Page 81 of Bellini Bound

Allie sat up suddenly. “But you said it was a security risk.”

Exhaling heavily, I confessed, “I might have exaggerated a little bit.”

Her eyes lifted to the ceiling, and she shook her head. “Of course you did.”

“Your safety remains paramount, but there are things we can do to secure the hospital.” I scrubbed at my jaw. “And if I’m being honest, in the beginning, resigning your position was more about ensuring that your father didn’t try something stupid, knowing you were on your own inside.”

Her gaze shifted to the side. “He’s got men watching the house.”

“I know.”

My wife’s mouth dropped open. “You do?”

“Of course I do. Wouldn’t make a very good head of security if I were oblivious to surveillance on my own property.”

“And you’re not worried about it?”

“It’s been nearly five months, Allie, and he hasn’t made a move in all that time. The man has consistently proven himself to be a coward, and I don’t see that changing any time soon. If he wanted to keep you out of my clutches, he wouldn’t have handed you over on a silver platter to save himself.”

Whisper-quiet, she admitted, “I cut him out of my life.”

I grimaced. She wasn’t going to like what I said next. “Yeah, I kinda heard that phone call.”

Eyes bulging, Allie screeched, “Youwhat?”

“It’s not what you think.” I reached for her when she tried to move off the bed. “I wasn’t trying to invade your privacy, I swear.”

She scoffed. “Yeah, right.”

“Please, you have to believe me,” I begged, my windpipe closing up. “We’ve had your father’s phone bugged since we found out he double-crossed us.”

Allie paused, halfway to the door, turning around with narrowed eyes. “You swear on your life?”

Cautiously, I stepped toward her. Relief crashed over me like a tidal wave when she allowed me to loop my arms around her waist. “I’ll do you one better, so you know just how serious I am. I’ll swear on Bianca and Serafina’s lives, because you know I’d throw my body in front of a bullet to protect those little girls.”

The tension left her body in a rush, and she melted into my embrace. “Okay. I believe you.”

Thank fucking God.

“Come back to bed?” I murmured against the top of her head.

Peeking up at me, she chewed on her lower lip. “I’m sorry.”

“There’s nothing to apologize for,” I assured her.

“I overreacted. I should have given you the chance to explain before I flew off the handle like that.” Under her breath, she added, “Stupid PMS,” and I had to fight hard not to laugh.

Tipping her chin up, I brushed my lips against hers. “All is forgiven, baby.”

“Thank you,” she breathed.

Ushering her back to bed, we crawled under the blankets and resumed our earlier position, with her curled against my side, head atop my chest.

After a few minutes of silence, Allie said, “If you’re sure it’s okay, I think I would like to go back to work.”

“Can I make one request?”

She lifted her head. “What’s that?”