Page 65 of It Destroys Me

“Why?”

“I need to transfer you in secret again. Just in case anyone’s watching. And they probably are.”

I was disappointed. So disappointed that I wouldn’t get to see Theo. Feel those big arms encircle me and make me feel safe. But I didn’t complain. I didn’t make it harder for him than it already was. “I understand.”

“I’ll make a plan with Axel.”

“He’s asleep right now. Was up all night.”

“I’m dead tired too.”

“Where are you going to go?”

“Home.”

“Even though Bolton’s guys broke in?”

“They didn’t break in,” he said. “They were let in.”

“What are you going to do about that?”

“Kill him. But that’ll have to wait. Got too much shit going on right now.”

There was nothing else to say, but I stayed on the phone with him, just wanting to be with him over the line, to feel connected in some way. I should let him go and get some rest, but I wanted to be selfish. “I’ll let you get some sleep.” It hurt me to say it, hurt to loosen my grip and let him drift away.

“I’ll call you when I wake up.”

“Okay.” I knew I shouldn’t say it. Just needed to keep my mouth shut. But I couldn’t help it, not when a bullet could have hit him somewhere else…and taken him from me. “Love you. Bye.” I hung up before he could say anything because I didn’t want to make it awkward, make him feel pressured to say it back.

I joined Scarlett again.

“How is he?” she asked.

“He seems okay. Says he needs to make a plan to get me back without anyone knowing.”

She gave a slight nod. “I figured that would be the case.”

“I guess it’s a good thing that Theo and Axel have always kept their relationship private.”

“Theo keeps all of his relationships private. Axel told me none of his guys even knew about Shayla. It’s a smart way to be when you’re in the game. If no one knows who you care about, they can’t be used against you.”

“Yeah.”

“Hopefully you’ll be reunited with Theo soon. I know this separation is hard for you.”

Hard wasn’t the right word. Unbearable was a better fit.

The next day, Axel called me into his study. “Are you claustrophobic?”

“Uh…I don’t know.”

“Well, you’re about to find out.” He came around the desk in jeans and a t-shirt. After catching up on sleep, he didn’t have the bags under his eyes anymore. “We talked through a lot of different scenarios, but none of them were foolproof. So, I came up with this idea…”

“I don’t care what it is. I’ll do it.” I just wanted to go home to my man.

“There’re a lot of old tunnels and catacombs under the streets. And there’s one under my property.”

“I thought Paris was the one with the catacombs.”