“Rafe doesnae want ye going anywhere but the airport right now.”
“Tough luck. I need to find out why Hilt was trying to find me. Something’s going on here, and I’m pretty sure it’s going to have something to do with my Mum. I need to know what, and make sure Gia’s not caught up in it all.”
“It’s unlikely.”
“Nothing is out of the realms of possibility where my mother and her quest for drugs was concerned. I just need to try and see Hiltbefore we leave. There has to be an important reason that he went searching for me.”
“Aye, and that reason could be a reward for handing ye over to the Armenians,” Arran grumbled.
“He wouldn’t do that. We weren’t close exactly, but he cared about me. He was protective. I doubt he’d hurt me, but even if that is his plan, you’ll be there, won’t you?”
“Rafe willna like this.”
“You leave Rafe to me. This is what I came all of this way for. I have to see it through, Arran, especially now something’s going on with Gia.”
“Fine, but Brax is coming with us if you’re not comfortable with Dante. I’m not taking any risks.”
“What do we do about Dante?” I asked. I knew he would be fuming that I wouldn’t allow him to come out with us, especially when we were going into a potentially dangerous situation.
“I don’t know, Cara. He hurt ye. I’m so fuckin’ angry wi’ the bastard, I could kill him right now. If Rafe knew…”
“No!” I cried. “We’re not telling Rafe about this. I’m upset with Dante, but he doesn’t deserve Rafe’s wrath.”
“Rafe will ken something’s happened between yer’s as soon as we get home and he sees the two of ye are nae speaking or even being in a room at the same time.”
“I’ll handle it, Arran. I’ll get over what happened. I just need some time. Please, just tell the others not to blab to Rafe,” I pleaded.
“Jesus, Ye know Rafe’ll kill me if he finds out I kept this from him?”
“He won’t find out. Call Cal. I want to leave in twenty minutes.”
With those words I turned and walked back to my bedroom, closing the door behind me once I was inside. I paused there and took some gasping breaths, just trying to get some oxygen in.
I was freaking out inside. I was back in that hell. My old life was chasing me like a dark shadow. Dante had hurt and terrified me. And now Gia was missing, and it likely had something to do with my manipulative monster of a mother. It was too much, and yet I had to keep it all in. I had to appear strong so that I could at least see Hilt and find out what he knew. Hopefully, it would bring an end to this whole nightmare and ensure Gia got home safely. Maybe then we could work on repairing what had been broken with lies and deceit, and I could finally have my sister back in my life, just as I’d always wanted.
ARRAN
“What’s going on?” Cal asked as he walked into the hotel suite a short while later, his clothes drenched with sweat from his workout. I knew he had needed it that morning, after spending all night seeing Cara’s fear so open and raw after what Dante had put her through. That was why I had told him to go as soon as I saw him that morning.
“Cara wants to go and look for this Hilton guy before we get on the plane later.”
“I sort of expected that. She wants answers about her Mum, Arran. I can understand that,” Cal reasoned.
“I know, an’ I’ve agreed we can go, but we’ll need to be careful. Rafe’ll skin us alive if anythin’ happens to her.”
“Were you not being careful before Rafe laid down the law?” Cal smirked.
“Ye know I was,” I sighed.Bloody smart ass!“It’s just, Cara doesnae want Dante comin’ with us either. Have ye seen how bruised she is after last night?”
“She told me she was, but she was too upset to allow me to look last night.”
“Her whole torso is black an’ blue, Cal. Dante really fuckin’ hurt her, and I can only imagine how terrified she had to be, with him holding her that tightly, and no’ lettin’ her free.”
My rage was still right at the surface after seeing her skin marred with all of that bruising, inflicted on her by a man she, and I, had trusted implicitly to never put hands on her. She was still shaken that morning, hours later. No one had the right to do that to her, and certainly not someone who was supposed to be there to protect her.
“Can I trust that he won’t be leaving this hotel less bruised than Cara is?” Cal asked with some ire he didn’t often show.
“Aye, ye can bank on that, brother,” I agreed easily. “Can ye see to the lass, make sure she’s up to going out? If she’s no’ I can go there with Brax, and get some answers. Make sure she kens she doesnae need to go if she’s no’ feelin’ up to it.”
