Page 64 of Covert Desires

Who knew we'd make such a formidable team?

For once, everything is going according to plan…

Well,almosteverything.

I stare at Nico, my brain short-circuiting. "What do youmeanyou're not going without me?"

This wasn't part of the plan.

Get the guys, get the plane, get Nico home. Return to my solitary existence. The end.

That's what my brain has locked onto, eyes on the mission. But Nico...

He takes my hands in his in an uncharacteristically tender move.

"Exactly that," he says, his voice low and earnest. His eyes, stormy as ever, hold a softness that wasn’t there before, "Come with me, Kiah."

The simple request shatters my carefully constructed world, leaving me uncertain.

“Nico…I can’t. The guests will be here next week. I have a whole life here. Responsibilities. I can’t just pack up and go. I—” There are a million reasons why not.

“Then, I’ll stay.”

I shake my head. “That’s ridiculous. You can’t stay. They’ll come for you, one way or another. You need to take your rightful place on the throne. Wrong the rights. Get justice.”

“Then come with me,” he insists, returning to his original request.

“I can’t justgo.”

Panic pushes up in my throat as the introduction of a choice throws my perfectly planned future into chaos.

“You said it yourself, you miss the excitement, the city. You can’t hide out here forever.”

I lower my gaze. “You’re using my words against me.”

“Were they true?”

Nico tilts my chin toward him, forcing my eyes back to his. “Were they true?” he repeats, and I nod slowly. For all his faults, I know Nico values the truth above all else.

“Yes. But I can’t just leave…”

“Why not?”

“Because it’s absolutely crazy? How do you think this next part is going to go? Anything could happen…”

As many times as I try to run every imaginable scenario through my head, I can’t cover all the possibilities—there are too many variables.

My heart screams yes, my body does too, but my rational mind knows it’s the most ridiculous idea I’ve ever heard.

How can I just leave everything I’ve built and run after some young brat with a death wish? At the same time, how can I let him leave? After everything we’ve been through…

“I don’t know what’s going to happen next,” Nico admits, “But I know that I will protect you with my life, come what may. That has to count for something?”

I want to roll my eyes at the cliche, but I’ve literally just watched him do that exact thing, nearly killing his own brother with his bare hands for threatening me. Nobody has ever cared that much. In this whole miserable existence of mine, nobody has ever wanted toprotectme.

But is it enough?

What if his Stockholm Syndrome wears off as soon as we enter civilization again? What if he gets bored?

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