“I wouldn’t know,” I said. “I don’t remember him.”
He nodded. “I’ll be faithful. Or not, depending on how much you like me and want me around.” He grinned.
I didn’t find anything funny about this. He wasn’t doing this because he truly wanted it. He was doing this because he hated Aniello Assanti and felt he had something to do with his brother’s death—because of me. It was a crux that started a domino effect in his own life.
Ben had to fill the hole, and probably all the obligations, that his brother had left behind. From the research I’d done, I knew the Daltons were a powerful family. Powerful enough to have certain expectations put on them. The main one: to have the picture-perfect family, even if what hid behind closed doors was a version of hell.
“I can’t have children,” I blurted. It was the truth. Something I didn’t want to admit to Aniello the night before but was going to. It made me feel like a failure as a woman, and something I tried not to dwell on, but maybe…
“We can adopt.” He shrugged. “People like that sort of thing, don’t they?”
“Did you really just say that?”
“Do you have a filter?”
“You’re asking me ifIhave a filter?” I pointed at myself.
“I guess that’s something we’ll both have to work on.” He grinned.
I turned to go, having enough of the conversation and him, but he caught me right as I was about to round the shrubs.
He held my arm in his hands. “Look, I’m trying my best. You make me nervous, and I want you to like me—”
His phone rang and he cursed. He held his finger up, asking me to give him a minute, and I nodded. As soon as his back was turned, though, I started to back away.
After I took a turn, and I was out of eyesight, I ran. Past a bunch of ponds that were separate but connected by an artsy pattern. I took a sharp left at the end of the row, having no clue where I was going, but looking for somewhere to hide.
It was chicken-shit of me, but I didn’t like where this was headed. Club D was going to marry me off to the Daltons, and I’d have to spend the rest of my life trying to impress his mother, planning extravagant parties to get in good with the other plastics, and campaigning with our adoptive children that he only wanted because—people like that sort of thing, don’t they?
From watching over the years, I knew Club D liked to make it seem like we had a choice. The right to say yes or no to the match, but we were always encouraged, for our best interest, to say yes. That was always why it was a tricky business when an “associate” made a bid for us.
“Ooof!” I was running so fast that I didn’t even see the body that seemed to step out of nowhere until we collided.
Two strong hands caught me before I went over, and then deftly moved me between a tight thicket of trees. Branches tugged at my dress and hair as we wedged ourselves in.
Aniello stared down at me for a minute before he pushed more trees aside and then motioned for me to go ahead of him. A bald spot in the land separated the thicket of trees and a stone wall. He pulled out another old-looking key and opened the wooden door—with a plaque inscribed with “HAMARTIA”—set into the wall.
I stepped in first and he followed, shutting and locking the door behind him without a sound.
The gardens held as many secrets as Club D, it seemed.
Upon closer inspection, the wall was more like a tall fence hidden by the thicket of tall trees. From the outside, maybe the fence could be spotted, maybe it couldn’t, but what existed beyond the permitter stole my breath.
Four stone benches that looked like they were an extension of the fence were placed on each side. A slab of marble sat in the center, a statue of a man and a woman embracing on top. He was holding her, her body draped across his, staring at her face. At first glance, it seemed like she was dying. But the harder I studied it, the more I realized. She was in ecstasy, and he was dying. It was a piece that was open to interpretation, though.
Rows of rosebushes lined all sides of the fence.
I ran my hand over the petals, feeling their soft caress against my skin. Then I plucked one, being mindful of the thorns, and turned to face Aniello. He was close, so close that I could feel the heat from his body. So close that I had to look up at him, and he had to look down at me.
“Burgundy roses,” I said.
Before I could react, he had his hand pressed against my mouth.
My eyes widened and then narrowed when I heard voices a second later.
“Where the fuck did she go?” Ben said.
“Could be anywhere,” Big Bismo said. “I’ve gotten lost in these gardens too many times to count. That’s why I don’t like coming out here. You should have asked her to lunch, like I said.”
