Love Me (Trust Series #2) (8 page)

Ugh.

Basically, this tidbit clue he gave is supposed to make Damien want to work with Martin to find the real killer, and maybe it will also build a foundation of trust.

I just don’t know what to think about it.

Bane is in the cabin of the plane with us as he hands Damien a list. “Mr. Wales, here’s the revised list of names with everyone I have found so far that has a sexual history with Cassandra.”

Reality of the situation we are in keeps trying to creep back into my mind. We didn’t talk about it at all while we were in Italy even though security was always around.

Damien takes the list. From what I can see, it’s rather long. If only his parents, Meredith and Jon, knew how much Cassandra is really pining after my husband, I think they would be embarrassed—or maybe not, knowing how delusional they seem to be.

Damien looks at the list intently. “I don’t see anything here that jumps out. Dean Michaels and Jake Hunnington were acquaintances of mine in college, but we haven’t kept in touch. Knowing Martin, whoever it is must still be a part of my life. I’ll continue to look at the list to see if anything comes to mind.”

Bane takes a small sip of his water. “I’ll keep digging. I’ve prepared the team in regard to the announcement your Public Relations Manager is making today about your nuptials.”

It was decided to announce our marriage on our return flight before anyone saw my ring. Stories about me taming the untamable were published while we were gone.

I hate the press.

Considering how fast we got married, I groan internally at the thought that people might think I’ve trapped him by getting pregnant.
Who doesn’t love a good, juicy story behind a shotgun wedding?

Damien’s still focused on the list. “Thank you, Bane. Are there any other developments regarding Martin?”

All this talk of his ex and Martin is trying to burst the bubble I’ve been living in. I’m just not ready to leave my blissful sanctuary yet.

Putting my hand on Damien’s leg, I say, “I’m going to the back to check my emails.”

He looks me over, like he always does, as if he’s reaching into my soul to see every part of me. “Okay, I’ll be back there in a bit. I just have a few more things to discuss with Bane.”

Rising up, I give him a kiss. “Sounds good.”

Once I make it to the bed, I boot up my laptop to check my email. The first one is from Sam, and the subject line makes me giggle.

She’s a riot. For a second, my mouth dropped open when she said she had moved in with someone. She always runs the other way, screaming, the moment a guy gets
the look
that tells her he wants something more. I miss her, and I can’t wait to spend some time with her when we get back.

I click the next email, expecting it to be from Sam, and then the blood starts to drain from my face as my scalp gets a prickly feeling from apprehension.

Then, there’s another one.

And then, I read another one.

I don’t know how long I sit there and stare at the computer screen. I read the words over and over again, not able to look away. My hands start shaking.
How can this be happening?

The door to our room opens, and Damien strides through. I think he says something, but through the haze that has set up residence in my head, I’m not sure as I continue to look at my screen. He’s by my side before I can even register his words.

Moving the laptop out of the way, he comes in front of me and searches my body for any signs of distress. “Alli, what’s wrong? What happened?”

I look up at him with tears in my eyes, and I must appear absolutely terrified.
I am terrified.

He gives my shoulders a light shake as he starts to panic himself. “Damn it, Alli, you’re scaring the hell out of me. What happened?”

“He found me, Damien. He’s crazy. He wants to take me from you.”

I climb onto his lap and hug him so tightly. I’m still shaken and rattled from the emails. My mind is suspended, not moving forward or backward but stuck on the endless loop of reading the emails.

“Baby, who found you? No one is taking you from me. I’ve got you. You’re completely safe. Baby, you’re going to have to start talking to me because I’m freaking the fuck out.”

I pull back and look into his eyes, seeing the concern emanating from them. I grab my laptop and hand it to him for him to read the emails. I cannot say anything out loud at this point. I don’t even know what to say.

He reads, curses, and then yells, “Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Bane!”

Instantly, Bane is in our bedroom with his gun drawn, which causes my nerves to become more and more frazzled.

Before Bane can get anything out, Damien says, “Someone sent Alli an email two days ago. He’s a fucking lunatic. Find out who sent it.”

