As her brother railed about how he didn’t know the specs of said panic room, London bit her lip and started to pace the room, though the space wasn’t all that big for her to move around. Every time she went past me, her arm brushed against mine, and I bit back a groan.
Focus, man. Lock it down.
I did not want this need, this urge to put my hands on her and tell her everything was going to be okay. Besides, I knew better. I knew what happened when someone slipped by my carefully constructed defenses.
And I wasn’t that man anymore. I was a liar. I had lied the last time I told someone everything would be fine and that we’d make it out alive.
I had lied, and she had burned, taking every good part of me with her. I’d relearned those hard lessons. Focused on what I could control. On what was ahead of me. Emotion clouded the mind and ripped out the heart.
I wouldn’t be that man again.
“I need to be able to handle myself, Roman,” London said, and I could practically hear the plea in her voice. Maybe not to her brother but begging for herself.
“I know that, London. But we both knew your freedom of movement was going to be a problem. Especially when it seems that someone wants to hurt you.”
“It just doesn’t make any sense,” she whispered.
“I know, but we’re going to find out who’s behind this. You know Breck and Wilder are already on it.”
She ran her hands through her dark chocolatey hair. “Maybe it’s mistaken identity. That’s possible, right? I’ve done nothing to warrant someone trying to kill me. Fair enough if they wanted to kidnap and ransom me, but kill me? Who in the world hates me that much? It has to be some kind of mistake.”
“I’m going to assume that anyone shooting at my baby sister wants to hurt her. Therefore, if I have to wrap you up in cotton wool and put thirty armed guards around you to protect you, that is what I’m going to do.”
“Roman.” She pinched the bridge of her nose. “Just… Tell Aunt Rebecca and Kate that I’m okay. That they don’t have to worry about me. Lie if you have to, but they don’t need the stress.”
“I can do that, but London? I’ve left you on your tether long enough, and now you’ve pulled too far. I’m going to officially hire Kannon Security to protect you until you can come back home. Listen to him. Do what he says. If you must go to Rian’s, then I want Kannon vetting that house. Stay safe.”
“Roman,” she shouted, turning off the speaker and putting the phone to her ear before running to the bathroom to lock herself in for some semblance of privacy. She whispered so I couldn’t hear her, but I knew she was probably ripping her brother a new one.
There was a knock on the door. I looked through the peephole and opened it a crack after seeing it was Sparrow.
“Olly said we might have a job?” she asked.
“Yes, I think we do.”
“Okay, we’ll get it set up. You need the usual? Fresh clothes, cash, weapons?”
“Yep. I’ll work with her and send you the location of where we’ll be. I need Olly to work his magic and get me schematics of the place before we arrive.”
She searched my gaze, and I wasn’t sure she liked what she saw. “Be careful, boss.”
“Always am,” I said. She just shook her head, and I wanted to curse at her. But I couldn’t.
Because we both knew I lied. I wasn’t always careful. And sometimes it cost people their lives.
I closed and locked the door after she left and turned as London came out of the bathroom.
“I take it you didn’t enjoy the phone call?” I asked, knowing I was an asshole.
She narrowed her gaze. “No, I didn’t. But apparently, I don’t have a choice in the matter. I don’t have a choice in a lot of matters.”
“I’m not going to force you into anything, but I am going to keep you safe.”
“Because my brother said to?” she asked, folding her arms over her chest. I tried not to look at the way the movement made her breasts lift.
Damn it. “Your other choice is to go home.” I spread my hands. “These are your choices. Choose well, princess.”
She puffed out a breath. “If I go back to Alden, things are going to get worse for my country, or at least for our family.”
“Rian is the woman you were on your way to?”
“Yes. She was supposed to be here this week but got delayed for work. But she was still going to let me stay at her place in the city to get away for a while.”
My attention locked on what she said. “Get away from who?”
She shook her head. “I don’t think that what I’m running from at the moment has anything to do with who could be after me. If there is anyone after me.”
This was the thing with wealthy clients. Nothing was ever as it seemed. “Hold up here. Let’s just assume for the moment that someone is after you, because your pretending that you didn’t get shot at is just idiotic.”
“Please don’t do that. I get enough patronizing shit from my family. I’m not pretending anything. I know of no reason anyone would want me dead. So being of sound, rational mind, I don’t jump to the immediate conclusion that I, London, was being shot at. No one has anything to gain by me being dead.” Her jaw was tight, and her voice clipped as she spoke.
“All I know is that as soon as you got into the car, after
