A harsh laugh filters through the phone. “They have zero claim on me. Lawson blood flows through my veins, not DeLuca. I’m more worried about you two. Especially you, Rena. You have DeLuca DNA, and you’re a widow. That makes you the biggest target. Maybe you should go overseas. Hide someplace no one can find you.”
“No.” Ben’s dominant voice bounces off the walls. “I can better protect Rena and the kids here. We don’t know how far this man’s network extends. We need to identify him and then regroup. For now, I would really prefer if you came here, Georgia. At least temporarily until we locate this bastard.”
“I know you mean well, Ben, and I love how protective you are of my girls and me, but I’m not running. I know how to defend myself now, and I’ll take the necessary precautions. If that dickhead comes for me, I’ll give him a taste of his own medicine. No Sicilian will control me ever again.”
My lips twitch, and my admiration for Georgia Lawson has just increased ten-fold.
“I don’t like it, but I won’t force something you don’t want.” Ben concedes.
“I want daily calls,” Rena says.
“And regular text check-ins,” Sierra adds. “We need to know you’re okay, Mom.”
“You’re good girls. I love you both, but please don’t worry about me. You don’t spend over thirty years married to a sick bastard and not know how to protect yourself. I’ll be fine. You worry about yourselves and my darling grandchildren. Expend your energy keeping them safe. I’ll be fine.”
Ben hangs up with his mother-in-law, and a pregnant pause ensues.
“I’ll need someone else to take over my self-defense lessons,” Rena says.
“We should practice daily at the range,” Sierra adds.
“No one leaves the grounds.” Ben juts his chin up, leveling the girls with a pointed look, daring them to challenge him. “It’s not safe.”
Rena and Sierra share a look, silently communicating in that sisterly way of theirs.
“I won’t add to your stress.” Sierra rubs a hand up and down Ben’s arm. “But we can’t stay locked up here indefinitely. The kids have school. I have a business to run, and Rena has college.”
“We’ll rehire Mr. Spielberg, you can appoint a manager, and Rena can study online,” Ben counters.
“I think that’s acceptable in the short-term while you get some emergency measures in place, but we can’t disrupt our lives permanently, Ben,” Sierra replies. “Unless there is a direct threat to us, I think we are safe here. No one knows where we live, and we have adequate security.”
“We can homeschool the kids for a week or two,” Rena says. “But I agree with Sierra. As much as I’m scared, I’m not letting anyone or anything control my life again. Do what you need to do, Ben, and we will all remain on guard, but we can’t hide from this forever. If this person or persons is gunning for us, there is nothing we can do to avoid it indefinitely.”
29
ALESSO
It’s after four a.m. when I finally climb into the warm bed beside Rena. I try to be quiet, but it’s like she was only half asleep because she stirs almost immediately, blinking her eyes open as I crawl under the covers. “Sorry, I didn’t want to wake you,” I whisper.
“S’fine.” She stifles a yawn as she turns on her side so she’s facing me. “I told you I wanted you to sleep with me knowing it would be some ungodly hour.” She opens her arms, and I sink into her warmth. “I didn’t want you to sleep alone. Not after the day you’ve had.”
“It feels good,” I murmur, fighting extreme exhaustion. “Coming back to you and the kids. They are sleeping like little angels, by the way.” I peeked in Elisa’s and Romeo’s rooms, to ensure they were okay, before tiptoeing in here.
“You should move your things in,” she blurts, and I’m suddenly wide-awake.
“Yeah?” We haven’t done much more than making out, and I have never slept beside her, so this is a lot for her to offer. Not that I’m against it. I would move in, in a heartbeat, but I need to know she’s not rushing things before she’s ready.
She nods, smiling. “Yes.” She threads her fingers through my hair, and it’s heavenly. I stifle a groan and ignore my growing semi. “I know I won’t see much of you going forward because you’ll be super busy. I want you sleeping beside me every night so I can hold you and know you’re safe.”
I cup one side of her face. “I would love that, but we shouldn’t rush if you aren’t ready.”
“I have already committed to you, Alesso.” She brushes her mouth against mine. “I’m ready to do this and ready to move things a little further between us.” She bites on her lower lip. “Sexually, I mean.” Her usual blush is missing, replaced with a hopeful spark in her eyes. “I will have to build up to the main act, but we can do more.”
“That makes me happy but not as happy as getting to wake up beside you every day.” I pull her into my chest, heaving a sigh of contentment when I feel her warm, soft body molding against mine. “We should talk more about this when it’s not the middle of the night.”
“I won’t change my mind.” Her defiant tone has me smiling.
“Good.” I hold her closer and breathe her in. I swear I feel some of the stress leaving my body just having her near. “But now we should sleep.” I dust kisses into her hair. “Go back to sleep, my love. We’ll talk more tomorrow.”
