“Morning, sweetheart.” Rafe looked up the moment I pushed the door open. There was a smile on his face but it didn’t mask the worry I saw there too. Once again, I had scared him the night before.
“Hey. Have you been in here all night?” I asked when I noticed how crumpled his white shirt looked.
“Most of it,” he sighed. “Things with the business have become a little crazy just lately. I have several large deals all coming to a head at once.”
“Plus whatever is going on with me, the Armenians, and the Russians, right?” I pushed. I crossed the office and took a seat in the tan leather, high back chair opposite his desk.
“It’s nothing for you to worry about. I have it all in hand,” he assured me, closing his laptop so we could see one another better. “How do you feel this morning? Did you get any sleep?”
“Some,” I nodded. “I’m doing okay.”
“We need to do some brainstorming together later. I want us to plan a way to alter your bedroom so you can feel comfortable in there. You can’t go on without a safe space to call your own. I can bring in an interior designer. I was thinking maybe we could break the space up with some stud walls, make them into smaller spaces with specific purposes. Maybe a study section, and a beauty section? Is that what you’d call it? For make up and beauty and such?”
“I have no idea,” I laughed. “I’m not much of a make up girl. But honestly Rafe, that’s not necessary. I was actually going to ask you if I could move into the guest room opposite Cal’s on the fourth floor. Arran showed it to me earlier so I could store some of my things in there, and it’s perfect. The space is smaller and I think I could feel pretty cosy in there.”
“That’s the smallest bedroom in the house, Cara. We can do better than that,” Rafe insisted.
“I need the smallest room. Your home…it’s beautiful, and I love it here, especially when I get to be with you and the others. I’m settled here, and I feel safe when I’m not alone. But after everything, I just…I know how stupid this sounds, but I…I get scared. It’s like when I was a little kid all over again. Dark corners and silence just set my mind running wild, and that triggers everything that’s happened, and before I know it my anxiety hits. I need that small room Rafe, plus, it’s hardly small. It’s still a pretty luxurious bedroom,” I explained.
“Okay. First of all, this is your home too, not just mine, and you don’t know what a relief it is to hear that you feel comfortable here, especially considering the threats you’ve faced since you arrived. Secondly, there is nothing stupid about feeling fear after what you’ve been through,Tesorino. You’ve faced some terriblesituations in just the last month, which you never should have had to, and I wish more than anything I had done a better job of protecting you. But you faced every single one of those horrors with so much strength, and fight. You are strong, but even strong people get shaken every now and then.”
“I just want to be strong again,” I said tearfully. Rafe rounded his desk and knelt before the chair I sat in, taking my hands in his and holding them gently.
“You will be, but you have to give yourself time. You haven’t even healed your physical injuries yet. The mental ones will take longer still, but I know you will find your strength again.”
“I hope so.”
“I know so,” he told me with determination. “Now, about your room. If you would prefer the guest room, then you can take it. If you want to change the décor or furniture – anything at all in there, we can do that. I want you to make it your own. I want you to have your own space within this house where you feel safe to be. I’d prefer you be nearer me, but that’s just me being protective.”
“Plus, you barely ever sleep in your room, Rafe. If you want me close, you should give me a room next to this office,” I teased, and he smiled. “I think it would be better for me to be further away from Gia for now. She gets angry when I wake her with my nightmares. At least me moving down a floor will remove one thing about me that annoys her.”
“Yes, well, we need to speak about Gia,” he sighed as he rose to his feet and released my hands. He rounded his desk and sat again.
“What is it? Is she alright?” I worried.
“She’s fine. I spoke with her last night and she seemed to be enjoying her trip,” he assured me.
“Then what? Does she still want me to leave, because I c…”
“No! We’re not discussing that again. I don’t care what Gia wants. You belong here. You’re staying here,” he said flatly, cutting me off. He took a deep breath and rubbed a hand over the back of his neck exhaustedly. “You know about the teenagers photographing you last night, correct?”
“Yes. I asked Arran about them, but he told me to speak to you. Who were they?” I asked.
“They led us to this.” Rafe rifled through a file on his desk and pulled out a page, handing it across to me. “Take a look for me. Tell me if you recognise any of the numbers on that phone record.”
“Phone record?” I looked over the sheet of paper. There were no details at the top. It was just a list of outgoing and incoming calls, dated several weeks earlier. Puzzled, I did as Rafe asked and looked down the list of numbers, one thing standing out immediately. “Some of these calls are to and from the U.S.”
“Yes. Do you notice anything else?”
I scanned the numbers with American dialling codes, and gasped when I realised what Rafe had obviously already noticed.
“Who do these records belong to, Rafe?” I demanded as my heart started to pound even harder.
“Tell me, please Cara. I need you to confirm what I already fear,” Rafe pleaded.
“This cell number, it belonged to our mother. I bought it for her in case of emergencies and I memorised the number. There are five calls on here to and from that number,” I said shakily. “Who was she speaking to?”
“Gia. Those phone records belong to Gia.”
