Page 160 of This Life of Mine

Chapter forty-nine

Lina

We drive to Alex’s place to get his laptop. Truth about Alex and what he does is something he wants to bare clean. He wants to show me everything he has. Every file. Every lead. Every piece of information he’s uncovered. Nothing hidden. Nothing withheld.

For so long, I’ve been the last person to know things happening in my own life. People making decisions for me. Keeping secrets from me. Deciding what truths I could handle and which ones I couldn’t.

Cole lied. Cassie lied. The Allister’s lied. Even the people trying to protect me often kept me in the dark.

In time, I developed the habit of expecting it. To brace myself for it.

Now Alex is handing me the flashlight and inviting me to see for myself. No half-truths or carefully edited version of events. Just the truth. Whatever it turns out to be.

I no longer feel like I’m chasing answers. For the first time, it feels like someone is willing to share them. The relief is almostoverwhelming. I hadn’t realized how exhausting it was living in the dark until someone turned on the light.

Alex unlocks the door to his Airbnb and steps aside. “Ladies first.”

I smile and walk inside. I love how old school he is. The

The first thing I notice is how...Alex it is. I know it’s temporary, but he chose this place for a reason. I mean yes it’s right around the corner from the shop, and only another block away from me, but it still suits him. It’s clean and organized. Everything has a place. The furniture is modern and simple. Dark gray couch. Black coffee table. A few books stacked neatly on a shelf. No clutter. No piles of mail. No random junk collecting on countertops. He’s lived here for over a month, and it looks spotless.

I drift farther inside, and I let my fingers brush the back of the couch. The ledge of the black-and-white marble kitchen island. The smooth wood of a bookshelf.

It’s strange. Maybe even a little intrusive. But I find myself wanting to touch things, wanting to see what he sees, to understand how he lives when nobody else is around.

Behind me, the door clicks shut.

I glance over my shoulder. Alex is watching me. Amused.

“What?” I ask.

A smile pulls at his mouth. “Nothing.”

“Why the smile?” Curious as ever to what he’s thinking.

“I’m a lucky man. You are so damn beautiful.” He stares at me with such intensity it makes my heart rate spike. I turn away, unable to meet his eyes. I’m still adjusting to the way he gazes at me—the way he sees me. Especially the compliments.

“This place is nice,” I say to change the subject.

“It’s a rental.” He says, shrugging his shoulders.

“Still.” I nod, adding, “It’s modern, well kept, clean. Looks like you’ve barely lived here these what, seven weeks now?”

Alex meets my eyes and smirks.

“I don’t need much. Besides, I can’t say I’ve spent a lot of time here. I’ve been busy.”

He means the nights spent watching over me from a distance. The risks he took without my knowledge. The countless decisions he made to keep me safe while asking for nothing in return.

His eyes drift over me ever so carefully, assessing—filled with unmistakable mischief. The look alone is enough to send a flutter through my stomach.

I take a step toward him. The predator has locked onto his prey. And God help me, I don’t mind being the prey.

“You look like you have something on your mind,” I say, taking another step forward.

I move deliberately, each stride unhurried, inviting him to make the next move.

A muscle flexes in his jaw.