Jesus, this was all too much. “I’m sorry for your loss.”
She smiled weakly. “This is the last time I’ll do rehab. If it doesn’t work… I don’t know what I’ll do. But after the other night, I made a promise to Cosimo and our unborn baby that I would get clean.”
“Why were you in my restaurant?”
“Cara sent me to distract you, but I didn’t want to. I don’t want to be controlled anymore, Ciro. I just want to live my life in peace.”
Dammit, I felt awful for her. “Get well, Courtney. Now that I know everything, I’ll take care of it.”
“But that’s it. You don’t know everything. None of us do. She’s not well, Ciro. And her brother is still at her side, doing her bidding.”
I covered her hand with mine. “You let me worry about them, and you focus on getting well.”
“Thank you. I hope you can find peace and happiness too, with Isla and your baby girl.”
I bit down on my back molars. “How do you know I have a daughter?”
“Cara told me.”
38
ISLA
Thump,thump, thump. Thump, thump, thump.
I jerked awake and stayed still in my bed listening to any and every sound. Pippa didn’t make a sound, thankfully. The room was dark and I blinked to get my eyes to adjust.
Maybe I’d been dreaming. It felt like I’d just fallen asleep after doing my skin routine and brushing my teeth to get caught up on sleep. My Friday had been uneventful, getting the apartment clean and laundry done. Pippa and I had gone out for a walk.
Paolo had trailed behind us, which was annoying but the more he was around, the more I was getting used to him. We didn’t talk much, only when needed. Like when he told me Ciro was delayed in Los Angeles and he wouldn’t arrive until around ten o’clock.
I had about lost it and told Paolo that his boss would have to wait to see me and the baby until tomorrow morning because we were going to bed. The nerve of Ciro Remotti thinking he could barge into my home at any hour of the night.
Thump, thump, thump.
“Isla! Please help me!”
Elsie?
Thump, thump, thump.“Help me!”
I jumped out of bed, ran to the front door, and flung it open.
“Elsie!” I gasped at her face covered in blood, eyes nearly swollen shut. My heart stopped. “Oh my, God!”
“Roy has lost his mind this time.” Elsie cried as I pulled her inside my apartment. “He’s going to kill me!”
I looked out into the hallway and didn’t see Paolo anywhere. The fluorescent lights hurt my eyes as I looked to the right, which was the direction of Elsie’s apartment, then I turned to the left, hoping to see Paolo. He wouldn’t have left me alone, so where was he?
Oh sure. You only care about Paolo when you need protection from raging lunatics.
My blood turned cold. I didn’t have any protection. My next thought went to Pippa as I turned around to face my sister and slowly closed the door.
Bruises covered Elsie’s arms, chest, and neck. I couldn’t move, shocked by what I saw. She trembled violently as she hugged her stomach.
“Where’s Roy?” I asked her, even though I was terrified to know the answer. Had she killed him? Was he hurt? Was he going to come after her?
“I hit him over the head with Wulbren and knocked him over. That’s how I got away.”
