Page 12 of Big Beefy Kingpin

“Of course,” I say, despite myself. “I’ll escort you to the lobby and have someone drop you at your hotel.”

She shakes her head at my words, her fingers playing restlessly with her bag. “There’s no need for that. I’ll just… find my friends and leave with them,”

Everything in me pushes for me to stop her but I can hardly force her into anything. I have her name and information, letting her leave won’t be the end of us. Even so, I don’t want her to leave while she’s terrified of me.

I step up in front of her, glee filling my chest when she doesn’t back away. I don’t think I could take it if she did.

“Hey,” I whisper, gently grabbing her chin and lifting it so her green eyes are on mine. “Whatever you’ve heard about me, I won’t hurt you.”

“I know,” she mutters under her breath but her voice carries.

“What? Then why…”

“I know you won’t hurt me,” she says, looking away. “But I can’t stay here. If you’re the Don, that only means you’re way closer to that world and–”

Her mouth hangs open and her eyes dart to mine. It is clear that she is worried that she has said too much. She snaps her mouth closed, pushing back from me and stepping away from my touch. I realize for the first time that it’s not me she is afraid of.

Not for the first time, I find myself questioning who this woman is.

“Ivy –”

Her eyes fill with unshed tears and she backs up another step.

“Please, can we go? I need to leave.”

Her voice is panicked now so I press my thumb to the elevator and she’s inside before the doors finish opening. The air in the elevator is heavy and the tension is so thick that I could slice it with a knife.

“I’ll have someone look for your friends.”

“You don’t need to do that, I’ll…. I’ll just text them and meet up with them outside.”

I let out a sigh, lean against the elevator, and watch her. She appears skittish, more so now that I’ve made it clear I know her name; which only makes me curious to know more about her.

I am tempted to have Antonio look into her for me, but part of me wants her to be the one to tell me if something is wrong.

The elevator stops way sooner than I would like and she springs out, hurrying away and I have to take long strides to catch up. I grab her arm as I pull alongside her, but there’s barely any need—she’s already stopped.

I turn her around, blinking in confusion when I find her face sheet white as though she’s seen a ghost. Her body trembles when I place my hand over her shoulder and my brows wrinkle in confusion.

What the hell just happened?

“Hey,” I whisper, shaking her gently, and when her pretty green eyes meet mine, they seem glassy and unfocused. “What’s wrong?”

“I…” her lips open but nothing comes out. I look past her shoulder trying to see if I can identify a threat, but come back empty. There are curious eyes on us, but that would make sense as I am the owner of the building.

“Ivy,” I say, cupping her cheek and waiting until she’s looking at me before speaking. “Whatever it is, I can protect you, okay?”

You can trust me.

It’s too much to ask of her but it’s the truth. I can and will protect her if only she lets me. It’s obvious now that her skittish behavior is because she is running from something or… someone.

“You can trust me,” I coax, willing her to believe me, and she must believe my words because she steps forward, closing the distance between us. She grabs my hand and twines her small fingers through mine, watching me under her lashes to gauge my reaction.

I look down at our hands and I swallow the lump that is threatening to choke me. Giving her a small smile, I gently squeeze her hand in assurance.

“Okay but can you – please, get me out of here,” she whispers, looking up at me trust shining in her eyes. Something tells me that she is not used to relying on others and I make it my mission for her to trust me.

“Sure,” I say, clearing my throat and looking over her shoulder to signal to Antonio that I’m leaving. It’s not wise for me to leave with all of the Irish around, but I have complete trust in my men.

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