Page 48 of Claimed Gem

“Not yet.” Ries handed Stephanie Angelo’s gun, keeping his own firearm in-hand. “Watch him.”

He paused then and turned to face Stephanie, tipping her chin up and looking into her face. After reassuring himself that she would be okay for a few minutes, he nodded and told her:

“Stay here while I check to make sure we don’t have anyone else that’s going to try and kill us. Carlos is still in here somewhere, and he wants me more than you.”

Ries left her sitting, tying the unconscious Angelo up with the same roll of duct tape he’d discarded after binding her.

Two guards were deceased and had been struck multiple times by bullets. From their fellow guards. It seemed that placing armed guards on both sides of the aisle had worked against Angelo – the bullets that hadn’t hit their targets had flown straight on and hit their colleagues.

Ries kicked their guns away and then went in search of Carlos. Rage seethed in him as he imagined the man – who had seemed a faithful servant – attempting to poison him again and again. He had been saved only by Stephanie’s affection.

Ries found his body lying a few feet away from the exit door, two bullet holes in the back of his head. Another victim of the guards who were supposed to have been working for him. Brought down by friendly fire as he tried to escape.

Ries took a deep breath, steadying himself. Then he returned to Stephanie, who was sitting on the mattress, looking numb.

He pulled her into his arms, and she collapsed in tears, mumbling accusations at him.

“Why did you come here?”

“To save you,” he told her.

“That was so stupid. They wanted to kill you and you knew that. I can’t believe you risked your life like that. You were supposed to be at the apartment, safe.” Anger burned out of Stephanie, even as she glared through tear-filled eyes.

The image almost made Ries laugh.

“There was no way I could sit at home, knowing they were going to kill you, Stephanie,” he said softly. He tipped her chin up and searched her eyes, lowering his voice. “Don’t you know how much I love you?

“I would rather die than have to live without you, knowing it was my fault that you’d died. I could never live like that.”

Something changed in Stephanie’s eyes, light and hope flooding them with a new wave of tears that spilled over onto her cheeks.

He kissed her then, passionately and making every effort to pour what he was feeling into his actions. “I’m so sorry,” he whispered between kisses. “I didn’t know how to keep you safe. I didn’t know how to respect you and protect you at the same time.”

“It doesn’t matter now.” Stephanie murmured as she pulled his lips back to her own.

“It does,” he told her, pushing her away so that he could look into her eyes while he finished his apology. “We need to learn to work together. I knew I couldn’t say ‘no’ to you while you were in my arms, so I pushed you away. I couldn’t live with the thought of you coming to harm, so I kept you prisoner. I knew you wanted more than that. I knew that you were strong and brave. But I couldn’t let you put yourself in danger. I was being selfish – thinking only about my desires, and not yours. Can you ever forgive me?”

“I wanted to be with you, too,” Stephanie sobbed. “I just wanted you to talk to me and let me help you.”

“I know,” he kissed her again, smoothing hands up and down her back. “And I know that, if we stay together – I will have to let you take your own risks. I cannot just control you.

“I didn’t mean any of those hurtful things I said. Not a word.” Ries’ thumb stroked her cheek.

Stephanie clasped his face and kissed him deeply before telling him:

“I love you, Ries. I realized last night that I don’t want to live without you. I don’t know if that’s even possible now. You’ve become a part of my life just like my need for air.”

Ries hugged her close, “I am so happy to hear that.” He kissed her again, allowing the passion between them to grow, but she pulled back a few minutes later.

“What’s wrong?”

“I need to say this.” Her voice cracked. “I’m sorry.”

“Stephanie, you don’t have anything to be sorry for.”

“But I do, I was intentionally pushing you away to try and save myself. I thought – I thought you were going to leave me.”

“I don’t understand,” he told her, searching her face.