“Don’t come near me,” he growls.
I don’t understand what’s happening, and all I can do is watch as he staggers from the room.
Beppe whines, and I stare after Eros, horrified that something might be wrong with him.
I’m torn by indecision because he’s never spoken to me like that. Still, I can’t just let him walk away without knowing he’s alright.
I walk down the hall, but by the time I reach the living area, he’s already gone.
I pause for a moment in front of the elevator. I’m in my pajamas, but if I waste any more time, I won’t be able to catch him in the lobby.
I press the button, and the doors slide open right away, which confuses me. In the midst of trying to figure that out, Julian appears, looking slightly disheveled from sleep.
“Hi,” I blurt. “I’m sorry, but I have to go down to the lobby?—”
“No, Miss Bianchi.”
“What?”
I stare at him in confusion as he stalks over and blocks the entrance of the elevator.
That’s when it occurs to me he’s probably angry at me about what happened earlier. He asked me not to run off alone again after the Nate situation, and I agreed.
“Look, I’m really sorry about what happened at the dinner. I didn’t mean to disappear, but I have to go to the lobby to check on someone.”
“I’m sorry, Miss Bianchi.” He shifts, and I can tell he’s uncomfortable with this entire conversation. “But I can’t allow that.”
“I don’t understand. Just come with me if you’re worried?—”
“For your safety, I need you to stay here right now.”
My gaze drifts past him, wondering if I could actually make it into the elevator, but I know I can’t. Julian is built like a giant.
“Is there something going on that I don’t know about?”
He hesitates before he nods. “All you need to know is that this is for your safety.”
“Does it have something to do with the power going out in the IVI building?” I press.
“It’s nothing for you to concern yourself about.”
I let out a frustrated sigh. This is such a typical response from the men in our world. They never tell us anything that’s going on. Regardless, I don’t have time to worry about it.
I turn around and head back down the hall to grab my phone. My call to Eros goes unanswered, so I try texting him, but he doesn’t respond.
As I lay there staring up at my ceiling until the sun rises…I realize he’s not going to.
13
GABRIELA
Three days passwith no word from Eros. I spend the entirety of them overthinking, swinging from one end of the emotional spectrum to the other.
I’m irritated that he left instead of letting me help, and the rejection stings. But then I try to reason with myself that we’re supposed to be casual, so maybe he doesn’t owe me an explanation.
The problem is, I don’t know how to navigate this, and I can’t stop catastrophizing. What if something really happened to him?
For Julian’s part, he doesn’t mention the mysterious threat again, and he never says anything else about what happened at Riccardo’s investor dinner.
