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I know you have her, and I want her back.
32
Daphne
My palms were sweaty. My heart was no longer beating in a steady thrum but at a rapid, galloping pace. Why the hell had I agreed to this?
You agreed because you’re trying to claim back some of your life. Not in a safe structured way, but in a way that actually makes a difference.
"Would you relax? Everything is going to be fine. Remember, everyone thinks that we've been at an event in Barcelona for a week."
"I still don't like it."
"Do you have any other ideas? We've been over the data that I collected the other night. Right now Tanashi looks like our culprit. So I need into that account. I just want to have a look around. We're not going to touch anything. I'm just making a copy, and taking a peek at the data. I didn’t want you out in public, especially not since Massimo knows I have you. It’s too risky, but I had no choice."
We walked into the Baines Data offices like we had every right to be there. All of this felt like somebody else's life. Suddenly, I didn't feel like me anymore. The job I had loved as of last week, the importance of it, the need for adventure… That woman just felt a million miles away.
Michael Knighting, our night security guard, lifted his head and grinned when he saw me. "Miss Winslow. Welcome back. Hello, Mr. Foster."
"Hi, Michael. I'm back a little early. I need to access some files though."
"Yeah, go on up. Nice to see your beautiful smile.”
"Flatterer."
Drake scowled as we marched off. "You don't have to be so friendly."
I slid him a glance as we reached the lift. “If I'm not friendly, he'll notice. And I assume we don't want to standout for any reason."
"Yes, you are correct," he muttered.
"Then fair enough. I'm being nice."
Drake scowled. "There's being nice, and then there's being too friendly."
“Are you honestly jealous of our security guard?”
In the lift, he gave me what looked to be a grimace. "You know what? Never mind. I'm just saying, you never smile at me like that.”
I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing. “To be fair, Michael has never kidnapped me.”
“You're still on that, I see,” he groused.
I laughed and bumped him with my hip. I was surprised when he pulled me closer, locking my body against his as he asked, "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, actually I feel fine. Just odd. My whole life went topsy-turvy ten days ago. Feels like a different me coming back."
“I know. And I walked into your life like a bloody tornado. I swear, I'll put it back the way I found it when I'm done.”
How could I tell him that there was no putting it back. And not necessarily in a bad way. I’d just changed so much. I couldn't become that Daphne again. Somewhere between hiding in my room from Massimo, getting kidnapped by Drake, and starting to fall for him, I had become a completely different person. I couldn't just slap myself back into my old life.
"Now at least I’m being proactive. Before it was this scary thing of: this might just be my life and there’s no stopping Massimo’s obsession with me. But this isn't about me. Or maybe not just me. This is about what he can get from me. So let’s stop him from getting it or at least make him think that I don't have what he needs, and maybe he'll stop pursuing me."
I wished I could believe that. The problem was that Massimo didn't seem like the kind of man who left loose ends. I was worried I would be the ultimate loose end, but I needed to believe Drake wouldn’t let him hurt me.
You have a lot of faith in a man you don’t know.
The scary part was, I felt like I did know him.
