Page 20 of Run to Me
“I need to close the store first, then we can talk.”
“Already done.” He flicks his head in the direction of the door, and I see theopensign has been flipped around.
“I sent a text to one of my men and they changed it for you while we’ve been sat here. I didn’t want to move you,” he says with a look of vulnerability.
I don’t think I ever expected a man like Enzo to get nervous.
Jesus, he’s known as the unhinged Mafia prince, yet he’s nervous about having someone come in and close my store for me while I was in the middle of a panic attack.
I give him a small nod before clearing my throat and standing up. His arms follow me for a second when I stand as if he really didn’t want to let me go.
Guess the feeling is mutual.
I take a seat on the chair opposite and wait for him to bombard me with questions.
Only he doesn’t, he sits patiently, waiting for me to start.
And I guess if he wants my truth, then he’ll have to give me his in return.
“Why were you stalking me?” I ask and his brows raise to his hairline, clearly not expecting me to jump straight to that question.
“I wasn’t stalking… or I guess I was, just not in that sense,” he sighs before leaning back in his chair and looking up to the ceiling for a second before he lowers his head, and his chocolate brown eyes connect with mine.
“I first saw you one night in Spotlights. You were at the bar wearing a white dress and downing tequila. I didn’t think you werereal at first, you looked like a fucking angel, far too good for this world. I was going to come and speak to you, but you disappeared before I could.” He takes a deep breath before continuing, “I had Izzy hack the cameras and she used some high-tech thing to figure out who you were, so I started watching you, keeping an eye on you to make sure you were safe.”
Out of all the things he could have said, I never could have imagined that this is how it all played out. I figured he just saw me through the store window one day and decided to stick around.
And I didn’t for a second think that his sister-in-law could have known about this from the very beginning.
“I just wanted to make sure you had someone to look out for you, and the obsession kinda just spiraled.”
He doesn’t look apologetic, not in the slightest.
I guess maybe the rumors are true—he is a little crazy.
But aren’t we all?
It makes so much more sense now, how I always felt the sensation of being watched as I walked home alone at night. I’ve always felt safe when he watched me—that was until the feeling stopped, and I didn’t see him again until now.
“What made you stop?” I ask.
Did he lose interest? Did he suddenly move onto the next girl in his little neighborhood watch scheme? Did he just—
“You went out on a date, with that chino wearing little fucker, and I snapped. I sat and watched as he kissed you, and I couldn’t take it. I decided to let you live your life, no matter how much it pained me to stay away. Which I’m really fucking regretting nowsince you got hurt and I wasn’t around to help you. I need you to tell me what happened angel,please.”
He looks like he’s in pain, like the thought of me being in danger physically hurts him.
I fist my hands at my sides to keep from reaching out to him while I take a deep breath in preparation to tell him what happened.
“I, um… my brother owes money to someone, I guess. A man turned up at my apartment looking for him, then threatened me when I told him I don’t have contact with him.”
“What did he threaten you with,uccellina?”
His eyes have turned black, and I can feel the anger emanating from him as he waits for me to answer.
“What. Did. He. Threaten. You. With.” He enunciates each word as though he’s spiraling as the rage takes over.
“He said that I have two weeks, and if Jeremy hasn’t paid him then he’ll take his payment another way… he hinted that he’ll take his payment with me,” I whisper.