These past ten days have been utter hell. I always thought that when I found the woman that I knew would be mine, it would be easy. I would scoop her up and take her home. I’d waited for her for years. Fucking years. I’d even had a home built and finished it a little over a year ago. I wanted to be ready. I thought after the first sight, she would fall into my arms and that would be that.

I didn’t know how wrong I would be.

I’ve been chasing my doll all over the place. Okay, maybe not exactly like that. She doesn’t seem to go anywhere. She stays around the hotel that’s close to the hospital, something I think she did on purpose. It kills me that this is how she lives. That she doesn’t have a place to call home.

I followed her regularly. Even had a hotel room next to hers. I couldn’t help myself. I hated the idea of not being close to her. The first time I watched her walk into the hospital, I panicked, thinking something was wrong with her and I couldn’t follow her in. When she’d gotten on the elevator, she’d gone to the maternity floor and that one is kept on lockdown.

The thought of her being pregnant tore through me, but I didn’t give a fuck. She was going to be mine either way. A small part of me hoped it just had to do with her job, but I knew she didn’t work in a hospital, so I was pretty sure she was pregnant. I hadn’t found any trace of a man around her when I went digging, but who knew. Maybe she had an untraceable one-night stand, but she didn’t seem the type. I pulled some strings and found out what was going on.

Whenever she had free time, she volunteered at the neonatal intensive care unit. She was what they called a “cuddler.” She cuddled babies whose parents couldn’t come during the day or ones who had left them there due to drug addictions.

Could she be any fucking sweeter? No wonder she was running from me. I may wear a suit every day, but there is no denying the deadly air that hangs around men like me. She’s a saver, and I’d killed someone not even a few weeks ago.

I stroke her soft skin, enjoying my first touch of her. She’s even softer than I thought she would be. I didn’t even know something could feel so soft and delicate. I should look down and see if my rough hands are hurting her skin. But those fucking eyes have me transfixed. I swear they could hold my stare for hours and I’d never look away. The world could fall down around us and I wouldn’t notice.

She pulls on her hand when I tell her she isn’t going to be staying alone. Her eyebrows furrow together in confusion. While I’ll take any look she gives me, I’d do anything to see those dimples while she laughs for me.

“It’s probably a good idea anyway, Emma. We should have someone in that wing of the house with you. This place is really big,” Thea says.

I smile down at Emma, thinking I’m going to have to give Thea a big hug later if Sal will let me.

“Let’s talk, Gio,” Sal says.

I nod, then bring Emma’s hand up to my mouth. I place a kiss there, breathing in her warm vanilla scent. She gasps as I pull back and lick my lips, wanting to see if I can taste her. My gut tightens knowing I’m going to have to step away from her. I finally have her in front of me and I have to walk away. This is going to kill me.

“I’ll see you later, Dollface,” I say before finally letting her go.

It takes everything in me to do it after finally getting my hands on her. She doesn’t say anything, but that blush of hers lights up her freckles, reminding me of how many times I’ve wondered how far the blush goes on her body. How many other freckles does she have for me to find? What will she do when I kiss, lick and suck every one of them?

I leave her because I know she can’t get out of this place without my knowledge. When we enter Sal’s office, he walks over to his bar and pours me a glass of bourbon, then one for himself. I shoot it back, which is something I shouldn’t do. Bourbon like this is to be savored, but I need to take the edge off. Sal lets out a bark of a laugh as I set the glass down on the bar. Instead of sitting behind his desk, he takes one of the chairs in front of it, turning it toward me. I do the same next to him.

“I like her,” Sal finally says. I glance over at him. “She didn’t want to be here, but when my angel started to break down about being a mom, she jumped all in to help. Emma could have said it was too soon for her to come, but she stayed to soothe Thea. I appreciated that.”

I smile, not surprised by this. If there’s something I know about Emma, it’s that she’s sweet to the core. It’s one of the things I love most about her. It also scares the fuck out of me because I’m not sure she could ever accept my lifestyle.

“I don’t know if she can live this life,” I say, taking a deep breath and leaning back in my chair.

Sal nods. “I was thinking the same thing. But look at Thea.” He reminds me, giving me a trace of hope. “It’s not like we hurt innocent people. The people we have hurt had it coming. We’ve kept more people safe because of what we’ve done.”

I know he’s right, but still. We take the law into our own hands.

“I wouldn’t stand in your way,” Sal says as his eyes meet mine. “If you left to be with her. To start new.” He shrugs, letting the sentence hang.

I shake my head, hoping it doesn’t come to that. “I don’t want to leave you. You need me here. Our trust in each other is hard to find in this world. You could get hurt.” I don’t think he’s going to agree with me. He won’t admit to this weakness, even though I know it to be true. We might trust a lot of the men we hire, but like I said, our trust is unbreakable and never has to be questioned.

“I know,” he agrees, taking me by surprise. “You set up this master plan. So make it work.”

He’s right, I did. And now I have to see it through.

After that first day at the bakery, I followed Emma out into the street, keeping a safe distance so I wouldn’t spook her. She walked five blocks before she entered the hotel. I waited a moment before going to the front desk and asking for the manager, George.

The hotel was in our area and under our protection. George came out and gave me a curious glance, probably because he hadn’t called us. He’d wanted to take me back to his office, but I couldn’t risk it. What if she left during that time and I missed her? I didn’t want her to slip between my fingers.

“Redhead with eyes so blue you can’t miss them.”

He nods, turns to go over to a computer, and begins to type. A moment later I hear the printer go off. He grabs the papers and brings them over to me.

“She’s been here a few days and her room stays open. She mentioned waiting to get called for her next job assignment, which could take weeks, so we keep holding it for her,” he tells me. “She’s quiet. Orders room service about twice a day and leaves maybe once a day.”

The paperwork had all her information on it. I thanked him and called my guy with her name. Twenty minutes later I had everything I needed on Emma Walsh, a name she wouldn’t be keeping long if I had anything to do with it. But what shocked the shit out of me was that she was a live-in infant nurse. I’d heard Thea talking about wanting one. She said she wanted a nurse before the baby came, too, but Sal was only looking for the nurse to come after the baby came. They both liked the idea of having someone medically trained close by while the baby was so little since they lived a good drive from the hospital.

It was like luck was shining down on me. Or maybe it was fate. After checking her out and digging as far into her as I could, I brought my plan to Sal and Thea. Thea was all over it. She’d been dying for me to find someone. Sal was hesitant until he looked over everything I had. I don’t blame the man. This is his son we’re talking about.

It was a crazy plan, but I needed her to stop running from me. It was driving me fucking crazy. She was like a skittish cat and I finally got her cornered.

“I’ll make it work. Or I’ll die trying,” I tell him as I stand up to get my bag from my car. “We’re in connecting rooms?”

“Yeah. I didn’t want you putting a hole in my wall to make your passageway.”

I laugh, but if anyone knows how crazy a woman can make you, it’s Sal.

Let’s just hope I have the same luck as he did.