I see her swallow hard, then drop her eyes to the floor. “It couldn’t be helped. She’ll be fine,” she whispers hoarsely.
“I need you to go. Please.”
“I’m not going anywhere, Andy,” I say, keeping my tone gentle. She’s clearly scared witless. Whatever’s happened these past two days must have been bad. Really bad. “Andy, speak to me. At least let me know what’s happening here so I can give her some answers. She’s your friend. You owe her that much.”
Chapter 10
Andy Carter
My heart feels like it’s about to pound straight out of my chest as I stare up at him. So familiar, and yet still such a stranger to me. A niggling part of my mind reminds me that I’d been almost aggressive in my pursuit of this man. And now he’s standing in front of me, staring right into my soul, and I’m telling him to leave.
When a tiny sob bubbles up my throat, I sense him reaching out to me. And then I’m pressed up against the broad expanse of his chest. It seems impossible that just hours ago, another man had tried to pull me against his body, and the thought of it had brought up bile. Now I’m facing Mateo Ricci, and my strongest instinct is to melt into him.
“Meteo, I..” I choke out as I start to weep.
“Oh my God…” I feel small and frail and pathetic, and he seems so strong. A shelter from the storm that’s wracked my world.
“Shhh…” I hear him say softly as his arms wrap around me. “It’s okay. Everything’s going to be okay…”
He can’t know how wrong he is, and I can’t find my voice to tell him what’s going on.
Where do I even start? But all I want to do right now is sink into the safety of his arms and let the fear drain out of me. I’ve been running on adrenaline for too long, and I’m exhausted.
He lets me weep for a while and then pulls away gently. I look up into eyes that are deep and filled with concern. There’s none of the sharp wariness I’d always seen in those dark depths. He’d never been relaxed around me, always on edge. But now, something has shifted.
“Speak to me, Andy,” he says, tipping my chin up with his knuckle. I lick my lips and give a tiny nod, then step away.
“Can I get you a drink?” I ask, more because I need one than he probably does.
“Sure,” he says, letting me move toward the kitchen. There’s a bottle of scotch on the counter that I’d picked up on the way over, along with a few bags of groceries. Basic meals to see me through the coming days. I don’t consider offering him food. I can’t face the thought of it now.
I reach into a cabinet for a couple of short tumblers and splash them half full of amber fluid. I don’t bother with ice. I’m already taking a shuddering mouthful as I pass his glass to him.
“I think you need to sit down,” he says as I take a swaying step. I’m pretty sure he’s noticed that I’ve already put a healthy dent in the bottle on the counter. I’m not drunk, though. It’s the weariness that leaves me unsteady. I nod, not resisting as he guides me back to the sofa in front of the fire. I sink into the soft pillows, clasping both hands around my glass as he settles beside me.
He doesn’t press me to speak again, but I know that he’s waiting.
“It’s my father,” I say at last. “He…he did a deal. Using me.” Mateo frowns in confusion.
“A deal? What kind of deal?” he asks.
“A trade,” I say. “Some kind of business exchange. And I was the bargaining chip. An old connection who wanted to buy into the family name. He’s promised me to the son of one of his old associates. A man who wants the Carter connection to do business abroad.”
“He promised you? Like an arranged marriage?” he asks, his voice filled with disbelief. I nod. There’s no other way to explain it.
“That’s fucking archaic,” he curses. There’s an unreadable expression on his face, but I don’t have the energy to try to interpret it.
“Goddamn dinosaurs,” he scoffs.
“I can’t believe people still pull such bullshit moves. It’s like something out of the dark ages. The Caraldi crap is bad enough, but you… You seem to come from a different place.” He’s shaking his head, his voice a mutter that almost doesn’t seem intended for me. He looks over and meets my eye.
“So now you’re hiding out?”
I nod. “I don’t know what else to do,” I say. “The man I’m supposed to marry – he’s…he’s a monster.” I take another deep drink, feeling the liquid burn down my throat. His eyes soften, and he reaches out to cup my cheek.
It’s quickly occurring to me that for all his tough-guy posturing, Mateo is a caring man. Even during the height of Nikki’s troubles with Dario Caraldi, Mateo had seemed to be untouched by the grime of it all. When we’d learned he was an undercover agent, it had all made perfect sense. I look at him now and see the goodness within him. So different from the twisted morals of the man who raised me.
His thumb moves along my cheekbone, and I feel something flutter deep in my chest. I turn my face, squeeze my eyes shut, and press my lips against his palm.
