“I’ll remember that,” he said simply before he leaned down to grab a bowl from beneath the counter. He then dished me up a serving of rice and the garlic-scented chicken and vegetable dish. When he placed it before me, he leaned in closer, his perfect white teeth standing out against his tanned skin as he smiled. “I want you to eat all of this. You need to build up some strength.” He played with the ring at the corner of his lips for a few seconds, and I nodded stupidly, still freaking out that this was a trick.
As I scooped up the first forkful, I discreetly sniffed, wondering if maybe he was poisoning me. Or dosing me with some sort of laxative at the minimum.
I thought I was being subtle with my suspicion, until Rhett let out a laugh. “Come on, Billie. I’m not that petty to hurt a pregnant woman. It’s safe.”
As if to prove his point, he lifted a piece of chicken from my plate, using his fingers, which had to be burning as he held a steaming piece, and popped it into his mouth. “See,” he added, smirk still in place. “Perfectly safe. Now eat. I don’t like to see you so thin. Makes me think someone hasn’t been taking care of you.” His voice rose on that last line, and the dig at Angelo wasn’t lost on me. I felt no surprise when I looked to the doorway to find the towering mafia man there, a steely glare on his face. Rhett had clearly seen him as well, and that comment had been projected for that reason.
Hoping to lighten the tension before someone got a knife in the chest, I let out a forced laugh. “The media seems to think I look like I was pre-gaming for Thanksgiving , so… I should be okay. But thank you.”
Rhett scoffed. “The media create whatever narrative they want to fit the story they want to tell. If it’s ten percent true, that would be a stretch. You need more food, not less, trust me.”
“She’s been well taken care of,” Angelo snapped as he pulled out the chair beside me. “You can move on with your life and stop worrying about her.”
Rhett met his gaze with a blank one, like he had no idea who Angelo even was. They remained in some sort of odd stare-off, and my stomach roiled. I was not going to be able to eat a bite until one of them left the room.
“I’ll see you soon, Thorn,” Rhett finally said, without truly acknowledging Angelo. “Need to make sure Flo eats as well. She’s had a rough time of it lately.”
Anger sliced through my confusion since Florence was on my shit list and probably would be forever. It was hard to forgive a bitch who was so weak that she let her small-dicked boyfriend orchestrate the kidnapping and torture of another woman. And even worse, she’d faked a friendship to help with said kidnapping. Betrayal from girl friends hit differently, and for that, she was permanently dead to me.
And Rhett looking after her… To see his savior complex kicking in for someone like Florence really fucked me off. Not that I could show it.
He gathered up another bowl of the stir-fry, leaving the room without a glance back, and I silently fumed into my meal, staring at the colorful and healthy-looking food, all the while wishing I was anywhere but here. In a way, it was easier when the band was angry and fighting with me because it meant there was still some sliver of emotion there. They gave a shit, even if it was an angry one.
But Rhett today had been almost pleasant. As if we were strangers, forced to get along for a short period of time until we were free to go on with our lives, never thinking about each other again.
I mean, that was odd, right? Had he really managed to just get over all of it in the few hours I’d spent bawling? Why the hell did that make me feel so terrible, too, when I should be happy that he was at peace with the life I had to live. I hadn’t chosen it, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t my new reality.
“What the fuck was that about?” Angelo asked, lowering his voice as he leaned toward me, so once again it looked like we were having a “couple” conversation.
Pasting a fake smile on, I picked up the bowl, needing to get the fuck out of here so I could eat in peace. Too many meals had been ruined lately by the tension in my life, and I was done with sacrificing food as well. Fuck that. I needed to eat.
“None of your fucking business, love,” I snarled under my breath through the fake smile. “Now leave me the hell alone before my pregnancy hormones make me nasty.”
Hauling my ass off the chair was a bit of a drop, but I was steadied by Angelo’s hold as his hand snaked around the back of my shirt. He leaned in very close, until I could almost taste him on my tongue, and I tried not to let him affect me. Tried and failed.
“Just remember,love,”he shot back, “that you belong to me now. I own you, since I’m the one person standing between you and the afterlife. I know it’s easy to forget, here, surrounded by past lovers, but there’s only so many warnings I can give before I need to remind you in another way. Don’t make me do that, Billie.”
Whatever he was implying here, it was dark, and I wasn’t sure if the spike in my pulse was from fear or something else.
This time he let me back away, and I hurried from the room, following the same path Rhett had taken. When I got down the hallway, I happened to glance out the window to see that Rhett had left the house and was striding out toward the barn. Watching him, because I couldn’t look away, I finally tasted his delicious dish, and a small groan escaped me as a rich, garlic-and-soy flavor hit my tongue.
He hadn’t been kidding about knowing how to cook.
The next bite was just as good, and I was about to take my third when Rhett paused his march toward the barn and, in the next second, hauled his arm back and threw the plate he’d been carrying so it smashed against the wall he was near. From the house, I never heard a sound, but it scared the horses as they took off in the field, galloping away.
It was the first unraveling he’d shown since I walked into the kitchen, and to see that slice of violence made me feel better.
Because I was fucked up like that. But at least his action showed one thing.
He was still bothered by my presence, and that meant I had a chance to fix the canyon sized rift between us.
Before it was too late.
eighteen
BILLIE
After I ate my food, I took anotherlongshower. Brenda had been fairly certain that the bathrooms were clear of cameras, so the shower was one of the few places I could relax andbreathe.Rhett’s weird pleasantness in the kitchen had thrown me for a loop. Followed by Angelo’s threat…