Numbly, I say, “There’s more than one.”

Damien holds me to him with one hand and uses the other to read through the rest of them.

His grip tightens on me as he hands the laptop off to Bane. “I’m staying in here with Alli. Keep me posted. Cancel the PR release of our marriage, if it’s not too late. Let me know either way.”

Bane’s voice sounds in the room. “Yes, sir.”

The sound of the door closing causes me to snuggle deeper into Damien’s chest. I need to anchor myself to him to keep me calm.

He starts rubbing my back. “Baby, I swear you’re safe. We’ll figure this out. I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”

His steady voice begins to act as a sedative as I let him invade all of my senses.

Molding myself against his body, I murmur, “Please just hold me. I know I’m safe when I’m in your arms.”

He squeezes me tighter as he brings me with him to lie back on the bed. After lying there for who knows how long, my brain starts to work again, and my shaking is under control. When I absently start tracing Damien’s tattoo on his chest through his shirt, I can feel him tensing.

“You’re not going to end up like Becky, Alli. I swear on every fiber of my being that we will catch this fucker. Baby, you are my life. Without you, I’m nothing.”

I look into his eyes. “That’s not why I trace your tattoo. It comforts me. I know you’re going to keep me safe. I just…it’s just…I don’t know. I’ve been living in our bubble for the last few weeks, and I forgot about this horridness that we had been dealing with. It just felt like he was right here, about to take me.”

“Baby, he got nowhere near you. He’d be dead if he had. Just rest your eyes. I won’t leave you.”

He starts rubbing those soothing circles on my back, and I try to relax into his body. He sounds so confident. However, something in the way he holds his muscles causes me to stay just shy of totally being able to put this behind me.

Tracing his tattoo, I lay my thoughts out. “I know this sounds naive, but I don’t want to become a prisoner, Damien. It’s like he wins that way, too. I don’t want to be stupid either and risk our lives. I just don’t know where the safe balance is. I wish we knew what Martin was talking about regarding Cassandra.”

I take in a deep breath, encasing all my senses with Damien’s scent. There’s not a drug in this world that could relax me faster than his intoxicating smell.

“Alli, we will find a safe middle ground. Just bear with me, okay?”

I nod my assent. I’m so exhausted, and I slowly drift off to the sound of the jet and Damien’s even breathing.

My hand reaches across the cold bed. I’m alone. My eyes open, and my heart starts beating erratically as panic sets in. The emails I received make their way into my consciousness again.

My head turns toward the voices I hear nearby. Damien is having a conversation at the door. His tone is low and intense. He doesn’t sound happy with whatever he is discussing. The movement of me sitting up causes Damien to look my way.

He ends the conversation and walks back to my side of the bed. Kneeling on the floor, he asks, “Hey, baby, how’d you sleep?”

“Okay. I’m sorry I went off the deep end.”

I can see the worry lessening on his features. I’m calmer now that I’ve rested.

He reaches and caresses my cheek. “We will be landing in about thirty minutes, and then we will head straight home. As I promised before, I will keep you as involved as you want to be. You’re my wife now, so everything I do impacts you in some way. Do you want to know what I was discussing with Bane?”

“Yes.”

He takes a deep breath. “We’ve increased security again. I know you don’t like the amount we have now, but with the additional measures, I’ll know you’re safe when we need to go somewhere. It should help us both from feeling like we are prisoners. We are still going to keep everything that has happened between you, Bane, and myself—no exceptions.”

I nod, acknowledging and agreeing.

His hand scrubs down his face. “I tried to stop the marriage announcement just in case it sent this guy further off the deep end, but it was already released. It’s spreading like wildfire. Apparently, the public loves a romance story.”

Remembering our story helps to anchor me. “It is the perfect romance story.”

“That, it is.”

When I see the sparkle in his eyes, I know that he is thinking about all the places where we made love in Italy—on a boat in Venice, the patio of our hotel suite in Tuscany, the Pantheon where we had our private dinner, and the Boboli Gardens in Florence during our picnic.