Nicolette doesn’t laugh. Poor girl.
“We’re going to my room,” I tell Gwen. “We’re locked down for the night. No more clients. Everyone will be paid double time, and tomorrow, we’re going to discuss our options.”
Gwen nods. “Yes, sir. Thank you.”
“How’s Cosette?”
“A bit shaken but otherwise fine.”
“Good. We’ll check on her.” New security guards march by the door.
“Might be a good idea to do that tomorrow?” Gwen suggests gently. “She was so anxious after what happened I gave her a sleeping pill. She’s in my room for now.”
I nod. “Of course. If you need anything, you know how to reach me. Good night.”
We walk hand in hand up to my room.
“Poor Cosette,” Nicolette says with a sigh.
“She’s a strong woman. You all are. She’ll be alright, you’ll see.”
We walk in silence.
I open the door to my room and lead her inside. I walk over to the sofa by the window that overlooks the mountains and pull her onto my lap.
“Fabien—”
“Don’t talk me out of this. There’s plenty of time. Give me thirty seconds to be with you before we get into disguise, it’s the least we can do.”
She opens her mouth as if to protest, then snaps it shut.
“Good girl.” I stroke my hand through her hair. “You did a very good job there. How are you feeling about what happened?”
“I feel like…” When she inhales, her slight body expands against mine. She exhales, and rests against me. “There’s too much for me to process right now. Like I can’t… I can’t move beyond thisuntil I’ve given it some thought. But the most difficult thing right now is that I can’t get in touch with Savannah. Like, logically, I can tell myself that she’s fine and I don’t have to worry, but at the same time, after what happened today, I can’t shut off that part of my brain that’s really worrying.”
“I understand.”
I won’t let her run away from me. I won’t let her go. But I won’t keep her like a bird in a cage. I want her to know she’s safe with me.
I pull out my phone and make a phone call. Louis answers on the first ring.
“Boss? What can I do for you?”
“Thought you were in the hospital?”
“Nah, you know me. Got patched up and I’m home, ready to work. What’s going on?”
I fill him in briefly. “Her sister’s in Boston. Can you call in a favor?”
“Rossis?”
“You know it.”
Romeo Rossi, the most powerful mob boss in the Boston Underworld, owes us a favor. His youngest sister got herself in trouble and was sent to Tuscany a few years ago, and he had no one stationed to guard her. We sent guards to bridge the gap between her arrival and theirs, and just in time to save her from a vicious attack from one of their enemies. He promised he’d do anything for us in return.
“Report back, will you?”
“Of course. On it.”
