I start to panic until I see the face at the wheel.
Adora.
She gets out after just one look at my face. “Mina. What happened?”
Those familiar amber eyes are filled with concern.
“There are bodies in the back garden. Men came through the gates, and Cristiano— I saw everything and— I have to get Leon out of here.”
I start crying, ugly sobs that I can’t control. Leon stirs against my shoulder.
“Mama, what’s wrong?”
Adora’s expression shifts from surprise to grim understanding.
“Come with me,” she says. “Vincenzo and I will protect you, I promise. You’re family.”
I need to get Leon somewhere safe. I need space to think and be somewhere Leon won’t see dead bodies or blood or the cold look in Cristiano’s eyes when he admitted he felt nothing as he killed four men. But I hesitate. I don’t know that Adora’s home is any safer than the one I’m fleeing.
Adora sees my reluctance and grips my shoulder. “The men who attacked Cristiano had wolf tattoos, didn’t they?”
“How did you know?”
Several emotions flit across her face. “Dark things have been happening in Malus these past few weeks. I can tell you about it once we’re home, but I promise that the men who attacked Cristiano won’t come near you or your son while you’re with us. You’ll be safe, I promise.”
Cristiano promised me we were safe with him, and look how that turned out. The memory of those dangerous men in the garden with their eyes filled with hatred for Cristiano tells me there are so many things I don’t understand about their world, and there are so many things to fear.
But Rosa can’t protect me right now, and she won’t thank me for bringing danger to her doorstep. Adora seems to understand what’s going on, and I cling to her understanding like it’s a lifebelt.
“Okay,” I whisper. “Okay.”
Adora helps me into her car with gentle hands. Leon is bundled on my lap.
I thought we might actually be a family, and that Leon might have a father. I hoped that I might get to love Cristiano without being terrified of him.
All of that has crumbled to dust.
As the Montoni mansion disappears behind us, it feels like my heart is being ripped out of my chest.
I tryto feel grateful for the guest room in Adora and Vincenzo’s home, which has gray walls, white linens, and a large, comfortable bed. I haven’t met her husband yet, but I told Adora and Vincenzo’s aunt Sofia that I was more than happy to share with Leon. Right now, I need to be close to my son.
He’s asleep now, dwarfed by the expanse of a white comforter. I arranged his medication on the nightstand in neat rows and checked his bandage twice. Kissed his forehead and whispered that everything would be okay.
I’m certain I’m lying.
Now I’m pacing, my chest so tight I can barely breathe.
Dusk is falling outside, painting the sky in shades of purple and gold. The beauty of it feels wrong. This house feels wrong. Everything feels wrong.
I move to the window, needing air and a distraction. I have a view of the front lawn, which is tightly manicured. There are no trees which attackers could hide behind or where bodies could fall. No rosebushes to be spattered with blood.
My gaze travels to the secure front gates, and then the quiet street beyond.
I freeze.
Cristiano is standing on the far side of the street, staring at the house. It’s hard to make out his features in the gathering dark, but I can see the bloodstain over his stomach and at his shoulder. He’s holding himself stiffly as though he’s in pain and his fists are clenched, but his eyes are fixed on the house with laser focus.
Our eyes meet through the window.
