* * *
“Calm down,” Miller murmurs to me now, as we stand in the underground parking lot, waiting for the elevator to descend. “JJ will protect you.”
I don’t need Jack’s protection, I want to tell Miller, but it would seem ungrateful. The two of them have gone out of their way to help me, but they seem to think Alessandro’s temper will get the better of him.
Mygreatest fear is that he’ll be ice-cold. That the lies I’ve been forced to tell are just too much for him to forgive.
Jack pats a hand between my shoulder blades. “I’ll be keeping an eye on you, kid,” he says.
“I’m not afraid of Alessandro,” I tell them both. “He would never hurt me.”
“He didn’t seem too concerned about hurtingJJ,” Miller says icily.
Jack’s hand drops from my back. “Sweetheart, I told you—”
“I know what you told me. Doesn’t mean I have to like it.”
I definitely prefer them having an argument between themselves instead of concentrating on me, so I stay quiet as the elevator doors open and we step inside.
“Behind me,” Jack growls, pushing both of us back. “Sandro’s heart might have grown a few sizes, but he’s still an unpredictable asshole.”
Miller and I shuffle back against the wall behind Jack as the elevator begins its smooth, multi-story rise up to Alessandro’s penthouse apartment. When the doors open again, Jack takes a moment to check the scene before stepping out. His hand twitches, as though he wants to reach for his gun. “Sandro?”
When I lean to the side I can see a short foyer area, with a heavy bronze side table. On it lies a single car fob attached to an oxblood leather tag.
“Come,” calls a familiar voice from deeper in.
Jack takes another step forward, raising his nose a little, almost like a fox sniffing the air. Whatever he scents seems to meet his approval, because his shoulders relax and he beckons us on.
I let Miller go first, not because I want to, but because he pushes me behind him. But it does give me a chance to look around.
Alessandro’s home feels familiar to me although I’ve never been here, never seen it, never even imagined anything like it. Despite the darkness of the interior furnishing, there’s so much light compared to Redwood Manor—from floor-to-ceiling windows the sunshine streams in, laying the apartment bare under its uncompromising light. The space is almost industrial in style, with a brushed concrete floor tempered here and there with lush, soft rugs. The ceiling is higher than most apartments, but that’s because the pipes and beams of the underlying structure are on display, no blank ceiling plaster covering them over.
The living, dining and kitchen areas flow into each other, and for the most part, the decorations and furniture are sparse, functional. Soft leathers and natural, dark colors everywhere I look. The occasional pop of rust or leaf-green draws my eye. And most stunning of all, the windows that run down the whole side of the apartment offer a panoramic view of the mountains.
In the middle of those windows stands Alessandro Castellani, staring back at our little troupe as we walk toward him. His face, though bruised, is impassive.
“Looks like you had a rough night,” is the first thing he says.
Jack gives a light scoff. “Yeah, you should see the other guy.”
Alessandro’s gaze drifts to Miller. “I’m sorry I sent him back in such poor condition.”
Miller folds his arms. “JJ can take care of himself. Obviously.”
At that, Alessandro gives a smirk. “Obviously,” he agrees, and then I take a step forward. I can’t stand it anymore, being the elephant in the room.
Or the mouse.
“And what do we have here?” Alessandro says coolly.
“Come on, Sandro,” Jack sighs. “Listen to what he has to say.”
For a long moment, I think Alessandro might just kick me right back out. That he only let me up here so I could see what I’ve missed out on—because this apartment tells me a lot about the man, more than Redwood ever could.
Masculine elegance. Simplicity.Honesty, the architectural bones of the penthouse laid out before the eyes, nothing hidden from the viewer, and all the more interesting for it.
And that’s where I fucked up. My lack of honesty.
