“One day he’ll scare Leon,” I whisper. “One day it won’t be me he hurts, but our son, and it will break me. I can’t keep doing this.”
Sofia is quiet for a long moment. Then she moves to the window again, twitching the curtain aside to look at Cristiano standing in the street below.
Her eyes turn cold.
“When my nephew Vincenzo was terrorizing his bride-to-be, I told him that I would not stand for it. There’s a simple solution for dangerous men who hurt women and children. Speak to Vincenzo if you wish to accept the offer of Vici family services. While you are under our protection, they won’t cost you a cent.”
The words hang ominously in the air.
Then she lets the curtain fall and turns to me, that maternal smile warming her face once more. “Come downstairs for dinner if you feel up for it, otherwise, I’ll send up a tray for you and the little one. Anything you need, anything at all, just ask.”
And with that, she turns and walks out of the room.
I stand there, frozen, my stomach churning. What did she mean? What kind of solution?
I look at Leon sleeping peacefully in the bed, his small chest rising and falling. I fled one killer to find safety with another family, and now I’m wondering if they’re any safer. If anywhere is safe.
I climb into bed beside Leon, pulling him close, breathing in his scent.
My mind won’t stop racing. When I close my eyes, I see Cristiano standing in the street. Blood dripping on white roses. I see Sofia’s cold eyes and replay her ominous words.
I love Cristiano.
I’m terrified of him.
And I don’t know which feeling will win.
I wakein the morning to a soft knock on the door.
For a moment I’m disoriented, unsure where I am. Then it all comes rushing back. The bodies in the garden. Cristiano’s cold eyes. Running. Sofia’s ominous words.
I check my son immediately. Leon is still asleep beside me, his breathing soft and even.
The knock comes again, gentle but persistent.
I slip out of bed carefully so as not to wake Leon and open the door a crack.
A young man stands in the hallway, mid-twenties, with an easy smile and warm brown eyes. He’s handsome in a boyish way, his dark hair slightly mussed, and he’s holding two cups of coffee.
“Morning!” His voice is cheerful and pitched low so as not to wake Leon. “You must be Mina. I’m Matteo. Vincenzo’s cousin.”
He offers me one of the coffee cups like we’re old friends.
I take it automatically, too surprised to refuse. “Thank you.”
“Cream and sugar, right? Adora told me.” He leans against the doorframe, still smiling. “I wanted to introduce myself and let you know you’re safe here. No man is getting to you while you’re under this roof. Not your fiancé and definitely not his enemies.”
The casual way he says it, like he’s discussing the weather, throws me off-balance.
“Cristiano is not my fiancé.”
“Ah. My mistake.” Matteo doesn’t seem bothered by the correction. “Either way, you’ve got nothing to worry about. There are Vici soldiers on every floor of this house. Ma says noone’s going to touch you and the boy while you’re here, and what Ma says goes.”
Ma must be Sofia. I glance toward the closed window, and my stomach sinks. Cristiano must still be out there. I can feel him somehow, a weight pressing on my heart.
I glance toward the window. “How does Cristiano look this morning?”
Matteo considers this. “Like he’s been in a fight. Adora went out and told him to go to a doctor, but he refuses. Says he’s not going anywhere while you and your son are here.”
