“Please?” I plead desperately.
Enzo hands over his phone for me and I dial the number that’s been burned in my brain for the past twelve years.
It’s picked up after the first ring.
“Code?”
My gaze flicks to the man beside me, my cheeks heating as I say, “Tesoro.”
“Isolde?” Cam’s worried voice coming through has me exhaling unsteadily.
“It’s me.”
“Fuck, we thought you were dead.”
“I could have been.” I pause. “Lucas knows.”
He curses. “Where are you now?”
“Better you don’t know. I need to lay low for a while.”
Cam grumbles but eventually relents before we hang up. We won’t speak for a few weeks now, as the dust settles and the operatives go further underground. If Lucas knows about me, we can’t take the risk that he doesn’t know the others.
Enzo stares at me with raised eyebrows.
“Lucas wants me dead. If I went to the hospital he would have found me,” I tell him.
“Your husband did this to you!?” he roars, and I flinch at the harshness of his voice. He softens his tone to say, “Sorry. Didn’t mean to scare you.”
I nod. “Him and his friends.” Enzo’s expression becomesmurderous, but it doesn’t scare me. “I know who you are, Enzo. I know what you do. I need your protection.”
His expression eases slightly. “Iz—”
“I know that we haven’t been friends for a long time. But I hope… I hope that you will keep me safe. Long enough for me to disappear anyway. I won’t disturb you for long. And you’ll barely know I’m here. I can cook, and I—”
My pleading is muffled by Enzo’s hand over my mouth. “Izzy. I mean this in the nicest way possible—shut up.”
He removes his hand from my mouth, and I gape at him.
“You never need to ask me for my help, Isolde.” The use of my full name from his lips catches me off guard. “You’re my best friend.”
My heart stutters in my chest and butterflies alight in my belly. “And you’re mine.”
“I need you to tell me everything. Doc’s examination told me a lot, but…” he trails off looking uncomfortable.
I sob breaks free from my chest as I’m reminded of my wedding night. Enzo carefully, avoiding the various wires sticking out of me, gets onto the bed next to me. Taking hold of my head, he pulls me into his chest and strokes my hair. “I’ve got you. I’m here.”
“You didn’t call him, did you?”
“Who?”
“Lucas.”
“God no. I didn’t want to do anything until you woke up.”
I breathe in his scent, and gag. “Ew. You stink.”
His laugh reverberates through his chest against my head. “I’ve had other things on my mind than a shower,Cuore mio.”
