“I will always find you,” Matthias whispers in my ear. “Wherever you go, I go. You cannot hide from me.”
“I can try,” I mutter.
“Yes, you can try, but you will fail. I hunt people for a living. I will always find you.”
My mouth hangs open as I look at him. He hunts people for a living?
I can’t think about that now. I need to have faith that I can get away from him. I need to believe that there is a chance, a possibility of getting out of his reach and living my life.
“But don’t worry, I don’t think you are going to try to run away from me. You are too good for that.” He wraps his armaround me, holding me close to him as we walk toward the park. “But I also wouldn’t be surprised if you did try to run away from me. I can see the fire in your eyes.”
I’m happy he can see my determination. I want him to, but I also don’t know if it’s a good thing. Does he know that I am planning on leaving?
He can’t possibly know that.
“What’s wrong?”Matthias gently asks, the back of his finger trailing down the side of my cheek. “What’s got you all quiet and tense?”
I shake my head, pulling away from his hand. I don’t need him touching me and changing my mind. His touch is light and caring, but I know he isn’t a good man.
Will I ever be able to get over that?
Yes.
I already am, but do I want to? I don’t know. I shouldn’t want to get over all the red flags he is giving. I should be running for the hills, begging people to help me.
“No, that’s now how this works,” Matthias tells me. “You are going to talk to me. You are going to tell me. No secrets between us.”
I look at him like he’s crazy. “No secrets between us? You haven’t been forthcoming with a lot of things.”
“But everything I’ve told you is the truth. You don’t need to know anything else right now. All you need to know is to wear the bracelet when you are out, so you are protected when I’m not with you. I need you to do that for me so I don’t worry about you all the time.” Matthias cups the side of my face. “Do you think you can do that?”
I open and close my mouth several times. It’s a small thing for me to do and doesn’t cost me anything extra.
“It’s not an ownership thing?” I ask. “Like me wearing it shows the other men not to come near me?”
I don’t know if that is a thing, but if it is, I’m not wearing it. Matthias isn’t the man for me, and I’m not going to wait around for him to change; he won’t, and I shouldn’t want to be with him.
“First, you are not getting with any other men, so you should not be concerning yourself with them.” His voice drops an octave. “Second, no, it’s not something to scare off other men. It’s protection in case something happens to you. They will see the bracelet and know not to touch you, or they will have to deal with the Montgomery Syndicate.”
My whole body stills as he says those words. No. He can’t possibly be part of that group.
“Adalisa?” he asks.
“What did you just say?” I whisper.
“If something happens like a robbery?—”
“After that,” I interrupt him.
His fingers grip my chin, keeping my head in place as we make eye contact. “Do not… do not interrupt me or there will be consequences. Do you understand me?”
I don’t say anything, not caring about anything but what he just said.
“Do you understand me, Adalisa?” he asks again.
“Yes,” I reply, not knowing what I’m actually agreeing to.
Matthias searches my face for several seconds before he lets me go.