“Right.”

“What do we do now?”

“You’re going to get dressed, pack some clothes for you and Maia and you’re going to a hotel.”

“What about you?” Ava asked.

“I’m going to clean up here and dispose of the body.”

“Dominic, are you crazy? We can’t just cover this up.”

“The police just got finished looking at us for offing your friend. Do you really think it will go over well that someone was killed inside your house?”

“No. I guess you’re right. But I can’t handle anything else. I’m still grieving for Gina. I’m still trying to process the fact that I can’t pick up the phone and call her. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to that.”

“I can’t begin to understand your pain and I wish I could take it from you, but I can’t. All I can do is try to protect you. I’m right, so you need to trust me on this.”

“I do. I’m just scared. I don’t want you to get caught up in this any more than you have to.”

“I was already caught up in it, the first time someone took a shot at you.”

“I guess you’re right.”

“That’s right. Now I’m going to tell your housekeeper and Natalie they need to leave until we get to the bottom of this. Then I’m going to start on the cleanup. Thank God for silencers.”

“Where are you going to take him?” Ava asked.

Dominic shook his head. “It’s better you don’t know. Now hurry up and get dressed. I want you leaving here in less than an hour.”

Ava nodded, too frazzled and weary to argue. Turning to go to Maia’s room, Dominic caught her arm. She turned to face him.

“I love you,” he said.

Then he kissed her, as if this might very well be the last time. She responded to him, wishing for time she wasn’t sure they had. When he released her, he offered her a brief smile.

“Go ahead.”

She did as he said and walked towards Maia’s room. Ava heard the back door open as Dominic left to go warn Natalie and the housekeeper. Walking inside her daughter’s room, she carefully laid Maia on the large beanbag she often fell asleep on. As quick as she could, she packed a bag of clothes. Her mind raced. She’d been seconds away from losing her life. Maia would’ve been an orphan if not for Dominic.

So why couldn’t she tell him what she knew he secretly longed to hear? Why couldn’t she admit that she loved him? That she probably had from the moment he’d revealed his real identity to her on the cruise ship? No. It was too soon. People didn’t fall in love in three weeks. They fell in lust. A passionate, earth-shaking lust but still lust the same. No. She couldn’t tell him. Not now. Not with everything they were already dealing with.

Love made you weak. Made you vulnerable to threats that would’ve never bothered you before. She needed to be strong, now more than ever. There wasn’t just her to consider. Her child had to come first, even before what she felt for Dominic. He would just have to bear his pain a little longer.

Bag packed sufficiently, Ava went into Maia’s small bathroom and grabbed her daughter’s toiletries. She wondered how long they would be gone. When it would be safe to come back. Items added, she slung the bag over her shoulder and grabbed her daughter. She’d wake Maia and change her clothes as soon as she’d completed her own packing. Leaving the room, she walked back down the hallway. Dominic was already at work. A bucket of some foul-smelling concoction was beside him. He’d already rolled the body up into a large garbage bag. He was on his knees scrubbing her floor.

It was amazing, how important Dominic had become to her in such a short time. A few weeks ago she’d wanted his head on a platter for daring to interrupt her well-ordered life. Now, she didn’t know where she’d be without him. Probably dead. But as she watched him carefully cleaning, something in her heart twisted. He was risking everything for her. He’d killed someone to protect her and now he was going to make it as if this night had never happened. No one had ever gone out of their way for her. All her life, she’d never been someone’s priority until now. Ava quickly brushed away a falling tear. Dominic had changed her life in a way she’d never expected and though she’d fought it as long as she could, there was no denying it anymore. She loved him and the thought of imagining her world without him suddenly made her sick to her stomach. He looked up as she walked past him, heading for the stairs. She’d taken the first step when she stopped and turned.

“Dominic?”

“Yeah?”

She stared at him, her tongue suddenly feeling heavy in her mouth.

“Thank you for everything. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

Before he could respond she was going up the stairs as fast as she could.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Ava looked over at Maia, asleep on the queen-sized bed they were sharing at the hotel they’d checked into. It wasn’t the five-star accommodations she would usually go for, but whoever was after them would surely check the best places in town first. Here, Ava had a chance of remaining under the radar for just a little while longer. She was scared, more scared than she’d ever been and not just for herself but for Dominic too. He was taking a major risk, one that could land him behind bars or facing the death penalty.

After warning Natalie and Mrs. Valdez to leave immediately, he’d set to cleaning up their attacker’s blood and then preparing to dispose of the body. By the time she was packed and ready to go with Maia, the living room looked as if nothing had ever happened. Dominic had come to her then, looking more handsome than ever. As he’d kissed her goodbye, he’d promised to put the body in a place no one would ever find it. He’d refused to tell her where though. According to him, she’d be safer if she didn’t know. And for once she wasn’t going to argue with him.

They’d kissed, barely able to let each other go before Dominic had climbed into his Hummer and sped away. She’d done the same, choosing to take a vehicle she rarely drove anymore, a black Nissan Maxima. With no clue who was after her or why, she had to take precautions and switching vehicles was a step in that direction. As was not telling Dominic where she and Maia were spending the night. They’d both agreed to call and meet each other at a discreet location later in the day. But before Ava did that, there was something else she had to do. Something that couldn’t wait.

A knock on the door nearly made Ava jump. “Calm down.”

She walked over to where her purse was on the table. Slowly she pulled out the pearl-handled pistol she’d taken from her house before leaving. No way was she going to be unprotected again. Checking to make sure Maia was still sleeping, she crept towards the door, gun in hand. Ava looked through the peephole and lowered the gun. Removing the chain and turning the lock, she opened the door, but only an inch. Ava stuck her head out.

“Are you alone?”

“Yes.”

“Were you followed?”

“No.”

“Come on in.”

Ava opened the door and allowed Mrs. Valdez to come inside. The older woman was wearing a white capri-pants outfit. Her black hair was pulled away from her face with a white-and-silver-striped headband. There was a furrow between her eyebrows.

“Ava, what is going on?”

“I wish I could tell you. I don’t know.”

“Running out of the house in the middle of the night. Evasive driving to make sure I’m not followed. I feel like I’m in some kind of movie,” Elisa said.

“I know. I don’t like this any more than you do and I’m praying things get back to normal soon, but in the meantime we’re all going to have to be more careful.”

Elisa looked towards the bed. “Does this have anything to do with your late husband?”

Ava shrugged. “I honestly don’t know. All of his associates were very respectful towards me at Joseph’s funeral and I haven’t heard a word from any of them since. It’s just bizarre how everything is happening now.”