“If there were no treaty, would you still want a family?”
I open my eyes and look down at her, but she’s not looking at me. Her eyes are shut, and it feels like she’s holding her breath.
“What are you really asking me,cara?”
She doesn’t answer.
“Do you want to know if I’d still choose to have a family with you?”
Or is it something else?
That thought has been rattling around my brain for a while. But historically, we don’t have a great track record when it comes to getting her to open up to me. I’m not sure she’s ready yet, and her silence seems to be proof of that.
My phone rings in my trouser pocket, and I ignore it.
“Abella.” I tip her chin up. “Look at me.”
She does. Her eyes are soft and sleepy, and whatever was on her mind a moment ago, she’s buried it deep inside her.
“Are you going to get that?” she asks. “It might be important.”
I don’t want to get it. I already know it’s one of my brothers. We’ve been tracking the movements of Ray’s business partner, and tonight we lured him to the ball with a potential lead. While I’ve been here with Abella, my brothers have been interrogating him.
The phone rings again, and Abella groans.
“Either you get it or I will,” she grumbles.
“We’re finishing this conversation,” I tell her.
“Okay, but later.” She yawns and closes her eyes again.
I watch her for a moment before the sound of my ringtone starts to annoy the fuck out of me, too. Reaching into the pocket of the pants still hanging off my hips, I grab my phone and answer the call.
“We’ve got it,” Romeo says.
“All of it?”
“Everything.” He hesitates for a second, and that’s never a good sign. “You’ll want to see this.”
I glance at Abella. I really don’t want to leave her tonight, but she’s exhausted, and I need to see what they unearthed. Thiscould be the missing link in Grant Ellison’s disappearance and the connection to Aegis.
“It’s alright.” Abella opens her eyes and looks up at me. “I’m tired. You can go do what you need to do.”
I nod reluctantly.
“I’ll be there in thirty minutes,” I tell Romeo.
Before I go, I clean Abella with a cloth and remove her heels. I drape the comforter over her naked body and kiss her on the lips without thinking too much about it.
“Goodnight,cara mia.”
As I’m pulling away, her fingers trail down my arm and grab my hand, holding me there for a moment.
“Tu sei stato e sarai sempre la mia vita.”
You have been and you will always be my life.
48
