I don’t think he knows Adrian is in my ear, and yet he’s telling me to go to Adrian. He thinks those men were trouble and so do I. In other words, I’m just fine with going to Adrian right now except for one thing. He should not be in this building. What if this was all a setup and those men are trying to lure him out into the open?Chapter Thirty-FiveADRIAN
The stairwell door opens and I flatten on the wall behind the door, cautiously confirming it’s Pri entering and not someone else. The instant she’s in view, I grab her, pull her to me and settle her against the wall. “What part of avoid those assholes did you not understand?” I demand, catching her wrist and flipping off the communication device.
“I wasn’t leaving my staff as targets, Adrian,” she snaps, fiery as usual, but this is one war she will not win. “Would you really want me to do that?” she demands.
“Lucifer would have handled it.”
“I had him with me the entire time.” Her fingers curl around my T-shirt. “And what are you thinking? Why are you here? They were looking for you. You, Adrian, not me.” She shoves on my chest. “We have to go. They could be coming for you.”
“I’d know.”
“Would you?” she challenges. “Do you think the members of Walker Security are the only smart people alive? Waters didn’t survive this long because his people are dumb. I know you know that. I can’t even believe Blake let you come in this building. And should we be in this stairwell?”
“I’m waiting for Blake to tell us we’re clear to leave.”
“Because we might not be?” she frets.
“We want Williams and Davis out of here for at least five minutes before we exit.”
“Oh,” she says. “Well then, back to what I was saying.” She pokes my chest. “Don’t be stupid for me, Adrian, or you will end up dead.”
There she goes again. Worrying about me while I worry about her. I didn’t want that for either of us. Not with my past. Not with my enemies. But it’s too late. It’s just too damn late to walk away from her. I don’t even want to try.
My hand slides under her hair and I drag her mouth to mine, trying to have her see the logic I cannot. “I’m not the guy you fall in love with, Pri.”
“Too late,” she says. “We’ve already covered this. I’m not even going to try to pretend I’m not there yet. I am. I love you, Adrian, so stop doing stupid shit that will get you killed. Do you hear me?”
I laugh despite myself. “You’re a bossy wench, you know that?”
“And?” she challenges.
“And this,” I say, and my mouth closes down on hers, my hand sliding over her spine, molding her to me.
She is soft and delicate in all the right ways, but tough as nails. And she tastes like honey, thick and sweet with a promise of a better future, one I never dared to hope for. One I didn’t even think I wanted. But I do now. I want her. I want that future with her.
Our lips part and my forehead rests against hers. “It’s time to take a break, Pri.”
She pulls back and gives an incredulous, “What? Are you seriously pushing me away right now, Adrian? Again? Because not only are you confusing me, I’m going to start thinking that’s what you really want.”
“Not from me or us, baby. We need to get out of town and lie low until we get a better grip on all the players. Give our team time to put control measures in place for the trial.”
“But my staff—”
“We’ll leave Lucifer here with a team,” I say. “We need to do this.”
“My family, though,” she says. “I’m worried about my family. I know they don’t deserve it, but I’m worried. I am. They’re all I have.”
“You have me, Pri. You have Walker.”
“I know that,” she says. “I do know that. I feel it, but they’re my mom and dad.”
“I know,” I say. “My brother didn’t deserve my worry either, but it didn’t stop me from trying to get myself killed to save him. But he wasn’t in danger. He was protected by Waters. And it seems your family is as well.”
“But are they?” she asks. “If we disappear and Waters gets nervous, couldn’t he use them to draw us out?”
And there it is. Exactly the problem I was planning to discuss with her. “Yes,” I say, not about to lie to her. “Meet with your mother. Tell her just that if you have to. Even if your father won’t listen, get her to agree to get out of the country. I’ll pay for her to spend the rest of the year in Paris or Italy or wherever the fuck she wants to go.”