"Then you should let me help you."
Turning off the water, he opened the shower door and grabbed a towel from the rack, wrapping it around me after drying my hair and body. "You can do it while I talk to Enzo," he finally told me.
I stepped out while he dried himself and went into the bedroom to get dressed. By the time he came out, I was sitting on the bed, running a comb through my wet hair.
"We need to talk, Luna." Pulling on some clean lounge pants, he left his chest bare and went back into the bathroom to get his first aid supplies. I was waiting for him when he came out. "But not tonight. Tomorrow," he said. "Tomorrow, we'll talk."
I stared up at him, but then I nodded. "Okay. I can wait until tomorrow."
Wrapping his hand around my throat, he forced my head up so I was looking at him. My heart raced as I stared up at him. "What is it?" I asked him.
He looked like he was about to say something, but then he just ran his thumb along my jaw as his eyes roamed over my face. "Tomorrow."
Taking my hand, he led me out to see Enzo, and to my surprise, Luca was there, too. A bottle of whiskey sat on the table, and they both had empty glasses in front of them. Luca's eyes ran over me quickly before he gave me a nod hello.
"Jesus Christ, Tristan," Luca said when he saw him. "What the hell happened?"
Tristan leaned back against the counter, his hands gripping the edge while I dug through the stuff he'd brought out. I found some gauze, peroxide, butterfly bandages, and Vaseline. Whilehe talked to his boss and Enzo, I cleaned and bandaged the worst of his wounds. He didn't seem to notice when I poured peroxide into the cuts, catching it on the gauze. Didn't even flinch when I closed a few with butterfly bandages. But I saw his knuckles whiten when Gino's name was mentioned.
"Why did you go back there?" Luca asked him.
"I thought I'd take a look around while he wasn't there, see if I could find anything. And I'd forgotten something important for Luna. But it was all a ruse. He was waiting for me." He paused. "It was my fault. I let my guard down and one of his men snuck up on me. I didn't have time to react before the chemicals took effect." He stopped, glancing at me before giving his attention back to Luca.
I had the feeling he didn't want to say too much with me in the room. "I'm just gonna put this stuff away," I told him quietly. "I'll wait for you in the bedroom."
His hand struck out fast as a snake and wrapped around my wrist. My eyes flew to his, expecting to see the same cold stare. But instead, I saw a flash of fear in his dark eyes. "No. Stay."
I glanced over at Luca and Enzo, who were watching this interaction with interest. When neither of them objected, I leaned against the counter beside him.
"Did you find anything of interest?" Luca asked after a moment.
"No," Tristan told him. "I didn't have a chance. I never made it out of Luna's room."
To their credit, neither Luca nor Enzo took his answer as anything more than a normal report, and didn't press him for more.
"Alright," Luca told him. "I'd like to see you and Enzo in my office tomorrow, T. If you feel up to it."
"I'm fine," he told him. "I'll be there in the morning."
I watched Luca and Enzo leave, feeling a mixture of relief and apprehension now that Tristan and I were alone again.
As soon as the door closed behind them, Tristan turned to me. His dark eyes were unreadable as they searched my face. "Are you hungry?"
I almost said no, but then I nodded. Normal things. That's what he needed. Normal things always made me feel better when I got too in my head. And Iwashungry. "Yeah, I'm starving."
"Why don't you go move your things into my room while I make something."
"Your room?" I couldn't keep the surprise in my voice.
He studied my face. "Yes. I want you to stay with me now."
For how long?I wanted to ask.And what about Gino?Was he dead? Is that why he was letting me out? But I assumed he would've told Luca if that was the case, unless he didn't want me to know for some reason. I set my questions aside for now. I was getting out of that fucking cell and that worked for me.
It didn't take long for me to transfer my meager belongings into his bedroom. I left my clothes in the bag they were in, and set my bathroom supplies beside it, not sure how comfortable I should make myself.
When I finished, I went back to the kitchen. Tristan was standing over the stove, stirring something in a deep frying pan.I hovered in the doorway, unsure if I should join him or give him space.
"I just threw together some pasta," he said without looking away from what he was doing.
