Page 100 of The Woman with the Handcuffs

That made him tighten all the more.

But he must have seen the way I tensed at his reaction because he paused, took a deep breath, nodded, then gave me a tight smile.

“That’s all right. We’re going to get you all fixed up. I have it from here.”

But would he, when he knew the whole truth?

I guess only time would tell.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Gavino

Leo just wanted to talk shop for a few minutes, which was always done in person when possible.

He had no updates on Daniel.

I had nothing concrete to give him, either.

So I told him nothing.

I rationalized it by telling myself that I would give him a full report once I had something productive to tell him.

It had nothing at all to do with the fact that I wanted to protect Caitlin and her secrets.

Once he was gone—after reminding me I had to attend the next family dinner and that Caitlin was, of course, invited—I didn’t know what the fuck to do with myself.

I washed dishes, ordered groceries, washed the bedding and some clothes, and cleaned up the apartment. All the while anticipating Caitlin coming back before the end of the night.

She’d been trying to play it cool, but it was clear she wanted to be with me as much as I wanted to be with her.

Once she had her charger and some clothes, there would be no reason for her to go back to her place. I planned not to let her conjure up some other reason.

I wanted her in the apartment with me.

Across from me as we ate. Sitting next to me as we read. Or teasing me about how boring some of my documentaries were. In my arms in bed at night.

I never understood how my cousins and siblings went from completely disinterested in relationships to locked down tight in what felt like a blink.

Until, of course, it happened to me.

I forced myself to go down to the gym, wanting to burn off some of my pent-up energy. Then catch a quick shower before Caitlin showed up.

I never expected to walk down my hallway to find her sitting beside the door, curled into herself, sobbing so hard that her whole body jolted violently.

And I damn sure didn’t expect that when she looked up at me, I’d see a nasty bruise spreading across her cheek.

It was all bad.

But when I set her down and felt the wetness on my arm, then looked down and saw blood, my fucking gut bottomed out.

I knew that head wounds bled like a motherfucker, even when they were minor. But there were a dozen things to worry about with an injury like that. None of them I was capable of handling myself.

I couldn’t let an in-pain, terrified Caitlin know that, though. She was already crumbling. I had to put on a strong front for her.

“I’m just going to wash my hands, and then I’m going to check out your head.”

She gave me a little nod as she pulled her broken wrist across her body.