Under Pressure(16)

When Bella said she had wanted to move home to Chicago, her parents had insisted she move home, but Bella made a stand and said she needed to find her own place. Tony had told her it was taken care of and immediately moved her into her new apartment as soon as they arrived.

Bella rested her head on Tony’s broad shoulder, burrowing her face close against his neck, seeking comfort, letting his warmth chase away the cold that always seized her body after her nightmares.

Tony was the only man who could calm Bella after the storm, much to the upset of both her papa and Danny. During her recovery, if one of them had tried to touch her, she would claw and fight them until her terror had released her. With Tony she was calmed almost immediately, turning her head into his neck, and wept silent tears.

Tony had moved into the building with her because he needed to make sure she was safe, needed to be able to get to her when the nightmares clawed their way to the surface and tried to drag her under. She knew he felt as though he had failed her, but the truth was that it was her own ignorance that had left her open to predators like Victor Dane.

She had tried to stop Tony from rushing to her rescue every time she had a nightmare, but he knew whether she told him or not. He would race up to her apartment, needing to make sure she was safe and alive for himself. They had set the ten-second rule for the sake of her privacy, allowing her ten seconds to answer him before he would use his own keys on her door and deactivate her alarm.

“I can’t keep doing this to you, you know.” Bella sighed.

“What, Bells?”

Tony continued to stroke her hair, his hand hesitating only after she said, “Interrupting your life. You can’t keep babysitting me. I know you being here taking care of me like this is destroying your life, your freedom. You should move into a place where you don’t have to deal with me all the time, or I should move out.”

He pulled back slightly, looking at her face, his chocolate eyes darkened with anger, mouth drawn in a tight line.

“You are not destroying anything! And hell no, you’re not moving! My life? Hon, I don’t even want to think of what my life would become if something should happen to you. That fucker is still out there somewhere. It would destroy me if something were to happen to you again. Not be here? There is nowhere I would rather be, okay?” His lips tweaked up in a sly smile. “Besides, I still do well with the ladies, so there is no need to worry yourself.”

Bella choked back a laugh, “Quit bragging, slut.”

She moved to sit next to him, holding his hand between hers, still needing the connection. He brought his other hand to hers, moving his fingertips over the scar on her right hand as if trying to erase it by sheer force of will.

“How ’bout I make us some breakfast?” Bella offered, knowing that she had hurt him with her talking about moving. She watched the frown turn to a grin instantly, his face lit up at the thought of her feeding him.

Laughing, Bella got up. Moving toward the kitchen, she called out, “Chef’s choice?” and laughed at the sheer joy on his face as he agreed.

She loved cooking for her family. It was the only time she cooked anymore, afraid to try her chances at being a chef again since her dexterity was still compromised in her right hand. That was going to change though.

Starting next week, Bella had agreed to a part-time guest teaching position at the city’s elite Chicago Culinary Institute. Her one class that she was teaching had filled up immediately and they had begged her to take on more classes, but she thought one class that met two times a week was enough. She had forced herself to accept the position to reclaim her life.

As Bella began her preparations, Tony settled in his favored seat on the barstool where he could watch her cook.

No, he thought as his eyes followed her easy movement around the kitchen. There was no way in hell that he was moving away from her before that psycho asshole was caught, castrated, and fucking beheaded.

“So, why didn’t you wait for me last night? Liz told me you were catching up with a friend.” His head tilted slightly to the side in a gesture so much like her own.

“Umm, yeah. I was…We just hung out. Sorry.” Bella turned toward the stove to start the omelets she was making to cover the blush that stole across her cheeks.

“It’s good that you are reconnecting with friends, Bells.”

Eyes closing in distress, Bella realized she had no way of getting a hold of Jason without asking Tony. And that was definitely not happening. She had not given him her number nor had she gotten his.

The phone rang, startling her. Tony reached over and picked the phone up, smiling as he heard Danny’s voice. “Hey, bro, yeah, she’s here. Can’t talk right now. She’s making me breakfast.”