“You're not angry like I feared.”
“Why would I be angry?”
“I was stupid about Harper. I thought I could trust another girl. I can’t trust anyone.”
“That’s not true. You trust your family. I hope you learn to trust me even though I’ve not always given you reason to. You may have been a little naïve, but you’re young, and you wanted a friend. I won’t condemn you for that. You wanted to experience a normal life.”
“I don’t think I can have both, our marriage and that normal life.”
It pains me to tell her the truth. “No, not fully. But you can still go to school if you want and-”
I freeze mid-sentence when I hear the quiet beep indicating someone entered the penthouse. I stand, shoving Francesca behind me and pulling my gun when Faro calls out from below.
“Fuck, I forgot I’d told him to come over. Wait here. I’ll be back soon.” There’s no way I’m inviting him up to our bedroom when she’s naked.
Pale and trembling, she nods in reply.
49
Francesca
The men’s voices float up the stairs for a handful of seconds before they disappear into Carlo’s office.Why is my bodyguard here so late? What’s happening that I don’t know about?
Despite the hour and my mental exhaustion, I pull on a sweater and jeans and slip down the stairs, uncertain what I should do.
My phone buzzes, an unknown caller. Is it Harper? Something tells me it’s not. “Hello?”
“Stop at the diner where you met Maeve on the way to class tomorrow. Tell your watchdog you need coffee. I’ll be waiting.”
The call ends before I can reply to my brother. What does he have in mind now? How many more secrets do I have to divulge tonight?
“Francesca, I said to wait upstairs for me.”
Startled by Carlo’s voice behind me, I jump. Faro looms behind him, looking intensely agitated. I can’t tell if he’s furious or excited about something, but I worry it’s nothing good. My breath stutters in my lungs. “I… I was worried about you.”And worried about me.
My husband smiles, a momentary softness sneaking past his cold mask. “I need to go out again tonight. Faro will take care of you.”
Does he mean Faro’s here to guard me or ‘take care of me’ in another way? Am I going mad? Carlo didn’t know about Harper until I told him.Or did he?He doesn’t know that Ronan called.Or does he?
His thumb presses gently against the inside of my wrist, sending a shiver of both longing and fear slicing through me. “Don’t worry. Everything will be fine,” he murmurs.
He starts to walk past me. It’s not unusual for Carlo to leave the penthouse without kissing me goodbye whenever any of his men are in the same room, but I can’t help questioning if it’s a bad sign tonight. I wanted another kiss, a last kiss maybe.
Everything breaks over me at once, all the years of being judged for what Da did, all the questions in their eyes, all the secrets I harbored trying to help or protect others or simply trying to get my way for once, I crack under the weight of it all. I can’t handle it anymore.
“WAIT!”Like a mad woman, I grab his hand, prepared to sink to my knees if necessary. “Don’t leave me tonight. Please, don’t leave me with him,” I whisper, imploringly.
Carlo’s brow furrows. Questions swirl in his dark eyes but something else does, too, something tender. He glances at Faro before giving him some non-verbal sign. Am I about to be dragged away? No, Carlo cups my face as Faro disappears into the elevator.
“You’re afraid of him?” Helplessly, I nod. “You don’t have to be afraid of my loyal men.” I tremble, fighting back tears, and Carlo’s expression softens even more. “You don’t have to be afraid of me, Red. Not ever.” He carefully kisses my cheeks, eyelids and lips. “I’d burn and maim to keep you safe. I’d torture and kill in your name. I’ve already told you I’ll never hurt you with these hands, but no man who answers to me would dare do so either.”
Drawing in a ragged breath, the last of my intense fear ebbs away when he says, “I can’t leave you unprotected here, but you can comewith me if you want. Perhaps you were meant to come with me tonight.”
I lick my lips, trying to make sense of his words as my pulse grows marginally less erratic. “Wherever you’re going, I want to go, too.”
***
A short time later, we pull up to a warehouse on the river – Red Hook. Remembering Aurora’s description, a bone-chilling sense of dread fills me. But not for myself. Renato waits at the guard shack with two armed men. “Why did you bring her here?” he asks Carlo, puzzled.
