“You don’t trust me.” Her words are sullen and her shoulders sink as she pulls back. Harper nods. “That’s fair.”
“How can I trust someone who goes behind my back? You should have talked to me before doing something so careless that could hurt all of us.” Anger returns, heat scalding my cheeks.
“I came clean to you that I stole the dragon?—”
Is she serious? I laugh darkly and pull away from her, untangling and stepping back. This time, I need space.
“You came clean for your own self-preservation, after you stole from Dante and had gone to the police.”
She rolls her lips together but doesn’t answer.
Harper must know that I’m right because she’d be arguing with me if that weren’t the case. I hadn’t realized how much my princess liked to argue until we were wed, now it’s the one thing we’re best at.
Sighing, I run a hand through my hair, frustrated.
“You should have come to me!”
She’s quiet, her tongue darts out, swiping across her top lip. Her stare won’t meet my intense scrutiny. She’s studying the mattress, or perhaps the bed linens, anything to keep from looking at me.
When she avoids my heated gaze, I break the distance between us and guide her chin up, forcing her to stare into my eyes.
Her breath catches in her throat, and I exhale loudly, the heat between us malleable. “I’m sorry.” Her voice is soft, tentative, hardly the epitome of apologies.
“Don’t apologize when you don’t mean it.” I drop my hand from her chin and glance away.
“I am truly sorry. I wasn’t thinking clearly. I saw the dragon; it reminded me of Zeke’s, and I made an assumption that it belonged to Rylan. You once mentioned that your father doesn’t hurt children, but then he kidnapped that little boy, and I still can’t get all of it out of my head. I saw the news report, I know his family was murdered by Dante. It’s awful. Your father can’t murder someone and just get away with it!”
Harper is rambling and spiraling.
“What did you think would happen when you went to the police? That they’d take the stuffed dragon, run DNA, then come and arrest Dante?”
Her voice breaks. “Maybe.” Uncertainty clearly reaches her brow. “I hadn’t thought it all through,” she whispers. “I assumed they’d be eager to listen and want my help.”
Harper has no idea what damage she’s done. “Do you know what Dante does to those who betray him?”
“Throws them in that prison basement?” Harper guesses, forcing a smile. “You’d set me free, wouldn’t you?”
I tip my head back. Does she think I have control over my father? “You’re lucky he didn’t order his men to kill you when you came back to the compound.”
Harper exhales softly. “I don’t know how he found out. I was careful not to be followed.”
“Dante has men everywhere in the city, including ones who are on his payroll at the police department. You can’t trust anyone, Harper. Do you understand me? You can’t go around stealing from Dante or running what you think is evidence to the police station?—”
“What I think is evidence…” she repeats slowly and steps away from me. She paces the length of the bedroom. “Luca, how was I to know that it didn’t belong to Rylan? Why is my son being threatened?” Her eyes widen and she bumps into the bed, sitting at the edge.
“You don’t need to worry anymore, they’re dead.”
She stares up at me. “If there are threats being made on my son, I ought to know about them!”
I sit beside her on the mattress, trying to keep my cool. “You can’t know about every threat. You’d always be worried, Harper. My job is to protect you.”
“No, Luca, your job is to go to school. You work part-time for your father.”
“Fine, protecting you is an added bonus,” I say, trying to make light of the situation.
She doesn’t smile. Her eyes are sullen, filled with pain. We’ve both caused so much heartbreak between us today.
Harper reaches for my hand, intertwining our fingers together. “I want to tell you something, but I don’t want you to get mad,” she says.
