Demand (Careless Whispers #2)(33)

His demand is guttural, the rasp in his tone telling me he truly feared for me. “Yes,” I say, realizing now that I really was in danger today—because he isn’t the only one who will do anything to win. His enemies will, too.

He stares at me for several seconds, weighing my reply before his voice softens. “Good girl.” He lowers my legs and slides between them. “There is always a price for power, but losing you will not be mine. I protect what is mine.” He leans into me, his cheek pressed to mine, his lips at my ear, to add, “And you are mine.”

My eyes pop open at the memory that ends in the exact same place as when I’d had it before, and David’s warning comes back to me. He’s not what he seems. I write that down and underline it. He was not what he seemed. David was talking about the man in my flashbacks. I know it, but I’m not sure if I knew “him” before David’s warning, or after.

“Ella?”

I blink and look up to find Giada rounding the couch, and only then do I realize that I’m on the floor between the couch and the table, on top of a soft brown rug.

“Can I sit?” she asks.

“Of course you can sit,” I say. “It’s your brother’s store.”

“That he hates,” she says, claiming the cushion. “I am making him miserable. That’s not what I wanted.”

“You seem pretty miserable yourself,” I say, moving to sit on the opposite end of the sofa.

Tears well in her eyes, and she glances skyward. “You think?” She swipes at her eyes, as if angry she’s showing weakness, then fixes me in a surprisingly direct stare, her voice unwavering. “I just don’t want The Underground to take him like it did my father.”

“Like I said outside the store. There are people in life who are risk takers. We have to decide to either embrace that part of them, or to walk away. Those are the two choices.”

“How do you ever leave someone you love?”

“It’s not about how. It’s about why. It’s about not tormenting yourself and them with your fear.”

“I’m not leaving,” she says, straightening, her hands settling on her knees, repeating the words more fiercely. “I’m not leaving. Adriel is all I have. He’s my family.”

“You want to stay—and yet you betrayed Kayden by calling Gallo, and you did it in his own home.”

“You, Adriel, and Marabella have made that mistake abundantly clear. Believe me, I get it.”

“Backing down because we got upset doesn’t mean you get it. It means you don’t want to hear us bitch anymore.”

“Enzo was bleeding to death, and Adriel wanted to go after the people who did that to him. All I was thinking about was saving Adriel. Can’t you understand that? Can’t any of you understand that?”

I think of my father lying in his own blood and I say, “Yes. I do. I’ve lost people. And so has Kayden—everyone he loves. You don’t seem to understand, or even try to understand, that Kayden inherited the huge burden of being The Hawk. Losing Enzo gutted him.”

She considers me a few beats. “Enzo disobeyed his orders?”

“Yes. He absolutely did. Kayden was concerned about him when he went missing, and he told me the details.”

“It wasn’t a hunt Kayden sent him on?”

“No. It absolutely was not.”

She inhales and lets it out. “Adriel won’t move away, because he needs to be close to all of this. And I won’t move away, because I need to be close to him.”

“What about moving out of the castle, where you aren’t reminded of all of this so readily?”

“That’s like giving Adriel a license to hunt.”

“It’s only a matter of time until he does that anyway. Let him be who he is, and give yourself permission to find out who you are, too. And just know this before you say no. Kayden sets ethical boundaries for his Hunters. He expects safety over money. He protects his people at all costs, and would die for any of them. He set up a massive trust fund for you to honor your father. How many people would do that?”

“You really believe in him.”

“I believe in him completely. Passionately. And I won’t lose him due to your risking his life and safety, like you did last night.”

“And your life,” she says. “Last night you said—”

“That you endangered all of our lives,” I quickly insert, wishing I hadn’t spouted off last night. “And you did.”

“I’m sorry,” she says. “I truly am, and I don’t know how to fix this.”

“We’ll talk to Kayden—but I want you to think about what you really want to do, first. And talk to Adriel. Really talk to him.”

She nods. “I will. Thank you, Ella. I’m glad you’re here.”

“Me, too.”

A buzzing sound goes off and my eyes go wide. “Please tell me that’s not a breach alarm.”

“It’s not. It’s the buzzer to the front door for the store, and our pizza, I’m sure. Adriel ordered for himself as well, so I’m sure he’ll grab the delivery, but knowing him, I’d better go get ours before he eats it, too.” She stands but never makes it any farther before we hear, “The food has arrived.”