“She’s not a damn possession,” I snap. He waves his hand towards his battered face.
“I know that. All too fucking well. But that’s not how the old guard sees it. She might be an heir, but she’s a female too. That’s a fucking enticing package. Add in Caterina herself, and men would go to war for her.”
Men would go to war for her.
“Just look at us,” he continues, his words soft in the dark night. “You think I’m a whoring, untrustworthy asshole. I happen to think you’re a sanctimonious prick. But here we are, having a civil conversation in the name of keeping her safe. If that’s not a fucking bad omen, I don’t know what is.”
The sound that slips out might be amusement. Maybe.
“So,” I say. My eyes survey the ground below. “Temporary allies, then. For her.”
“For her,” he agrees. “Get some sleep, Rossi. I need to leave before dawn. You have my word that nothing will get past this door.”
I don’t ask what he’ll do if a V’Arezzo turns up.
But it occurs to me, as I stand and hold out my hand, that maybe he’s not entirely the asshole I thought he was. His shake is firm, and I wonder if he feels the same.
War makes for strange bedfellows, indeed.
The door clicks behind me, and I stare across at Caterina. She still sleeps, that little frown creasing her forehead that never seems to smooth out deepening as I lean down to slide my arms underneath her.
She jerks, her eyes opening.
“Just me,” I murmur. “I’m taking you to bed.”
But she’s already curling herself into me, soft breaths against my shoulder as I carry her into her bedroom, tucking her into bed.
As I flick off the lamp, her hand reaches out. Soft fingers brush my wrist. “Stay.”
Her eyes are shut. She might even be dreaming, and if she is, I doubt it’s of me. Maybe him, the man sat outside with his gun held close.
But I’m a selfish bastard, and I’ll take every piece of her I can get. So I toe off my boots, moving around the bed and setting mygun down on the table before I carefully climb on. Caterina shifts back, burrowing herself against me until all I can feel is the heat from her body, even through my clothes and her silky pajamas.
She sighs as my arm settles around her, and I carefully, so fucking carefully, reach out and brush away the stray hairs covering her face.
She sleeps all night in my arms.
And I don’t sleep at all.
Chapter sixteen Caterina
The silence at breakfast is… awkward.
I pick up another piece of apple, snapping off the end with irritation as I scan the faces around me. Directly across the table, Amie offers me a wan smile before she goes back to staring at her toast.
It could be to do with the men standing around us, forming a wall between the Corvos and the other tables that Dom refused to back down on. Or it could be the death sentence hanging over my head.
All the Crows are twitchy this morning.
“For Gods’ sake,” I finally snap, when Rico fumbles his cup and coffee spills out in a dark stain over the pristine white tablecloth. Everybody jumps, and it only annoys me more. “We areCrows. Act like it.”
Muttered apologies come from around me, but the faces are still solemn. Watchful.
And in one case,angry.
My eyes land on Paul Maranzano. He’s staring at me, his mouth twisted and eyes narrowed. The anger fades away as I stare him out, but I can still see it. “Something to share with the table, Paul?”
The small amount of noise stops altogether. Faces turn towards us, waiting to see what the brother of the traitor has to say.
