Page 81 of Protecting Love

“Awww, there you go being kind of sweet.”

“I’m not sure too many have said I’m sweet.”

“Then I’m going on record I am.”

“Documented. But no, I didn’t notice anything off. There were a lot of eyes on your table and almost all of them landed on Jamie.”

“It’s always like that,” she said.

“Leaving early, that helped. It let me see if anyone followed you out or noticed when we left.”

“No one did, right? Jeez, we stood out in the deli. I would have noticed someone else coming in dressed like us.”

“I saw no signs of anyone watching you last night. Nothing.”

“You’d know all the tells too, right?”

“I know enough.”

She was pretty sure he was being modest, but he wouldn’t have gotten his job if he hadn’t.

“So what are these rules?”

“Everything stays the same. No public transportation for you.”

“I rarely use it.”

“If you’re going to work with London, call for Marcus or take an Uber. Not shared, just the two of you. If you’re alone, you only get Marcus.”

“Why Marcus and not Colin?”

“Because Marcus is a retired NYPD. He knows what is going on. He’s your driver, and if he’s not around, you call me.”

“That’s a little excessive, don’t you think? For a dead rat and a note and nothing else. I don’t even know what it is I’m supposed to stop looking for. That’s ridiculous. Maybe someone made a mistake.”

“People don’t make mistakes like that,” he said.

Not what she wanted to hear.

Not that she believed it either, but it was worth a shot.

“So the gist is that if I leave my apartment, Marcus or you have to drive me, unless London is with me. What if I just want to run to get food around the corner? Or go to the bodega? Does Marcus or you have to hold my hand?”

“Have it delivered,” he said. “Or you call us.”

“This is going too far,” she argued. “How long is this going to go on?”

“A few more weeks. If there isn’t anything else, we can cut back. I’m still looking into things.”

“Okay, then tell me, we do all of that. We follow your rules. What about you and me? Where does that fall into place?”

“Protecting you comes first.” His voice was firm. Strong. Reassuring.

Then her eyes went to the gun in its holster on the island. The one he’d had on his ankle.

“And that part aside? Is no one supposed to know what we did in my bedroom not that long ago?”

“It’d be for the best.”