“Yeah?” He scoffs. “I don’t think so. Just so you know, it means not standing around and watching the people you love get hurt. Do you have any idea how much it broke her to come out here, leaving you and that job behind?” His eyes are focused on the porch where Amara, Bella, and Eliza are all sitting.
“I know I made mistakes,” I tell him. “And I know it’s going to take a lot to make it up to her. And to you. I never wanted you to get involved with Tristan.”
“Yeah, well, I did. And now look where we are.”
A doubt creeps into my mind. “I hope you’re not blaming yourself.”
“No. I mostly blame you,” he says, and I almost smirk. “For using her and for lying. Leading her on. Keeping her in the dark and at the same time subjecting her to just enough of your world that it was dangerous for her.”
“I know.” I nod. “And you have no reason to trust me. But you need to trust this. Tristan is out there.”
“No shit,” he mutters. “You have men and resources. Why don’t you go find him? Make him pay. Become king of the streets like you always wanted.”
“Because it’s not that simple,” I answer. “He’s planning something. And even if he doesn’t execute it, he has brothers who will. I have to lure him out. Then I can fight him. Beat him. Be rid of him. But until then, nowhere is safe for her. Nowhere except with me.”
“You don’t think I can take care of my own sisters?” Gianni bristles.
“I don’t think every bodyguard on the planet could keep her safe from Tristan. Especially since she’s carrying my child.” I rub my temples and try to figure out how to deescalate this. Though it has never been my specialty to douse the fire. All I know is how to pour oil on it. “But I know Tristan. He’s Bratva. His brain works a certain way. A way only men like him can understand. I can predict him. And I can stop him. But not if I’m worrying about her.”
Gianni chews the inside of his cheek for a moment. “I don’t like it,” he says.
“I know,” I answer.
“But if you swear you can keep her safe from Tristan, then she can go with you. I won’t fight you.”
I hold out my hand for a firm shake. “It’s a promise.”
We go to the porch to have the same conversation with the girls. They are less hard to convince, but a lot more emotional, especially Bella.
“I just don’t understand why we can’t go with you,” Bella sniffs, leaning her head on Amara’s shoulder as they sit on the porch swing together. Looking at them like that, I’m forced to say thatthe place has some charm, even if it is old and outdated. A family kind of charm.
But maybe it’s just them.
“It’s safer for you here,” Amara tells her.
I nod along. “Your sister is right. You guys have a pretty good setup here. You’ve established jobs and names, all while remaining pretty untraceable. I would know. I’m good at finding people when I’m looking for them.”
“But Maverick found usandstalked us,” Bella argues.
“Only after he knew where we were,” Amara says.
“And how did he know where we are?” she asks.
I look at Amara, ready to make something up, but she talks before me. “Because I was on my computer one night and it pinged my location to Ransome’s phone.”
“My personal phone,” I hop in to reassure them. “No one else could see it.”
“I still hate that you have to leave,” Bella pouts.
Eliza takes a seat on the swing on Bella’s other side. “I think they might be right, Bells. No one is really looking for us. But if word gets out that Amara is here, or worse, that Amara is pregnant, she and the baby would no longer be safe.”
“None of you would be,” I add, and Eliza nods somberly.
“Gianni, how are you okay with this? You hate Ransome,” Bella says flatly.
“I want what’s best for Amara and the baby,” he says. “And like it or not, Ransome’s protection is what’s best for them.”
Bella and Eliza burrow into Amara. I agree to letting her stay for one last night, to pack up and say her goodbyes.
