“Yep. Only a need to know basis. All I can say is that you will be out of here tomorrow. Any other questions?”
“No.”
He nods and leaves the room. That was a pitiful amount of information to go off. A colleague. Could it be that guy, Pedro? Oh my god, is he meeting that fucking flirty bastard? Ugh, who cares if he is. Not my business.
The door to my room opens again, but I don’t have the energy to turn around.
“Mark, can you just go to bed?” I start to say, but the reply is not from Mark.
“I think he has. Can I come in?”
Carlos.
I slowly move around to face him, and shuffle across to the edge of the bed. Carlos lets his eyes run down my naked torso. Lingering on the ‘v’ at my abdomen.
“What do you want, Carlos?”
“Just checking you are okay. I’m about to go to bed.”
“I’m fine. Where have you been?” I ask like a possessive boyfriend. I didn’t mean to say anything, but the mouth was ahead of my brain.
“Just business, Simon. The less you know, the safer it is for you.
“Would you have told me if I wasn't injured?”
“Probably not because we wouldn’t be in this situation.”
“Smug asshole,” I mutter as I gently take a seat on the bed. I groan at the ache in my back as my upper body curves, trying to get comfortable.
“Do you need a hand?”
“No. Stop coddling me. Where were you?”
“Simon, I really think it's best we just focus on tomorrow. Dima and the boys will take you home and it’ll be all settled.”
“Unlike you, I’ll be taking the scars and bad dreams with me. So not settled for us all.”
“I’ll help you through it.”
“No, we won’t see each other again after we leave here. It's done, Carlos.”
He walks over to me, standing close to my legs, towering over me. I can’t look up too much because of my back, but it causes butterflies to fly in my stomach anyway, because I’m a hopeless freak.
Carlos runs the back of his hand down my face and I close my eyes without thinking. Letting myself feel the touch.
“We’re never done, Simon.”
My eyes pop open just as he walks away, closing the door behind him before I can respond.
33
CARLOS
T he day has finally arrived. When we arrived home late last night, my father wasn’t around. Not that it mattered. He never
paid any attention to Enrico when he was here, so I was confident nobody would notice him not being here. Enrico has
always been renowned for leaving for days before returning, acting like he had never left.
