Chapter 2 - The Man Waiting at the Gate“He’s going to look at you,” Leo said again, the words rougher this time. “And I’m supposed to stand here pretending that doesn’t make me want to break something.”
Tessa stared at him.
For one suspended second, neither of them moved.
His hand remained around her waist, warm and firm against the burgundy silk. The possessiveness in the gesture sent an unwanted current through her body, but beneath that current something colder rose.
Anger.
“Then break something that belongs to you.”
Leo’s eyes narrowed.
Tessa planted both palms against his chest and pushed.
He could have stopped her. He was larger, stronger, and accustomed to men twice her size obeying before he finished speaking. Instead, perhaps because of the look on her face, his arm dropped.
Tessa stepped backward.
“But you do not get to break my evening.”
“Tessa—”
“No.”
The single word cracked through the foyer.
The guards near the distant hallway suddenly became fascinated by the walls.
Tessa’s hands shook, but she refused to hide them.
“You had someone investigate Greg. You sat here waiting for me. You told me to take off my dress like I’m something you own.” She swallowed. “I clean your floors, Leo. I wash whiskey out of your carpets and blood off your marble. That does not give you jurisdiction over my life.”
Something passed through his face.
Not rage.
Pain.
It disappeared so quickly she almost imagined it.
“I know you don’t belong to me.”
“Do you?”
“Yes.”
“Then move.”
Leo stared at her.
The grandfather clock ticked behind them.
One second.
Two.
Five.
Finally, he stepped aside.
Tessa’s lungs loosened.
“Thank you.”
She reached for the door.
“Tessa.”
Her fingers stopped on the brass handle.
“I shouldn’t have touched you.”
She looked over her shoulder.
Leo Santoro did not apologize.
Everyone in the estate knew that.
Leo commanded, compensated, threatened, negotiated, occasionally buried problems beneath concrete, according to rumors Tessa had chosen not to examine too closely.
But apologies?
Never.
Yet he stood several feet away now, hands hanging uselessly at his sides.
“I shouldn’t have told you what to wear,” he continued. “And I shouldn’t have made your date my decision.”
“No. You shouldn’t have.”
His jaw tightened.
“But I’m not apologizing for checking him.”
Tessa almost laughed.
“There he is.”
His mouth twitched without humor.
“I have enemies.”
“So do parking officers, apparently.”
“Tessa.”
“I’m leaving.”
“Your Honda has a bad rear tire.”
She froze.
“What?”
“Driver’s side. Slow leak.”
“How do you know?”
“Because Carlo noticed it twenty minutes ago.”
Of course Carlo had.
Apparently even her tires existed within Leo Santoro’s surveillance kingdom.
“I’ll call a rideshare.”
“No.”
She slowly turned.
His face changed as soon as he saw hers.
Leo exhaled.
“I mean—don’t. Not tonight.”
“Try again.”
“I’ll have someone drive you.”
“No guards.”
“A normal car.”
“No one sitting outside the restaurant.”
His silence betrayed him.
Tessa pointed a finger.
“Leo.”
“One driver. He drops you off and leaves.”
“Completely leaves?”
Leo looked as if agreeing physically wounded him.
“Yes.”
“Fine.”
She opened the door.
Rain misted beneath the covered entrance.
Then another vehicle appeared beyond the security gate.
A dark blue Subaru.
Tessa blinked.
Her phone vibrated.
GREG: Surprise. Figured I’d save you the drive.
The estate intercom buzzed almost immediately.
Leo went completely still.
Tessa turned.
“You knew he was coming?”
“No.”
She believed him because Leo’s expression looked remarkably similar to a volcano being ordered to remain polite.
Carlo appeared from the security room.
“Boss.”
“What?”
“There’s a Gregory Davis at the gate. Says he’s picking up Miss Jenkins.”
Leo closed his eyes.
“Let him through.”
Carlo stared.
Leo opened his eyes.
“Did I stutter?”
“No, boss.”
The gate began rolling open.
Tessa almost smiled.
“This is physically painful for you, isn’t it?”
“You have no idea.”
Greg’s Subaru traveled slowly up the long driveway.
When he stopped beneath the portico, Greg climbed out holding a ridiculously small umbrella and wearing a navy jacket over one of his signature beige sweaters.
He looked exactly like what he was.
Normal.
Safe.
He smiled when he saw Tessa.
“Wow.”
Tessa warmed.
“Good wow?”
“Extremely good wow.”
Behind her, Leo’s whiskey glass cracked.
Literally.
Tessa spun.
A thin fracture had formed beneath his grip.
“Seriously?”
Leo placed the glass carefully on a side table.
Greg finally noticed him.
His smile faltered.
“Tessa?”
“This is my employer.”
Leo stepped forward.
“Leo Santoro.”
Greg’s face lost approximately two shades of color.
Apparently even actuaries read newspapers.
“Greg Davis.”
They shook hands.
Leo stared at their joined hands.
Greg withdrew first.
“You run, uh... several businesses.”
“A few.”
“Nightclubs?”
“Among other things.”
Tessa intervened.
“We’re going to be late.”
“Yes.” Greg opened the passenger door for her. “Reservation’s at eight-thirty.”
Tessa walked toward him.
Leo spoke.
“Davis.”
Greg stopped.
Tessa slowly turned.
Leo’s expression was perfectly neutral.
“If she says she wants to come home, you bring her home.”
Greg blinked.
“I would anyway.”
“If she calls you uncomfortable, you stop.”
“Leo.”
His eyes went to Tessa.
