ANTONIO

I regret not pulling the trigger myself. Lauren looked so far away when we entered the cabin, like a lost soul waiting for death. She barely blinked and spoke in a voice so unlike her own. My heart ached the moment I laid eyes on her. I thought I was prepared for anything, but seeing her like that…so lifeless…had knocked the wind clear out of me.

Standing in the doorway, I watch her carefully as she sleeps. Her long brown hair is messy and wet, crowning her face as she lies in the middle of the bed. She ate on the plane and wanted nothing more than a hot bath once we returned to her place. My team had done a great job in the cleaning of her apartment and had been able to replace almost everything that had been damaged.

My phone vibrates in my hand, and I glance down. Maverick’s men in Canada gave the all clear. I didn’t want any details. As long as there would be no trace of Trent’s death leading back to Lauren and me, I didn’t care what they did with him.

“Antonio.” Lauren’s soft voice carries through the room, washing over me.

I push the phone back into my pocket and make my way to her. “You’re safe.” I’ve repeated those words to her a hundred times since I carried her out of the cabin. I’ll keep saying them until she believes them too.

“What are you doing?” She winces through a stretch, looking entirely too small and fragile in the large king-size bed.

Sliding in next to her, I pull her against my side, resting my head above hers. My fingers tangle in her hair as I stroke the delicate skin on her neck where it meets her hairline. “Just checking on you. You really should rest.”

“How bad is it?”

I gaze down at her. “How bad is what?”

She pulls away and pushes herself upright as my hands fall from her body. “The damage to my company.”

“There’s none, Lauren.”

Her stare hardens. “None?”

I shake my head and sit next to her. “I made sure everything remained quiet.”

“Someone had to ask questions.”

“Cassie handled it.”

“How?”

“I’ll place a few calls, and tomorrow we’ll pick up the pieces. But tonight, I want you to rest. You’re safe and alive, and that’s all that matters.”

Work is the least important thing at the moment. I don’t care if Interstellar or Cozza crashes and burns as long as she’s okay. So many horrible things could’ve happened, and it could’ve been her dead on the floor of that cabin instead of Trent. I know how precious and short life is, and I will never waste another opportunity to seize the day.

“You know how important work is to me.”

“I’ll get an update about what happened today to ease your mind, but everything else can wait until tomorrow. Yes?”

She twists her lips but nods anyway, mimicking my movements. I’ll settle for nothing less. After the last twenty-four hours being the most hellish I’d ever experienced, the last thing I want to do is worry about something that is being handled by our employees.

“There’s a doctor coming over to check you out.” Her eyes widen, and she’s about to protest when I cover her lips with my finger. “Humor me, will you?” Right on time, there’s a knock on the door. “Just be nice to the man, and he’ll be done quickly.”

She rolls her eyes before easing back against the headboard with her arms folded. “Show him in.”

I leave her room, but not before looking back over my shoulder and taking another look. I haven’t been able to stop staring at her, needing to remind myself that she’s real. I show the doctor to her room, closing the door and leaving them alone before placing a call to Carlino for an update.

“We missed you today,” he says, twisting the dagger he’d like to stick in my back a little more. “It was a very eventful day.”

“Just give me the details. I’m not in the mood for your games,” I bite out as I pace through the kitchen and far enough away from her bedroom so she won’t overhear.

“Josh will be presenting the terms to the board and shareholders tomorrow. He called an emergency meeting. It looks like Interstellar has finally seen the light.”

“Don’t fuck this up, Carlino. I’ll be at the Interstellar board meeting.”

“I can do it,” he says, but with him, there’s always a reason he offers to do anything. He’s not a selfless man. He doesn’t know it, but his time at Cozza is done, and he won’t be continuing with the newly formed company.

“I’ll. Be. There,” I say again and hang up before he can say another word.

LAUREN

Antonio strides back into the room after showing the doctor out. I’m thankful I don’t have to be alone tonight. Normally, I like my time to myself, but I can’t fathom another second without Antonio by my side. I want to go back to those days at the beach. There was so much serenity as we stared up at the stars. Although things seemed so complicated then, I’d give anything to go back.

“Everything go okay?” Antonio asks as he climbs into the bed next to me.

I turn on my side, resting my head against his chest and listen to the steady beat of his heart underneath me. “He said I’m fine and that I can return to work tomorrow.”

“Take one day off, Lauren. I beg you.”

I slide my hand up his chest, resting it on his cheek as I stare down the length of him. “I need to get back to normal, Antonio. I can’t lie here all day tomorrow and think about what happened.”

