Page 11 of Antonio Miles

He didn’t answer immediately, just turned to me, his jaw tensed for a second. “Darby’s mother. I thought Darby should have it.”

“Why are you just now giving it to her?” I looked up at him.

“I only recently found out about Darby. When I did, Darby was resistant to my protection.” He gestured to the painting. “Darby is very much like her mother in many ways. From what Darby has told me, the woman I knew and the woman who raised my daughter were two very different people. I wanted Darby to know the woman I fell in love with.”

“She was good,” I whispered. For some reason, his admission of love for his daughter’s mother hurt me in multiple ways. I ached for the man who’d lost someone he obviously cared about, but I also felt a stab of uncomfortable jealousy. For no fucking reason!

He nodded, but his face held strain and grief even now. “This way.”

When we came to my door, I punched in my code to unlock it. “Did Mae show you the comm panel?”

“Yes. She said if I need anything to use this.” I pointed to the panel by the door. “And they’d take care of anything I needed immediately.”

“We’re generally on our own out here, but we get resupplied as often as we need. If we don’t request anything, someone comes on Thursday afternoon.”

“I’m not going to run,” I said, again, throwing out a different topic of conversation. “If that’s what you’re worried about.”

“No. I’m more worried you’ll decide to burn the whole place down around me and my father.”

“Is that what she did? Darby’s mother?” I had no idea why I asked the question. It was a low blow to a man who’d been nothing but kind. If a bit pushy.

He held my gaze for a long, hard second. Then he shook his head, once, and left, closing the door between us without acknowledging my question.

I took a breath and sighed. Seemed like I’d royally screwed that up. Scrubbing a hand over my face, I explored my suite. It was huge, and I could see myself living here comfortably for several weeks. Or months, even.

The main room was dominated by the windows, a wall of glass that looked out over the ridgeline. A stone fireplace was on one wall, wood stacked carefully beside it. A slate-gray sofa, oversized and deep, faced the windows, with a rug underfoot so plush my feet sank in. A small kitchen sat to the right, with rustic charm but modern efficiency.

Two bedrooms branched off the main space, both with more of those windows and beds that were nests of down and expensive linen. The master bath had a shower the size of a walk-in closet, and a tub big enough to drown in. Everything was monochrome stone, metal, or wood, with no clutter or anything personal.

I paced every inch of the place, running my hand along surfaces while looking for anything to indicate I was being watched or monitored. Like I’d know if I was. This place was more high-tech than anything I’d ever been around. The second bedroom looked like it had been converted to an office, so I set up my laptop in it. Once I had the information I’d asked for, I’d start going through everything. After that, I’d make my list of people who needed to die.

After a while, I knew I needed to get out of this room. Though I had plenty of room in this spacious suite, I still felt confined. I opened my door and padded down the hallway. I descended the stairs and rounded the corner. Though this fortress had thick walls, as I got closer to the kitchen area, voices still carried somewhat. I picked out a woman’s voice first, then a man answering. Two people stood at the kitchen island. The woman was tall, my age or a little older, with dark hair pulled back. She wore jeans and a black thermal. The man had the build of a wrestler, with scars along his forearms and a ready smile.

Antonio sat at the end of the island. He acknowledged me with a tilt of his head. “Come in, Tessa. You should meet our guests.” Of course he knew I was here. I’d forgotten the stairs had an alarm. Hadn’t Antonio told me himself?

I stepped into the kitchen and got the full impact of the woman’s gaze. She sized me up in a single pass, head to toe, but I didn’t feel like she found me lacking or anything. In fact, I thought she might be judging me to see how big of a physical threat I represented. Given the fact her features softened before she gave me a genuine smile, I figured she either didn’t consider me a threat or considered me a threat she could easily contain.

“This is Carrie Miles,” Antonio said. “And Hawk. Carrie is my niece. Her mother was my sister.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t meet you at Haven,” she said. Her accent was hard to place. “Veda said you wanted privacy for a while. We all chipped in with the care packages, though.”

I straightened, my eyes going wide. “Oh, my God. Carrie. You’re the one who sent me the DVDs of both versions of the movie Carrie.” I couldn’t help the grin. “Please say the story Hannah told me about how you and Chains met was true.”

“Oh, it’s definitely true.” Hawk gave me a big smile, which softened as he looked fondly down at the woman beside him.

“So, if you’re Antonio’s niece, you’re Seth’s granddaughter?”

“Suppose I am. Didn’t grow up with any of them, but they claim me now.”

She looked at Antonio, then at me, then back again. “He’s protective of you,” she said, nodding at Antonio. “You know that, right?”

“I know he convinced Knuckles and Hannah to let him bring me here, though the reason why I’m actually in one of his family’s homes is still something I’m trying to figure out.” I tried to be careful how I worded my explanation because I didn’t want to alienate this woman. Also, it was easy to see Carrie was different from the others. Even from Hannah, and I knew firsthand how dangerous Hannah could be. Carrie seemed somehow more so.

“Fair enough.” Carrie let her smile fade, showing me the woman beneath. “I’m here to keep you safe,” she said. “That’s the deal.” Hawk said nothing, just kept watch. If Carrie wanted to go outside and start a fight, he’d follow without asking why. It was the first time I’d ever seen a man let a woman call the shots. I got the feeling Carrie was as much Hawk’s equal as Hannah was Knuckles’. “But let me make one thing perfectly clear. I’m just getting to know Tonio and Seth. But they’re family. Tonio, even if he can be a colossal pain in the ass, is still my family.”

“I hear you,” I said, holding up a hand as I interrupted her. “I’m not here to fuck anyone over. Antonio has been kind to me.” I sighed. “Even if I don’t want to admit it, I needed him when he found me. So, while I can’t say I’m thrilled at the circumstances or the situation as a whole, as long as he doesn’t fuck me over I won’t retaliate.”

Carrie tilted her head before nodding. “OK. I can respect that.” She grinned.