Sleep did not come easy that night. I laid awake with so many questions. How did I sleep with a girl and not even learn her last name?

At the time, it was kind of sexy. She was a complete stranger and I could use her incredible body to get off a few times and then get on with my life. If I could have gone back in time and asked her a few more questions about herself, I absolutely would have. I made a mental note to vet all future sexual partners, just in case they happened to be connected to any enemies of mine.

I knew that Giorgio could stick me with a difficult task, but I didn’t know it would be an impossible one.

The thing that frightened me the most, is that I didn’t know who I could trust. Giorgio had hundreds of employees out there, and the second one found out what I was up to, I’d be dead.

For Giorgio to know that Sierra hooked up with some guy that seemed rough around the edges was worrisome to me. I was almost positive that he was talking about me. Unless Sierra was a master manipulator, I didn’t feel like she was the type to hook up with strangers. Also, I know that I don’t fit the picture of the perfect boy to take home to Mom and Dad. I have way too many tattoos, dress too casually, and I don’t put off the vibe that I’m a friendly person. I’m not a complete asshole, but I don’t try very hard to keep a good reputation.

If Giorgio knows about me, that means that there was someone in Vegas that saw us together. It could be anyone, though. It could have been the tattoo artist, a bartender, or even one of her friends. I couldn’t be too careful. I needed to follow Sierra around town in order to fulfill my work duties, but I couldn’t let anyone see me with her. Giorgio had spies everywhere.

While I was riding with Sierra in her car, I managed to sneak a copy of her work schedule out of her car. Now, I could account for her whereabouts for at least half the day. I got the feeling she was a homebody, so the other half, she would likely spend at home.

An hour before her shift started, I borrowed a car from one of Giorgio’s men and parked it half a block away from her apartment. Sure enough, she left especially early for work, so I followed her the short distance to the hospital. Once there, I parked as far away from the entrance as I could, and I watched.

Then came the worst part of surveillance—the waiting. Because I was the person who was meant to be dangerous, I didn’t feel like she really needed me to be there. But, in the event that something went wrong, I didn’t want Giorgio to find out that I went to the tattoo parlor during my job.

Fortunately, the hospital had their own gym, so I signed up for a membership using a fake name and killed a few hours lifting weights. That way, if Giorgio found out, I could tell him that I was closer to her there than I would be in my car.

I could only work out for so long before my muscles ached, so once I was finished, I trudged back to my car and waited.

I woke from an unintentional nap around six, right when her shift was supposed to end. I scanned the parking lot, but her car was gone.

Now I was panicking. If I lost Sierra and something happened to her, I would be in such deep shit. She knew that whether she liked it or not, I was supposed to follow her. She could have at least given me a head’s up that she was going home.

Hoping that she went straight home, I drove in that direction, silently pleading for her to be there. When I pulled up to her apartment, I saw her car in the lot, but I didn’t know if anyone else was in there with her. It would be a huge gamble to knock on the door to find out, but I needed to talk to her.

I tentatively tapped on the door, ready to bolt if I saw anyone else. I waited, my pounding heart shaking my entire body.

“What do you want?” she sighed.

“Is there anyone else here?” I whispered.

“No, the others have the night shift tonight. I’m here alone.”

I breathed a sigh of relief. “I need to talk to you. Can I come in?”

“Is this really necessary? I can tell my dad that you never leave my sight all day if that will make you happy. Is that what you want?”

I frowned. “That’s not what I want. If you’d let me come inside for a few minutes, we can figure something out that will work for the both of us. I don’t want to bother you, and I get the feeling you don’t want to ruin my life either.”

She scowled and pulled the door open a little wider. I took this as an invitation to enter and followed her down the hallway into the living room.

Her apartment was almost as nice as my New York apartment. It made sense, though if one roommate was a D’Angelo and another was being paid by one. Otherwise, I doubted that anyone their age could afford something that spacious.

“What do you want to say?” Sierra asked, crossing her arms.

I sat down on her couch. I didn’t want her to think that I would just say my piece and then leave. I needed her to understand where I was coming from.

“Look, I don’t know if you realize this, but you might not be as safe as you think you are.”

“How so? I’ve heard the whole bit about my dad having dangerous enemies before.”

“It’s true. I’ve met people who really want to do harm to him. This goes beyond spying on you. It probably wouldn’t hurt to have a little extra protection.”

“And you’re going to do that?”

“There’s something you don’t know,” I said, wringing my hands.

She raised an eyebrow, finally interested in what I had to say.

“While I really do think it’s a good idea to have a little extra protection, your dad didn’t hire me to keep you safe from his enemies.”

“No? Then whom does he want you to keep me safe from?”

I took a deep breath. There was no going back once I told her my secret. She could either help me or rat me out—I wasn’t quite sure which way she would go.

“Sierra, your dad wants you to be protected from me.”