Total pages in book: 54
Estimated words: 50148 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 251(@200wpm)___ 201(@250wpm)___ 167(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 50148 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 251(@200wpm)___ 201(@250wpm)___ 167(@300wpm)
“He said you’re making enough to empty the registers at some point while I’m here. I’m supposed to watch how you do that,” Alessia admitted.
“Do you need to note this on your phone, or can you remember?” Titus asked.
“I’d better write the details down.”
Alaric, I need your help to craft information that Enzo is demanding from my mate. Number of employees, security, map of the building, entrances and exits, and how we collect bills from the cash registers throughout the night.
As he listened to Alaric, Titus stood and placed her bottom on the couch cushions. He snagged her small purse from the floor where he’d discarded it. After handing her crossbody bag over, he lifted her back onto his lap. Quickly, he ran through the information she needed to report to Enzo. Or at least the version Alaric wanted him to share. Alaric’s cunning mind had kept the clan alive for centuries. Dealing with Enzo didn’t challenge him at all.
Her phone buzzed with a notification from her ride. Alessia met Titus’s gaze. “I have to get to the car. They’re waiting for me a couple of blocks away.”
“You’re not going alone, Little mate. The neighborhood isn’t safe for a lone female to walk in the darkness. I’ll go with you.”
“They’ll never stick around if they see I’m with someone.”
“Fine. No one will spot me,” Titus said.
“How are you going to do that? Can you turn invisible?”
“Better than that. Don’t worry. The driver won’t see me. Neither will you, but you’ll sense I’m close. Okay?” He stroked her thick, silky hair away from her face. Alessia couldn’t resist pressing her head into his palm.
Setting her back on the couch, Titus then walked to the locked door and opened it. A pair of cute sneakers sat on the carpet. He snagged them and returned to kneel in front of her.
“These may be a bit big, but they shouldn’t hurt like your heels.” Titus slipped them onto her feet and tied the laces.
This time when Alessia stood, she didn’t cry out in pain. “Those are so much better. How am I going to explain the new shoes?”
“Tell them your heel broke, and the Nightfall staff let you take a pair from the lost and found.”
“Oh. That could work. But my shoes are fine,” she said, waving a hand toward the stilettos.
“Do you like these shoes?” he asked.
“I’m never wearing those again.”
“Perfect.” Titus picked up one and snapped the heel off. “Done. Now, let’s get you to the pickup spot. When you arrive home, do your report and then head back to your room. I’ll be there at two.”
“I can make up an excuse to leave. Especially if I wait a couple of days,” Alessia suggested one more time. “Enzo’s men will kill you instantly if you’re spotted.”
“That won’t happen, Little mate. You won’t stay there one additional minute. Two a.m. Grab whatever you want to have. You won’t return to your brother’s home.”
Titus sent a message to Bram. Can you grab a Nightfall sweatshirt and meet me at the exit by the front doors? Make the souvenir a large. Alessia would swim in that size, but the warm garment would protect her from the weather and cover a bit more than her beaded dress.
Titus walked her to the front door. He claimed a fragment of her time left to press an ardent kiss to her lips. Allowing her to leave went against all of his instincts demanding his mate stayed close.
A handsome man showed up with an oversized hoodie. Titus thanked him and pulled the sweatshirt over her head.
“Here, Alessia. It’s cold outside.”
When she could see again, the other man was gone.
“Remember. I’m with you now, and I will come get you.”
“I have to be completely nuts,” Alessia whispered aloud as she hurried to the address where the car would wait for her. She needed to get there quickly, or the driver would leave.
Night swirled around her. Small noises amplified in her mind as she worried—tumbling plastic bags, the honk of a distant car horn, a closing door. Suspicious of predators lurking in the shadows, she huddled inside the hoodie as if the soft material were a suit of armor, Alessia treasured the warmth. No one had cared about her comfort for so long. The casual garment hugged her, reminding her of Titus’s warm embrace. Her gaze darted from side to side. She’d never liked the dark and still slept with a nightlight.
Alessia hesitated at the entrance of a pitch-black alley. Cutting through would save her steps and minutes. Swallowing hard, she headed into the obscurity, walking as fast as her sore feet would allow her. A growl sounded in her brain. “Titus?” she whispered.
“I can be Titus, if you’d like me to,” a rough voice told her from slightly behind her.
Whirling to face the direction she thought she’d heard the sound, Alessia quickly walked backward, trying to get out of the shadows. She couldn’t spot anyone. Where was he? She forced herself to answer calmly as she panicked inside. “No, thank you. Sorry. Just cutting through.” She transferred her intact stiletto to one hand and held the other like a dagger. Alessia wouldn’t go down without a fight.