Page 18 of Under His Watch

“Just that you were worried about someone named Elliot not wanting you anymore.”

“Yeah. Because I’m damaged goods now.”

I gripped her chin with enough force that she lost the sadness lurking in her eyes. She narrowed them, frowning up at me.

“You are not damaged goods.”

“I’ll agree to disagree on that.”

Stubborn.But she wasn’t annoying me. I liked that she had some grit.

“Who is Elliot?” I asked instead.

“Elliot Hines. My parents are old friends with his parents, and they got it into their heads that Elliot and I should get married. They thought of it when we were just kids, but now that I’m an adult, it seems like it’s gone from being a silly comment and idea to an actual obligation.”

“Hines?” I asked. Something nagged me about the guy’s surname.

“Yeah.” She studied me. “Why?”

“Sounds familiar.”

“He’s been in the news every now and then.”

“Why?”

“He’s a prominent lawyer in the city, for the J.R.G. law firm.”

I nodded. “I’ve heard of them.” When the Domino Family fought the Devil’s Brothers, that legal firm was mentioned by the spies and soldiers gathering intel for us.

“My parents have been pushing me more and more to marry him. They think Elliot equals wealth, that if I marry him,theywouldn’t have to worry about money again.”

“But you don’t want to?”

She shook her head, keeping her gorgeous, wide-open gaze on me. I knew she was telling the truth. I saw the sincerity in her eyes. “No. I never have. Not for a single second. That’s why I want to work as much as I can. To have my own life. My own money. I don’t want to settle for anyone, despite how much my parents try to tell me I should.”

After she yawned widely, I released her and got off the bed. “I’ll bring in a tray of food,” I said as she watched me go toward the door.

As wonderful as it was to hold her, I felt eager to look into this Elliot Hines. Tessa’s parents too. I wasn’t sure if she understood how badly I felt this need to take care of her. Killing her rapists was only the start. I wanted to fix everything in her life. She’d become my purpose, and I was impatient to start taking care of her troubles.

When I came back from the kitchen, I found her napping. Instead of lingering to watch over her, I set the tray down on a table and added a simple note:

I’ll be back.I wanted her to read it and simply know that I wasn’t leaving her.

The guard I positioned at the door would patrol and keep an eye on her. I wasn’t worried about her leaving, but I couldn’t head off without knowing some security would be here on the lookout.

I went to the mansion to speak with both my father and Franco about this supposed fiancé Tessa didn’t want. Or an almost fiancé. Whoever he was, I wanted more information. It made sense to update my father about the fact that I had a woman with me. Not like that… but after holding Tessa on the bed, I knew she wouldn’t be going anywhere anytime soon. And not just because she was avoiding going home.

“Did this guy propose to her?” Franco asked after I gave them the basics.

I’d caught them at a convenient time. Nina was inside, sorting out things for the baby’s arrival. Franco and my father were sitting out by the pool at the table we used for meetings.

“No. I don’t think so.” I rubbed the back of my neck and paced. They’d listened to all that I’d explained already, but Franco wanted to follow up. “She made it sound like Elliot is just someone her parents have always known, and they’re trying to persuade her to marry him.”

“And she’s not interested?” my father asked.

“No. Not at all.”

“What firm did you say this guy worked at?” Franco asked again, scrolling on his phone. He was probably already looking him up.

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