“Not fast enough.”
“You hate having someone else take care of you. You’re so used to taking care of everyone and everything and being in charge of it all but can’t stand to be in a position where you need others yourself.”
He studied me, then looked beyond me to the waning light outside the window.
“Let’s sit outside.”
“I’ll get your wheelchair.” I’d already stood to unfold it. He hadn’t used it except for the time they’d rolled him in here in it.
“No.”
I looked back to find him rising on his own.
“Jesus, Salvatore, it’ll only take longer if you don’t take care—”
“I said no,”
He leveled his gaze on mine, giving me a glimpse of the man I knew him to be—rough and tough and sexy as hell.
He must have seen the change in me too, because his expression softened, and his gaze rolled over my body.
I swallowed, my nipples tightening, my belly fluttering. Just one look from him, and I shuddered.
“Okay,” I said, clearing my throat. Then, without asking his permission, I opened the bedroom door and called out to Marco. “He’s too stubborn to use the wheelchair, and I can’t support his weight, so maybe you can walk with him.”
Marco gave Salvatore a look then glanced back at me. What he saw in my face must have trumped what he saw in Salvatore’s, because he put Salvatore’s arm over his shoulder and held on to his waist.
“Come on, boss.”
Salvatore shook his head. “You’ll answer for that later,” he told me.
“Is that another promise?” I gave him a dirty grin and walked ahead, taking my time, knowing he was watching my ass as I led the way out back.
Once Salvatore was settled, Marco left us. We sat quietly, watching the light dance along the surface of the swimming pool. Salvatore held my hand.
“I’ve been thinking,” he said, then stopped.
I glanced at him, but he looked straight ahead.
“I’m going to hand it all over to Roman.”
“What?” I didn’t expect that.
Salvatore looked at me. “I only have one thing to do as boss, then I’m walking away.”
One thing. I knew what that was. It was what I had wanted.
“You’re free, Lucia. I’ll talk to Roman tomorrow, destroy the contract, and draw up a new one, so they can’t touch you or your family ever again. You’ll be free of me, of all of us.”
Free of him?
I watched his eyes. Soft again. Like they’d looked the day we’d been forced to sign that terrible piece of paper. Gentle. I’d been wrong when I’d thought he was like them. A monster. This was the real Salvatore. It had always been there, lying beneath the fear.
Only thing was, I didn’t know if I wanted to be free of him at all anymore.
I cleared my throat. “I can’t leave you alone while you’re not yet recovered.”
“I’ll be fine,” he said, then looked away from me again.
