Page 23 of Control
The waitress brings our drinks, and thankfully, the conversation shifts to safer topics. We talk about books Adeline is reading, a new coffee shop she wants to try, and the ridiculous amount of snow predicted for next week. For a moment, I let myself sink into normalcy and pretend I’m just another twenty-something having coffee with her best friend.
However, I can’t help but still think about him.
As we’re finishing up, Adeline checks her phone. “Oh! Before I forget, there’s this art exhibit downtown that I think you’d love. It’s some local artist with a focus on family and grief. Thought it might inspire you.”
My chest tightens. Family and grief. How fitting.
“I’ll check it out,” I say, my voice carefully neutral.
“Good. And don’t make excuses this time. You need to get out more, Dani. Life’s too short to stay stuck.”
Life’s too short. If only she knew how true that was.
When we leave the café, the cold air bites harder than before, seeping through my coat. Adeline gives me a quick hug before heading to her car and waving as she drives off. I watch until her taillights disappear, the knot in my chest tightening.
I turn to head home, but a prickling sensation stops me. It’s the kind that tells me I’m being watched. I glance over my shoulder. There’s nothing but the usual bustle of city life. People, cars, flickering neon signs.
Still, the feeling doesn’t fade.
I start walking faster, my heartbeat picking up. A shadow flickers in the corner of my eye, and I whip around. A man stands across the street, his stare fixed on me. He’s tall, dressed in a dark coat, and his hands are shoved into his pockets.
One of Remo’s men?
I don’t wait around to find out.
I dart down the sidewalk, weaving through clusters of people. My boots slap against the pavement, the cold seeping through the thin leather. The man across the street doesn’t follow, but the knot of unease in my chest tightens.
Every step I take feels like it echoes louder than it should, and every glance over my shoulder brings no reassurance. The man doesn’t follow, but his stillness across the street unnerves me more than if he had.
Gripping my phone tightly, I duck into a nearby alley. The city’s noise fades here, replaced by the faint hum of a neon sign and the occasional clink of glass bottles. I consider calling Adeline, but what could I even say?
Hey, I think someone’s watching me. And it probably has something to do with the brooding, sinfully hot man I live with now. Oh, did I mention I’m his prisoner? And a few days ago, I came on his fingers while we watched a couple fuck in a basement below a club where he murdered a man in cold blood. You know, just your usual mafia drama.
Before I can decide, a familiar voice cuts through the silence. “Relax, Dans. If anyone were trying to snatch you, they’d be a lot less obvious about it.”
I spin around to find Livia leaning against the brick wall with her arms crossed. She’s almost swallowed by her leather jacket, but her sharp green eyes practically glow under the neon light. A smirk tugs at her lips as she steps forward.
“You scared me,” I snap, trying to slow my racing heart. “What are you even doing here?”
“Babysitting, apparently.” She pulls her phone from her pocket and waves it like a badge. “Remo sent me. Said you might get ‘distracted.’”
I grit my teeth. “Distracted? I was just grabbing coffee with a friend, not plotting my great escape.”
Her smirk widens. “Sure, and I’m not secretly working on hacking the Vatican’s security system for fun.”
I can’t tell if she’s joking, but I let it slide. “Did he send you because of that guy across the street?”
Livia glances toward the alley entrance and shrugs. “What guy?”
I turn to see that no one is there. What? He was just standing there.
I cross my arms, trying to push the unease back down my throat. It’s not like I’ve never been watched before—hell, it’s practically my life at this point—but something about the way that guy stood there, so still and quiet, doesn’t sit right with me.
Livia doesn’t seem worried, but she looks over at me for a second, thoughtful.
“You okay?” she asks, a little softer now.
I shake my head, letting out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding. “I’m fine.”
