Page 25 of Rebel Protector
He narrowed his eyes but didn’t say more, just stood there watching as she hurried past, heading to her apartment through the garden.
Shit, that was close.
She was going to have to be more careful. Then she shook her head. What the hell was she thinking? Of course, she wasn’t going to visit Dom again. Therewasn’tgoing to be a next time. That’d be insane.
She collapsed onto the couch in her small living room, heart still pounding. One, her boss would lose his mind if he ever found out, and two, she didn’t need that kind of trouble in her life.
Not that kind of trouble. Dangerous. Destructive. Addictive.
Stop.
Hadn’t she learned her lesson years ago? This was why she hadn’t let herself get close to anyone for the last decade. No strings, no ties, no commitment, no liabilities. Keep it simple.
Not that Dom was offering any of those things, but it wasn’thimshe was scared of—it was herself. Being in his arms had felt so right, too right. Like she belonged there. Did he feel it too? It was strange, feeling that kind of protection from someone like him—a man who made his living dealing in violence.
Her phone buzzed on the coffee table. She glanced down, her stomach flipping at the thought that it might be him.
What if itwas? Would she go back?
No way. She couldn’t. She wouldn’t.
She exhaled when she saw it was only Chrissy, Ramirez’s wife. Maybe she’d heard about the explosion and was checking in.
“Chrissy, how are you?” she answered, trying to keep her voice light.
What greeted her wasn’t relief, but sobbing.
Becca’s heart sank. “Chrissy, take a breath. I can’t understand you. What’s wrong?”
“He’s having an affair,” Chrissy blurted between sobs.
Becca winced.Of course he is.Ramirez had never struck her as a faithful husband.
“He’s screwing the au pair,” Chrissy spat, then laughed bitterly. “Howtypical.”
The au pair. Becca groaned inwardly. The poor girl had been picking up the kids from boarding school on Fridays, bringing them home for the weekend. Clearly, she’d been offeringextraservices lately.
“How’d you find out?” Becca asked, knowing this was going to be bad.
“She was acting different around him. You know, that stupid, secretive way you get when you’re in love but trying to hide it. So, I confronted her. She confessed, so I fired her.”
Of course you did,Becca thought.
“What about Ramirez? Did you talk to him?”
“I did.” The venom in Chrissy’s voice was palpable. “He said if I left him, he’d take the girls. Said I’d never see them again.”
Her voice broke again into tears. “He threatened me, Becca.”
Becca clenched her jaw. Of course he did. Ramirez had the money, the power, and in cases like this, that’s all it took to hold someone’s life in a chokehold. Chrissy had nothing of her own, no leverage. Everything was tied to him. It was why Becca had never let herself get trapped like that. It was too easy to lose yourself.
“Do you want to get together and talk it over?” Becca offered. “You could come by tomorrow.”
“I’m not coming near that place,” Chrissy hissed, her words slurred from booze. “It’syourfucking boss who put him up to this. Alek Markov is a bastard.”
Becca grimaced. That wasn’t hard to believe. Whether it was Markov’s advice, his shady lawyers, or just the general aura of power he exuded, Chrissy wasn’t wrong. Markov wasn’t exactly a shining example of virtue.
“Iknowthings,” Chrissy’s voice dropped to a whisper. “He thinks I don’t, but I do.”