“It’s mine,” Marcus growled, covering the distance between them in only a few strides. The little prick turned and stiffened. He took one look up at Marcus and showed he had an ounce of brains in his head by taking off without a word.
Marcus sat down across from Cora. A deep sense of relief and rightness washed through him at being so near her again.
“What are you doing here?” she hissed. Her flashing eyes had him smiling. He loved it when she was feisty.
“We need to talk.” Marcus gave a gesture with his hand. Behind him in the coffee shop, his Shades moved, escorting customers out and even going behind the counter to send the green-aproned baristas into their own storeroom.
“What the—” Cora watched his men clear the coffee shop and then snapped her gaze back to Marcus “I told you I’d call.”
“This isn’t a social call.” His tone went grim as he remembered the not so subtle message that had been left in his bed. No one had been found in the apartment but his men also hadn’t discovered how anyone had been able to break in in the first place. The lock hadn’t been jimmied and nothing was broken. If they were able to get in like that, why not wait and try to assassinate him? Too many questions without answers. He didn’t like it.
“It’s business, not pleasure.” He tossed a black phone onto her bag. “When you do call me, make sure you use this.”
Cora stared at the burner phone. “Is this really necessary?”
“I’m receiving death threats. Not the usual ones I get, either. These messages are…targeted. Serious. The kind that let me know the people sending them are knowledgeable enough to carry them out.”
Her eyes went wide. “Death threats?”
“I’m handling it. But you need to be aware.” He nodded towards the phone. “And take precautions.”
She stared at him for a moment. Her eyes dropped in the most beautiful submission as she reached for the phone. Marcus couldn’t deny the triumph roaring through his chest.
“I got it,” she murmured as she slid the burner into her purse. “If I call you, I’ll use this.”
“When,” he corrected. If she thought she could retreat now, she was out of her mind. Not after giving that little taste reminding him of how delicious it was when she submitted.
“What?”
“When you call me.”
She glared at him and he couldn’t help his smile. “After this display I may not want to call you.”
He genuinely had no idea what she was talking about. “What display?”
“This.” She waved her hand around.
“Neutral ground.” He shrugged. “I chose a place where you’d feel comfortable.”
“Normally people come in and order drinks. But you come in and get your ninjas or whatever to scare off the barista and block the door with your bodyguards to keep out all the customers.”
Marcus just looked at her. She threw up her hands, her voice rising. “You did a hostile takeover of this coffee shop.”
“You understand I’m here on your turf for your sake. But I also need to feel comfortable. My enemies won’t hesitate to target me.”
“I got that when we got shot up at the restaurant where we were having dinner.”
“We’re not speaking of that here.” Marcus’s jaw went stiff. If he thought of that day, he’d need to break something.
“I thought you were here to speak to me. This is me talking.” She threw open her arms. “I’d hate for you to clear out a coffee shop for nothing.”
He bit back a smile. Gods, she was spectacular. She’d grown so much from the naïve ingénue he’d first met. Now she was a firecracker. Bold. Explosive.
He wanted to toss her laptop to the floor and lay her out over the table right here. One thing that had never changed, and Marcus hoped never would, was the fact that her every emotion played out on her face.
And like always, he felt his desire reciprocated in the crackling electricity between them. She wanted him as much as he wanted her. So why was she denying it?
He leaned in. “I have to disappear for a while.” He registered the surprise on her face but kept going. “Come with me. A week of lying low. We’d be able to talk, see if we can work things out.”
Emotions darted one after the other across her face and she sputtered, “What? You can’t just…you’re asking me to…”
“I have no reason to believe you’re in danger. That’s why you have a choice. But I would like us to talk. Cora, I want you back. I want us to be together.”
“Marcus,” she began, and sighed. “I’ve started a life. I know it sounds stupid. It’s only been two months, but…”
She bit her lip in the way that drove him crazy. And she kept talking instead of shutting him out, which was progress. “I’ve started a business and I think it’ll work. Perceptions is more than a model placement service. I want to be an advocate for these young women. I know what this industry can do to them.”
“You know predators exist.”
She nodded and leaned forward. “I help get these women legitimate jobs. Maybe not the most glamorous or highest paying jobs, yet,” she admitted. “But it’s starting to come together. Young women come to make it in the big city and get sucked down and destroyed. Perceptions could be a life line.”
Of course she would make something like this her life’s work. And this was only the beginning, he had no doubt. Her heart had no bounds.
“And now I’ve got clients lining up,” she continued excitedly. “Armand already gave one of the guests my number; he said the man was so impressed with what I’d done and Armand told him about my business.”
“I’m proud of you.”
Her breath caught. She flushed, and looked away.
“Which guest?”
She paused and for a moment he thought she wouldn’t tell him but she arched an eyebrow. “The big man in the white suit. Philip Waters.”
What?
“Philip Waters is asking about you?” Marcus didn’t try to hide his fury. That bastard knew the Code. Families were left out of business.
“Um, yeah,” Cora said, sounding less sure of herself. “He met me at the party and got my number from Armand. He called me for a consultation—”
Marcus picked her phone up off the table and started scrolling. He saw Waters’ number and that he’d left a voicemail. Feeling even more pissed than when he’d found the dog’s heads in his bed, he pressed the button to listen to the message.
“Hey!” Cora cried as he raised the phone to his ear. Frowning, he listened to Waters’ putting on a friendly voice as he asked for a consultation, as Cora said. Marcus swore.
“What are you doing?” she asked as he pressed more buttons. She made a move to reach for it and he halted her with a gesture.
“Blocked him.” Marcus tossed the phone onto her bag. “If he tries to call again or finds another way, use the burner and contact the emergency number. It comes straight to me or Sharo. You remember the emergency number?”
Cora was still staring open mouthed at her phone. “I can’t believe you did that. You blocked my first real client.”