Page 49 of Shadow

His phone buzzed.

Yes. I’m sorry.

At least she didn’t insult him by playing dumb.

We’ll talk at lunch. Make sure Niki has other plans, please.

He tucked the phone away and tried to go back to his book, but the words were just a blur through the haze of rage he felt about Mario DeBarr. Why was he so angry about this?

Perhaps it was just because he’d been told about the hell that bastard had put her through. Or that he was supposed to be retired with his show canceled, and yet here he was promoting a new one not even a year later. But deep down, he realized at least part of it was jealousy over the fact that she’d married him in the first place.

A shadow crossed his page, and he looked up to find her standing in front of him, fidgeting with a zipper on the side of her bag.

“How mad are you?”

“Pretty fucking mad, Olivia. We don’t know if he’s the one causing you trouble. I should have known he would be here.”

She adjusted the strap on her purse and sat down next to him. “I know. And I kept looking for the right time to tell you. It just never came out. My plan was to tell you on the plane, but I chickened out. I think that’s why I called you a jackass. I was subconsciously trying to start something, so I wouldn’t have the opportunity to tell you.”

He picked up her hand and traced a thumb over her knuckles. “I appreciate that honesty at least.”

“It wasn’t a secret that he would be here. His name was on everything associated with the event. I’m surprised you didn’t research it more.”

He glared. “I still should have heard it from you. Yes, you’re right, I could have and probably should have researched the event more, but it’s your job to tell me these things. No matter how upset you think I’ll be.”

“Are you going to punish me?”

He reached up and cupped her cheek. “No. Because I see red every time I think about that fucker, and I would hate to accidentally take that out on you.”

She laid her head on his chest. “That’s what makes you a good Dom, Ripley. I’m sorry.”

“Now I really do want to look into getting a last-minute ticket so I can follow you around.”

She huffed and sat up, digging in her purse. “I was still trying to decide if I wanted to give this to you or not. My freedom is important to me. But here.”

She pulled out a conference badge with his name on it and slipped the lanyard around his neck.

“A friend had someone on his team who couldn’t make it, but they still got the badge at check-in. Follow me all you want if it makes you feel more comfortable. But I kind of enjoyed coming out here to find you waiting on me. Even if you were mad.”

Unable to resist anymore, he leaned in and kissed her softly. “Thank you for this. I’ll try to stay out of your way. I just want to watch over you, baby. We still don’t know where the danger is coming from.”

“I know that, but it’s definitely not coming from this convention.”

Ripley wasn’t convinced. They had no way of knowing, and until he knew for sure, he wasn’t letting her out of his sight.

“Thank you for humoring me, then. What is your schedule for the rest of the day?”

She pulled out her phone and tapped a few times on the screen. As she tucked it away again, he felt his own buzz.

“I just sent you the link to my schedule. You can add it to your calendar. I get that this is important to you, but you’ll have to keep track of me, because I can’t always be expected to remember to tell you everything I have going on. Some things are going to be spontaneous. I’ll let you know when those things come up. Otherwise, assume everything is on that calendar.”

It would have to do for now. He didn’t like the idea of spontaneous events happening, but he wouldn’t stifle her any more than he already had. At least he had a convention badge now and could follow her around as much as he pleased.

Two hours later, he discovered he much preferred sitting and reading his book as opposed to following her to workshops. They were duller than the security briefings he’d been forced to sit through when he worked for the government. That’s not what he was expecting out of an event like this in Las Vegas.

He expressed his boredom during the dinner break, and she laughed. “I predicted you’d hate these workshops. If you’re not in the industry, they’re going to be super uninteresting. How’s the book?”

He smiled. “Better than listening to some tech geek drone on about the latest POS system. I like tech. I’m great at tech. But that was so boring I almost fell asleep twice.”

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