The last thing I need is downtime. Lying in this bed, staring at the ceiling, will just cause the memories of the cabin to come rushing back, slamming into me again. I want to forget. I want to push it as far out of my memory as possible.

“Just one day is all I ask. Cassie can keep you updated, and you can take calls from bed. But don’t rush back into the office.”

“Why?” I twirl my finger in the back of his hair just behind his ear.

“I’d hate for you to break down in front of people. Give your mind a day to rest before you walk back into the lion’s den.”

I hate to admit that he’s right. I can’t afford to have a mental breakdown in front of my coworkers or the board of directors. If Cassie covered my tracks, explaining why I turned into a crying mess will have people asking more questions than I can afford to answer.

“Fine,” I say, curling into his body and covering his legs with mine. I’m holding on to him tightly, cradling him like he’s a security blanket. “I’ll do it for you.”

“For us,” he corrects as he runs his warm palm down my back in long, languid strokes.

I still can’t fathom an “us” in the future. We’re competitors by nature and circumstance. After leaving the island, I let myself believe for a moment that it was possible, but it’s just a whimsical fantasy I let myself buy into.

“Stay with me tonight?” I whisper into his chest.

He flattens his palm against my back, pulling me closer as he settles into the mattress. “Close your eyes, mi amore.”

I let my eyes close, content in his arms, surrounded by his warmth and strength. The sound of his heart and the softness of his fingertips skating across my skin lulls me into a sleep like I haven’t experienced in years.

* * *

When I open my eyes and roll over, I blink a few times and stare at the clock. I blink again, figuring I’m still dreaming. Ten. I bolt straight up, and my arms begin to throb. For a moment, I think I’m late to work, until the events of the last few days slam straight into me.

Trent.

The cabin.

Blood.

I can barely control my breathing as the visuals flash through my mind, and every emotion I’ve felt since he choked me hits me all at once. I cradle my face in my hands and let myself feel everything. The fear. The sadness. The shock. The joy.

I will not allow myself to wallow in self-pity. I’ve never been a victim, and I don’t plan on starting now. I let myself cry as I sit here alone for these few minutes. That’s all I have in me to give to a man like Trent and what he put me through. It’s in the past and completely behind me. I refuse to dwell on what happened for too long because I’m unwilling to lose who I am at my core.

I’m Lauren Bradley. First female CEO of one of the biggest aerospace companies in the world. I’m a force unto myself, and no man, not even Antonio Forte, can stop me from achieving my goal.

Repeating the words like a mantra, I sit up a little straighter and wipe away the tears. In the quietness of the room, I hear Antonio’s voice, distant and muffled.

Pushing myself up, I pad across the carpet, trying to hear his conversation, but the door garbles the sound too much. Slowly, I turn the handle and try to avoid making a sound before I tiptoe down the hallway toward his voice.

“Is it done?” he asks a man on the phone.

He’s pacing the kitchen in his polished black suit and red tie. He looks so handsome as he rakes his hand through his hair, stopping in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows and looking out across the city.

“We’ll call a press conference soon enough. Just sit tight. I’m about to head into the office,” Antonio states with his back to me.

I plaster my body against the wall and grip the cold surface for support. I feel like someone has sucker-punched me right in the stomach.

How could Antonio move forward without me? If he truly wanted something more with me, why would he lie straight to my face?

It’s not the first time he’s lied.

He still hasn’t told me who the mole was that sold us out to Cozza in the first place, even though he signed the contract which clearly stated he would reveal the name after our weekend had concluded.

I walk toward the bedroom, my legs shaking as I use the walls for support. Once inside, I close the door before crawling back into bed and covering my face with the blanket.

All the men in my life are turning out to be two-faced. They’re liars and psychopaths, and I fell for both of them.

“Lauren,” Antonio calls out as he gently knocks on the door.

I close my eyes, unwilling to look at him. I do what I did in the dark room at Trent’s cabin, I pretend to be asleep. The door opens, and for a minute, I hold my breath, waiting for him to walk closer.

Go away.

I’m sick of being let down by the men in my life. The only male I could ever depend on was my father, and he’s no longer here to hold my hand and guide me.

When the door closes and Antonio’s footsteps grow quieter as he walks down the hallway, I finally allow myself to take a deep breath and sprawl out across the bed.

“Fuck him,” I whisper.

How dare he do this to me?

I kick the blankets off in a fury, ready to face the world.