Page 78 of Fierce Secrets

Sleep last night had not been easy until Sof had given me some sleeping pills, then I'd finally gone out like a light, wrapped in Leo's arms in my chosen bed at Sof's. Her place, although initially compromised, had been deemed safe despite the mess with the Malatesta. Something about their compromised numbers being too much of an issue for them to try anotherattack. Not just that, Sof had upped her own security and Leo had even hooked her up with a security team to be extra safe.

"Got anything stronger?" Gray wiggled his eyebrows at her.

"Not for the injured," she retorted, flicking his good shoulder as she passed. "You're still on painkillers."

"You're worse than Mer with the mother-henning."

"Someone has to keep you alive," Sofia called from the kitchen. "Since you insist on getting shot at."

Gray's phone rang, cutting off his retort. His good hand fumbled with it before answering. "Yeah?" A pause, then his face relaxed. "Good news, Mer. That was Leo. Meeting went better than expected, everything's settled. He's heading here now. We're all safe."

"Perfect." I hit send on my resignation letter, feeling lighter. A chapter closing so a new one could begin. No more Logan, no more Shannon—it was all a distant memory at this point despite it having only been days. So much had happened since then, and so much had changed. I had changed.

"You know," Gray smirked, "Lake Forest would've been peaceful." He leaned back, resting his feet on Sof's coffee table.

"I prefer it here." I closed my laptop. "Besides, Leo's office has better security."

"And a boss who won't mind if I drop by randomly." His grin was infectious. It was as if things had gotten even better since I'd learned the truth and come to terms with it all. How? I still wasn't sure, but last night and the hell we'd endured, it was enough for you to appreciate the people in your life even more.

"Oh God," Sofia groaned, returning with more coffee and glaring at Gray's feet on her coffee table. "Between you and Leo, she'll never get any work done."

"Says the woman who's already planning to redecorate her office," Gray teased as he wiggled his toes.

"It needs a woman's touch!" Sofia defended as she whacked his foot with a pillow lightly before plopping down beside me. "All that chrome and black leather. It's like a vampire's lair. She needs a nice place to work."

"It is not," I laughed, then paused as I recalled the photos Leo had shown me in bed last night of where he wanted me to work. "Okay, maybe a little."

Last night, when we'd retreated to the familiar comfort of Sof's place while the villa was cleaned and the mess handled, I'd laid with Leo, his arms wrapped around me tight. We'd not done anything, barely even kissed, just held one another. We'd bathed separately, washing away the sins we'd committed to protect one another. Sof had Gray fully patched up dosed with painkillers by the time we'd all said goodnight and gone to our rooms. And Leo hadn't even tried to hide the fact he was following me to mine, which Gray had not commented on.

It had been so comforting and tender, holding one another as we processed the evening. He'd asked me how I was feeling, how I was handling the blood on my hands, and I'd admitted that it shocked me how well I was coping with it.

I'd done it to protect those I loved.

He'd just held me tighter, pressing his lips to my forehead, and we'd laid in silence for some time before he'd said he wanted me working in his main office.

"You want to keep me that close, huh?" I'd said playfully, but the softness and affection in his eyes had made my smirk melt away.

"Yes, I want you safe, where I can protect you."

So I'd agreed, just like that, and he'd shown me photos of the office building and explained what it was I'd likely be doing. Nothing too different from my current line of work, and I'd only be dealing with the legit side of his businesses if I so chose.

Leo's distinctive knock at the front door broke me from my memories. I'd not even noticed Gray and Sof joking around about different things. Something had shifted between them, something that had me smiling and wondering. I'd have to ask Sof eventually if there was anything blooming there.

I'd gotten with my brother's best friend, perhaps it was destined to be.

Leo strode in with purpose, heading straight for my purse on the kitchen counter after casting me a glance. I'd expected him to at least come in and say hi, but nope, he was on a mission. Without a word, he started rifling through my purse as I frowned.

"Um, hello to you too?" I watched as he pulled out a pen I didn't recognize.

"Everything okay?" Sof asked, her brows knitted together.

Leo's fingers worked quickly on the pen, dismantling it to reveal a tiny chip. "Andrew Sullivan planted this on you at the coffee shop." He held it up to the light, his face none too impressed. "He's the one who murdered Cosimo Malatesta, trying to start a war."

"What?" Gray leaned forward, wincing at the movement.

Sof's look of surprise mirrored my own as Leo placed the chip on the counter and crushed it with the hilt of a kitchen knife.

"He was tracking Meredith, planning to use her as leverage alongside the murder evidence." Leo brushed the fragments of the chip into his hand and moved to drop it into the trash. "But when she called him out, knew who he was, he panicked. Decided to feed the Malatesta family her location after killing off Cosimo, hoping they'd eliminate the problem for him."

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