Page 49 of Protective Love

As much as I do care about my job, that's not the only reason I have some regret about kissing him.

It's the fact that I don't want to continue getting closer to him in case Danny does have a way of finding out.

I don't want to cause Jaylen or his family any pain.

Despite my original thoughts on Mafia families all being the same, I've seen and heard enough to know that the King's aren't the usual type of Mafia family.

Yes, they do some bad things, it's obvious considering they're in the weapons trade, but they're different to anything I've ever known.

They all love and care for each other deeply.

They don't seem to abuse their power.

The men don't see their women as objects that they get to control and have fun with whenever they like.

They're nothing like I assumed they would be, and I could never forgive myself if I put any of them in danger.

With my mind made up, I walk down the hallway towards Markus' office, gently knocking on the door when I reach it.

"Come in."

I open the door and force a grimace onto my face.

"Sorry to disturb you, Markus, but I don't feel so great, and I was hoping I could go home early."

He looks up from his desk and a wave of concern washes over his face as he stands up.

"Yes, of course. I'll have another nurse check in on your patients for the next few hours. Are you going to be okay getting home?"

I nod, and screw my face up as if I'm in pain as I simultaneously drop my hand to my stomach.

"Yeah, I'm sure I can manage," I tell him, already backpedalling out of his office.

"If you need to take a couple of days off, just let me know!" he calls out, as I walk out of his office and close the door behind me.

I thought I'd easily be able to slip out of the hospital and go home so that I can be tortured by my over active brain all alone, but I'm sorely mistaken because I step out of the hospital and see the sleek black BMW with tinted windows that's been driving me to and from work lately parked in front of me.

Leo's casually leaning against the side of the car with a lit cigarette dangling from the corner of his mouth.

"Leaving so soon?" he says, eyeing me cautiously as my shoulders slump at the sight of him.

"I'm not feeling well, so I'm going home early. That's also why I think it'd be better if I got the bus. It might be contagious," I tell him, hoping and praying that he won't fight me on the decision.

A rough chuckle escapes him and he takes another drag of his cigarette before tossing it to the ground and shaking his head.

"No can do," he states, walking around the car and opening the passenger side door for me. "Trust me when I say, I'd rather be anywhere else than here, but Dominic doesn't currently need me, and Kaleb couldn't make himself available. So, make my job easier and get in the car, please."

I sigh in defeat and walk around the car, careful to keep some distance between us when I near him and clamber into the passenger seat.

He shuts the door behind me and then climbs in himself, starting the ignition and driving as the silence descends around us.

The traffic in London is horrific at this time of the evening. When it takes us almost five minutes just to get down the road from the hospital, I lean my head against the headrest and watch him out of the corner of my eye, trying to get a read on him and busy my mind with thoughts that won't send me spiralling into another panic attack.

"I don't like people staring," he mutters, turning his stoic face towards me as we sit stationary behind a heap of cars that are beeping their horns.

I immediately turn away from him, choosing to stare out of my window instead and mumble a quick apology.

My teeth sink into the side of my cheek as my eyes wander across the busy streets outside and up to the gloomy sky that's surrounding the city.