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Breathing red hot fury in his face, I scowl. “Where the fuck is she?”
“Spain, I assume. I let her go,” he says calmly, and if I am not mistaken, he appears a little amused. Is he testing me? Did he fake this picture to gauge my reaction? Is this just a ploy to catch me?
“I don’t believe you.”
“Have I ever lied to you?”
“Why?” I let go of his neck, stepping back. “Why did you let her go?” I watch him cautiously as he rubs his hand over the red welt mark left from my fingerprints and looks at me sharply.
“Because there is something you can’t see in the photograph that I saw.”
“What? What is it?” I hurry back to the desk, picking up the photograph, examining it for a long moment. It is a side view of her face and shoulders from a short distance away, standing in front of an old building. The image is a little blurry, like it has been taken out of focus or zoomed right in.
“I don’t see anything.” I look at him with desperation. What could possibly be the reason he let her go? Was she with someone? A lover? Is this his way of punishing me for deceiving him?
“Take a seat, Luca.” He walks over to his bar and pours a drink.
“I’m not sitting down. Tell me what the fuck you saw.”
“Sit the fuck down,” he barks. The frustration and warning in his tone has me reassessing my hostility towards him. In truth, I owe him my obedience after what I have done. I take a seat and the drink he hands me, observing him as he takes his drink and sits opposite me.
“Why didn’t you tell me you were in love with her?” he asks me with disappointment evident in his tone.
“Would it have made a difference?”
“My wife was the enemy once upon a time, remember?” I do. Her family killed off mine one by one. How could I ever forget that? Yet I cannot put aside the fact she also helped save my life.
“Would you have betrayed me for her?”
“Knowing what I do about her now.” He nods. “In an instant. I would do anything for her.”
“You’re not mad at me for going against your order?”
“Oh, make no mistake, I am furious with you, but I also understand why you did it.”
I take a long mouthful of my whiskey, savoring the sweetness as it may very well be my last taste. “What are you going to do about it?”
“The question is, what are you going to do about it?”
I contemplate his words for a long moment. I don’t understand why he is so calm. This is certainly not the reaction I had imagined he would have. I look at the picture again, trying to see any abnormalities, any clue to what Nicolai is hiding. Nothing. I look back to my brother. “What is it that you saw that changed your perspective about Scarlet?”
“That, brother, is not for me to answer. You need to find that out for yourself.”
Is this some sick game? Has Nicolai schemed a plan to trap us both? Even as the thought runs through my mind. I doubt it. My brother is loyal to the core. He speaks the truth and never hides his intentions.
“You’re not going to kill me?”
Nicolai laughs. “You’re my baby brother. Even if you held a gun to my head, I doubt I’d ever be able to harm you.”
I stare at him, dumbfounded.
“Ever since Mom died, I felt not only an obligation but a need to protect you, and I always have. So, right now, I am continuing to do so. I am protecting you from yourself and who this will turn you into if you turn your back on most likely the only chance you will ever have at love.”
“Just like that. I am forgiven?”
“Just like that. But make no mistake, Luca, you betray me again, and my loyalties to you will end.”
I shake my head at him. “She won’t come back here. This is not a life she will ever accept.”
