“Are you not coming in?” I asked.
He shook his head slowly. “I have to take care of a few things.”
“Will you be long?”
“No.” He crossed the room, wrapped his arms around my body, and pulled me in so close, it was hard to breathe. He kissed me until I went weak in his arms. “Tell me you’ll stay on the property, and if you decide to take a walk, you’ll let one of the men know. Evelina didn’t set the perimeters of the watch to alert us when you went outside of the property. She thought you’d stay put. She didn’t factor in Magpie. You go outside of these limits again, we’ll all know right away.”
“Okay,” I breathed out, feeling dazed. “I’m feeling a little tired anyway.”
“You can trust me, Stella.La mia parola è buona come il mio sangue.”
“Your word is as good as your blood.”
He nodded. “Is yours?”
“For you? Yes. One hundred percentyes.”
He kissed me on the lips so softly, they tingled. He said something in Italian, then, “That’s because you are my blood.” And with that, he left me alone.
I wasn’t sure what to do with myself. I was a little tired but feeling more wired by the second. I had a feeling the business Matteo went to attend to was the guy with the gun we’d hit.
How fucking odd.
Did he know we were coming? Was he waiting? And if so, how would he know? The drive wasn’t planned. I hadn’t even told Matteo. Magpie seemed to have gotten past the guards, and no one knew. Except the guy with a gun.
That seemed to be the story of my life.
A guy with a gun…
Pokes me in the back to make me walk faster…
Puts it against my temple and laughs…
Points it at a rat and then at me, only to blow the rat up and have the blood splatter on my face…
Threatens to fuck me with the barrel if I don’t do what he says…
Points it at me and ends my joy ride.
Matteo didn’t give me orders to stay put. He gave me boundaries for my safety. I knew the Nemours and the Russians were actively searching for me, and they wouldn’t rest until either I was locked up again or dead. And Matteo was taking every precaution to keep me safe while also trying to give me the freedom I never had.
I’d promised myself I wouldn’t run from him again, if he ever came back for me, and I was making another promise to do all I could to keep him and myself safe. I didn’t want to walk without him, or do much without him, and whatever was going on downstairs—between Chloe and Massimo—wasn’t any of my business. But I still couldn’t help feeling sorry for Chloe and Massimo. Rocco too. It seemed like he was emotionally invested in his son’s happiness, and it was draining him, since it seemed like his wife was doing the spending.
Sighing, I plopped down on the bed and looked up at the ceiling. The cool air from the fan breezed against my face, making the small hairs around my head tickle me. For a second, I was back in our old trailer, the one mom was so proud of.
She’d cleaned it from top to bottom, added new paint, carpet, even new cabinets. She’d dated a carpenter for a short time. I remembered him doing all the woodwork. I’d bring him glasses of cold water. He was really nice, but after about a year, mom dumped him.
“I only want to concentrate on you. He has kids, and, well, those arehiskids. I know it would be nice for you to have siblings, but they’re blood related, you’re not. I’m not mad at it, but I don’t want you to be treated differently or feel differently. It’s just us, Bestie Boo. You’ll always come first to me.” She hadset the fan on osculate, and we let it breeze over us before we had started dinner. Tacos.
She made simple dishes because she had no clue how to cook. But one thing about my mom, she was a determined woman. Once she set her mind to something, she did it. Right before she’d left me in Paris, she could make petit fours better than the bakery in town.
So, knowing all she’d said to me was true, her leaving me made as much sense as the guy with the gun in the road. The mystery behind it all stopped me in my tracks, and it not only confused the hell out of me, it scared the hell out of me.
Why did she leave me?
Before the razor-sharp question of my life could rip me open a little deeper, a noise at the door had me turning over on my stomach. A long yellow envelope was magically in the room with me, slipped underneath the door. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to open it. What if it was from Rosaria? Maybe she might send me pictures I didn’t want to see. The house was in chaos, the sound of crying and hearts breaking coming from every corner. But then I remembered the envelope Magpie had in the car.
Turning the ring on my left finger, I decided to grab it.
