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Ocean’s face falls, her eyes shining with unshed tears. “I’m okay. I promise. And Romeo, he is amazing. I know it has only been a couple of weeks, but he changes every day…” her voice wobbles, gaze coming to me for a quick second before dropping. “We miss you,” she chokes out, wiping a tear from her cheek.
It’s quiet for a moment. She exhales and though I can’t see her, I can imagine this is just as emotional for Patty as it is my woman. “I miss you both, too. But you must tell me. Who was that man? Has he hurt you?” the woman asks, curiosity and disdain evident in her tone.
Oceans head snaps to me. She shakes her head, though the woman can’t see her. “No, he hasn’t. I’m safe. Romeo is safe. Nico, well he is…” she trails off, her eyes bouncing between me and our son. “He is Romeo’s father,” she breathes out.
Patty chuckles, “I gathered that, dear.” Her laughter dies, voice dropping to a whisper. “I thought they were going to kill me, Ocean.”
“I’m sorry you got caught up in that. I never meant for anyone to get hurt.” The guilt in her tone is evident, and though Ocean never meant to drag anyone into this, she hates that Patty was a casualty in her lies.
“I didn’t get hurt,” Patty rushes out, no doubt trying to make her feel better about everything that went down. “Sure, I was scared, but once he got what he wanted - that was you, by the way - they let me go without harm. Even left me a couple thousand dollars to clean up the place.”
Ocean’s head snaps up. I see the question in her eyes and confirm it with a nod. “Well… that was nice of him. It’s the least he could have done after everything.” She glowers, no doubt remembering the scene she came home to that night. Yeah, well the feeling’s mutual. The image of her with another man is still burned into my brain, begging me to go back to Charleston and kill the fucker.
“Harrison comes in every day to ask about you. We have been so worried.” Patty changes the subject.
I freeze at the mention of his name, as does Ocean. Her gaze darts to mine, she swallows. My eyes drop to the pulse in her neck. The way it beats erratically. I know she wants to ask about him, but if she is as smart as I think she is, she won’t dare say his fucking name.
“Ocean?” Patty prompts. Ocean startles, her blue orbs dropping to the phone.
She clears her throat. “Sorry, Patty. I have to go. Romeo is due a feed.” It’s a lie. I know it. Ocean knows it. And Patty probably knows it. But it’s her way of ending this conversation, so she doesn’t have to discuss that fucker. I knew my girl was smart.
“Oh, okay.” I hear the disappointment in Patty’s voice and by the way Ocean’s face falls she does too.
“I will call you again soon,” Ocean promises.
“Okay, sweetheart. Give my boy a kiss from me.”
“I will. I love you, Patty. Thank you for everything you did for me. For Romeo. I can’t ever repay you for the kindness you showed us both.” The emotion in her tone has my heart constricting.
“That sounds like a goodbye,” Patty responds suspiciously.
Ocean shakes her head even though she can’t see it. “It’s not. I will call you soon,” she assures, and after a round of goodbyes she ends the call. Picking up my cell, she hands it to me with clear trepidation in her eyes. She bites down on that pouty bottom lip of hers and I know she has more to say. “You will let me call again, won’t you? I didn’t mention him, Nico. Please don’t take this away from me because Patty brought him up,” she begs.
Sighing, I take the phone then rise from the couch. Romeo sleeps peacefully in my arms and instead of looking at the worry on Ocean’s face, I keep my gaze on my son. “I won’t. But next time, you will tell her not to discuss him with you.” It’s not a question but a demand. An irrational one at that, but still. Deep down, I know there is nothing between them, it’s just the principle of the matter. She went on a date with him, so at one point she considered more. My jaw clenches just thinking about it.
“Okay. Yes. I can do that,” she agrees easily.
“Good. Now let’s go eat.”
Chapter25
Ocean
It’s been almost a week since my phone call to Patty and I’m desperate to speak with her again, but I don’t know how to broach the subject with Nico. He has been on edge lately, more so than normal, and no matter how much I want to talk to Patty again, I don’t want to add to his stress.
Though Nico has now permanently moved Romeo and me into his suite - much to my resistance, I may add - he has been distant. I should welcome the reprieve but, being the stupid woman that seems to lose all brain cells when I’m around Nico, I don’t like this distance he has put between us. I hate that he comes to bed when I’m sleeping and is gone before I wake. And I loathe the fact that there are more men around, patrolling the grounds like it’s the White House itself. And the icing on the shit cake is that I am still not allowed to leave the estate, not even to go to the beach. It is obvious that something big is going on, but Nico waves me off every time I bring it up. He said all I need to know is that we are safe. I want to believe it, but it’s hard when the evidence to suggest otherwise is all around me.
The only good thing with Nico being so distracted is that he isn’t watching me like a hawk. The timing of it couldn’t have worked out more perfectly since Allegra came through with the birth control. She managed to get me a brand-new package that will last me twenty-one days. I am grateful for what she is doing for me but am hoping that she will be able to figure out something more permanent for when these run out. No matter what Nico’s plans are for another pregnancy, I am not in agreement with it. It simply cannot happen. And I will do everything in my power to prevent it from happening.
“Hey,” as if I just conjured her, Allegra appears in the den, flopping down on the couch next to me.
“Hey. You okay?” I ask, frowning at the look on her face.
She sighs, her eyes shifting to Romeo who is rolling around on his playmat. “Yeah. Just bored. Whatever is going on is serious enough that we have become prisoners in our own home. I need to get out of this house before I go crazy.”
I chuckle softly, shaking my head at her dramatics. It’s only been a week and it’s not like we can’t go out in the backyard. “Do you know what’s going on? Nico shuts me down when I ask him.”
Her eyes move to mine, a look of worry in them that makes my stomach clench. She shakes her head. “No and Nico won’t tell me either. I asked Dante, but his response was the same as my brother’s. I knew I wouldn’t get anything out of them. It’s a mafia thing. Women aren’t allowed to be involved in business. It’s such sexist bullshit, but it’s always been that way. They act like we are back in the nineteen twenties when women were without rights.” She huffs. “I just know that if we are on lockdown, its bad.”
