely not. The ranch has plenty of other places they can stay.”
When I turned my phone back on, I expected to find missed calls and messages from Adler, but there weren’t any. Not a single one. I should’ve felt relief; instead, I was perplexed. Had he given up and returned to Boston? If he had, that would be a good thing, right?
Decker came out of his office and closed the door behind him. I held up my phone. “Nothing.”
He didn’t look surprised, which I also found perplexing.
“What should I do?”
“Wait and see if you hear from him again.” He walked over to the front door and let in the three men I’d seen outside the restaurant.
Decker introduced each one. “Mila, this is Cortez DeLéon, also known as Rile.”
Of the four men who stood in front of me, Rile was the oldest. His skin was tan and weathered, and while he was bald, his shortly cropped beard was gray. His right arm was covered in tattoos all the way to his wrist, and he was almost as tall as Decker, but with broader shoulders. Until the other men walked in, I would’ve questioned whether there was anyone alive in better physical condition than Decker Ashford. Each of them exuded power and strength; being in the same room as them was heady, if not overwhelming.
Rile stepped forward and took my hand. He dipped his head and looked into my eyes. “I’m very sorry for your loss, Miss Knight.”