“And if she wants dessert,” he added darkly, “she likes tiramisu, not cannoli.”
Silence.
Tessa’s mouth dropped open.
Greg looked confused.
“How do you know what dessert I like?”
Leo stared back.
“You order it every year on your birthday.”
Tessa remembered the restaurant receipts sometimes left in the kitchen.
He had noticed.
Of course he had.
That somehow disturbed her more than the background check.
She climbed into Greg’s car before she could answer.
As the Subaru pulled away, she refused to turn around.
She made it halfway down the driveway.
Then she looked.
Leo stood beneath the portico.
Alone.
Rain blew around him.
And even from that distance, Tessa could feel him watching until the security gates closed between them.
Greg waited several minutes before speaking.
“So.”
Tessa groaned.
“Please don’t.”
“Your employer is Leo Santoro.”
“Yes.”
“The Leo Santoro.”
“Unfortunately, there is only one.”
Greg laughed nervously.
“He looked at me like he was deciding where to hide my body.”
“He looks at the mailman that way.”
“That doesn’t make me feel better.”
Tessa smiled despite herself.
This was what she had wanted.
Normal conversation.
A normal man.
A normal car where the glove compartment probably contained insurance documents rather than ammunition.
By 8:42, they were seated inside Bellini’s, a cozy Italian restaurant with red leather booths and warm pendant lights.
Greg ordered wine.
They talked about Buster.
They talked about old movies.
Greg described a disastrous office retreat involving three accountants, a canoe, and an extremely territorial goose.
Tessa laughed.
Really laughed.
For nearly forty minutes, she forgot Leo.
Then Greg reached across the table and touched her hand.
The reaction inside her was immediate.
Nothing.
Not discomfort.
Not excitement.
Just pleasant warmth.
Safe.
She hated herself for comparing it to the electricity she felt whenever Leo entered a room.
Greg smiled.
“I’m glad you came.”
“So am I.”
“You seemed nervous when I asked you out.”
“I haven’t dated in a while.”
“How long?”
“Long enough.”
Greg nodded.
“No pressure.”
That was exactly the right thing to say.
Tessa smiled.
Then the restaurant window exploded.
Glass flew inward.
Someone screamed.
Greg ducked.
Tessa did not understand what had happened until a black sedan accelerated past the shattered window.
A second crack sounded outside.
Gunfire.
The restaurant erupted.
Tessa dropped beneath the table.
Greg covered his head.
People screamed and crawled between chairs.
Her phone was already in her hand.
She did not think.
She pressed Leo’s number.
He answered before the first ring completed.
“Tessa.”
His voice was sharp.
She heard engines roaring behind him.
“Leo.”
That was all she managed.
His entire tone changed.
“Where are you?”
“Bellini’s. Someone shot the window.”
“Are you hit?”
“No.”
“Greg?”
“I’m okay,” Greg whispered.
“He’s fine.”
“Stay down. Kitchen exit is north side. Do not go outside until my men reach you.”
“How—”
“I’m coming.”
The call ended.
Thirty-seven seconds later, three men in dark suits entered the restaurant through the kitchen.
Tessa recognized Carlo.
“Miss Jenkins.”
“How did you get here that fast?”
Carlo ignored the question.
“We need to move.”
Greg stared at him.
“This is insane.”
“Yes,” Tessa whispered.
It was.
And suddenly Leo’s paranoia no longer felt entirely irrational.
Carlo ushered them into a service corridor.
“Was the shooting because of Leo?”
Tessa demanded.
Carlo did not answer.
That was answer enough.
Outside, an armored SUV waited.
Tessa stopped.
“I’m not leaving Greg.”
“He comes too.”
Greg looked as though he wanted to object but wisely climbed inside.
The SUV had barely moved before another vehicle came screaming around the corner.
Black Mercedes.
Leo’s.
It stopped sideways.
Leo was out before the tires stopped turning.
Rain soaked his white shirt almost immediately.
He opened Tessa’s door.
His eyes searched her face, shoulders, chest, arms.
“Tessa.”
“I’m okay.”
He grabbed her face between both hands.
Then stopped.
His expression shifted as he remembered the foyer.
He released her instantly.
“Sorry.”
She stared at him.
Leo turned toward Greg.
“You hit?”
“No.”
“Good.”
For once, there was no jealousy.
Only command.
Leo looked at Carlo.
“Plate?”
“Covered.”
“Shooter?”
“Two men. Maybe three.”
“Find the car.”
“They weren’t shooting at us,” Greg said suddenly.
Everyone looked at him.
Greg swallowed.
“I saw them before the window broke.”
Leo stepped closer.
“What did you see?”
“The passenger was aiming.”
“At the restaurant?”
Greg shook his head.
“At Tessa.”
The rain suddenly felt much colder.
Tessa stared.
“That makes no sense.”
Leo’s face became terrifyingly blank.
“Carlo.”
“Yes, boss.”
“Take Davis somewhere safe.”
Greg protested.
“I’m not leaving her.”
Leo looked at him.
For several seconds, the two men stared at each other.
Then Leo did something Tessa had not expected.
He nodded.
“You did good getting her down.”
Greg blinked.
Leo looked back at Tessa.
His voice dropped.
“You wanted one normal night.”
There was something almost broken in the words.
“I’m sorry my world followed you into it.”
Tessa hugged her arms around herself.
For the first time, she understood something frightening.
The danger tonight might not have followed Leo.
It might have followed her.
May you like
Because someone had aimed directly at Tessa Jenkins.
And she had absolutely no idea why.
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