Page 45 of Promises in the Dark

My lips curve up. “You’re a bit of a contradiction.”

“How so?”

I step toward the wall of roses, leaning in to breathe in their sweet, delicate scent. My fingertips brush softly against a crimson petal before I glimpse back at him over my shoulder.

“You have a reputation that makes even the most dangerous men in our world run when they hear your name,” I say quietly. It’s no secret what Alex has done over the years. I’m sure some of the stories must be true. “They fear you and your family more than anyone else in this region.” My gaze drifts around the greenhouse before settling back on him. “And yet here you are…caring for flowers like they’re the most precious things in the world.”

He slips his hands into his pockets and walks toward the roses beside me, studying them in silence for a moment.

When he finally speaks, his voice is calm and steady, making every word feel intentional.

“Men in our world are raised to be ruthless,” he begins. “They’re taught that compassion is only a weakness that will put you six feet under. But my father taught me and my brothers something very different.” He hesitates, his eyes lost as if somewhere far from here. Perhaps in a memory he can’t quite forget. “He taught us that caring for someone isn’t weakness. It’s strength. But most men in our world are too much of a coward to live this way.” He tilts his face my way, our gazes locking as my heart thunders wildly. “Flowers look fragile,” he murmurs, reaching out to pluck a rose from the wall. “But they’re resilient. Stronger than people think.” He hands me the pink rose and my fingers wrap around the stem, carefully avoiding the thorns. “They just need the right person willing to care for them.”

Chapter ten

Alex

My finger presses down on the red button in the center of my dashboard. Ahead of me, the steel garage door rumbles to life, slowly sliding upward to reveal a tunnel carved into the rock beneath the estate. Motion sensors illuminate the passage one section at a time, until I reach my underground office.

The cement walls surrounding it are so thick that not even a nuclear bomb could reach us.

My finger slides across the touchscreen until I tap on Tommaso’s name.

“Sir,” he immediately answers.

“How are they?”

“Fine. I was doing my rounds and saw that Charlotte had taken Clara to the lake behind your house. It was pretty damn adorable.”

I grind my teeth. “What was Charlotte wearing?”

“Huh?”

“What was she wearing?”

“Oh. Umm, just seemed like normal clothes to me. I think a pair of jeans and a T-shirt.”

Relief flows through me.