Page 115 of Dangerous Intent

I leaned my elbow on my thigh and rested my head on my hand.

“Do you want the truth?” he asked.

“Do you often lie to me?”

“Never.” He sat next to me. “When Marchello told me I was going to be your guard, I considered quitting.”

“Maybe you shouldn’t be so honest.” I already felt like shit. Did I want Dom, who I considered a friend, to tell me what he really thought of me?

“You had a reputation,” he said. “Even among your father’s people, you were labeled difficult.”

“None of Marchello’s men liked me except for Ricardo.”

“And look what happened to him.”

“You’re a real sweetheart, you know that?”

“All I’m saying is that we all saw how Marchello reacted when the safe house was breached. It wasn’t that an enemy had come to his territory. It was that they had you. When he found out you were gone, he spiraled. None of us had ever seen him like that.”

“That was my fault. I thought I was helping, but it was a real clusterfuck.”

“When he went after Ricardo, we all realized how valuable you were. So whoever became responsible for you had a pretty big job in front of them.”

“But no one wanted it.”

“On some level, we all wanted it.”

“Why?”

“Whoever Marchello chose would be a big deal. Trusting someone to be in charge of your safety meant that he was trusting one of us with your life, and that life meant more to him than his own.” He smiled at me. “I didn’t know if I was worthy of such a task.”

“I wouldn’t trust anyone else with my life.” I patted his hand. “I know I’m difficult.”

“That’s the thing.” He stretched out his legs. “You are not the same woman who came to the safe house. You’re not even the same woman who arrived at the penthouse.”

“I’m not?”

“You’ve changed,” he said. “But not in a bad way. We all laughed at Ricardo for becoming your friend because none of us saw what he saw, but I do now. You’re a good person with a big heart, and you care deeply for Marchello. You roll with all the punches.”

“I love him so much.”

“That’s why you have to follow the rules. You can’t put you or Marchello in any kind of danger. Let the people around you protect you both.”

“Thank you for protecting me.”

“It’s my pleasure.” He stood and extended his hand to help me up. “I’m going to take you inside and check all the entry points.”

“Okay.” I followed him into the villa and waited by the door as he locked it and then did a sweep of the rooms. We were on one floor, so it didn’t take that long.

“We’re good here. I’m going to check in with the guys out back and tell them Lorenzo is sending a few more men tonight.” He nodded toward the front door. “Keep that locked.”

“I will.”

“If our conversation meant anything to you tonight, please don’t try to escape and find Marchello.” He opened the back door. “Promise me.”

“I wouldn’t do that to you.” I waved. “I promise.”

“I’ll check in on you soon,” he said before heading outside and locking me in.