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I wasn’t sure what had given her that idea, but I didn’t have the capacity to discuss it further. “I already did that before the wedding,” I said distractedly as I checked the chamber of each weapon and put extra clips in my pockets.
“What? You confronted him about hurting me?”
I grabbed a jacket bulky enough to cover my weapons, ignoring her questions.
“Conner,” Noemi called more forcefully. “Don’t leave here without telling me what’s going on.”
I whipped around to face her, unable to leash the feral nature of my anger. “You going to tell me why things changed with your father? Why you need a burner phone to talk to your brother, or why thefuckyou didn’t speak for six goddamn months?” I knew there was more she wasn’t telling me. I would have been fine to let it sit on the back burner had she not pressed me, but I didn’t have the time or patience for bullshit.
Noemi’s lips clamped shut, a door slamming behind her wide green eyes.
Seeing her shut me out like that pissed me off even more, despite the fact that it was my own damn fault, yet I still couldn’t stop myself. My emotions had taken over.
“Didn’t think so,” I bit out, walking past her and storming from the apartment.
Something was horribly wrong.
What could Mia have told him that would have upset him so much? Something about his Italian family? Could it involve my family? Why else would he not have told me? Conner was the one insisting this relationship was real and suggesting matching tattoos. He wanted me to open up and share, so what could have upset him so much that he couldn’t do the same? That he could hardly even look at me?
Had he learned something that made him regret marrying me?
The uncertainty was maddening. But most of all, I was desperately worried for my brother. If Conner’s anger had anything to do with my family, I had to ensure Sante was safe. I had to talk to him.
Hurrying to my new phone, I dialed Pippa.
“Hello?” she answered harshly, not recognizing yet another new number for me.
“Pip, it’s me.”
“Hey!” My cousin’s voice calmed me instantly. “How are you? How’s married life? This a real phone or another burner?”
“This is my new number for good. And all things considered, I’d say it’s going okay. Conner had some work stuff come up, and I wondered if you could pop by. You could see our place and visit for a bit.” Explaining what I needed from her would be much easier in person.
“I’d love that! I won’t be able to stay long—you know how my dad gets about me being out late—but I can definitely swing by.”
I gave her my new address, then went to my closet and found the gold cuff bracelet I’d used to hide my bruise, this time using it to cover my new tattoo. I had to remove the bandaging, but I preferred for the sensitive skin to be exposed rather than for Pip to see what I’d done. If she happened to tell her mother and word got around to my father, I couldn’t be sure how he’d react.
For the next thirty minutes, I paced the wall of windows in the living room until the front desk rang to announce her arrival. I informed them she was expected, and the doorman helped her with the elevators, which required either a security code or a key card. Once she arrived upstairs, I showed her around my new home. She oohed and aahed over the place as I knew she would.
“It’s gorgeous, Em. I’ve been so worried about you, so it’s such a relief to see that you aren’t miserable here on your own.”
“Not at all. We’re still just getting to know one another, but it could definitely be worse.” I gnawed on my cheek for a second before continuing. “I have a favor to ask while you’re here.”
She turned away from the gorgeous view of the river, her attention now squarely on me. “Oh yeah?”
“Do you think you can pop by my house and give this to Sante?” I held up the prepaid phone. “You’d have to make sure my dad didn’t know the reason you were there.”
Her sharp eyes pinned me to the spot. “And why exactly would we be doing this?” Her eyes shot wide before she leaned in and whispered, “Is this about Conner? Is he hurting you?”
“No, not at all!” I assured her. “It’s actually my dad who’s the problem, but it’s nothing.”
She seemed to settle but still studied me intently. “Nothing? You ask me to slip your brother a burner phone, and you think it’s nothing? I know you said your dad had gotten overprotective, but this feels off.”
I sighed, deflating. “It’s a long story, and something I can’t really talk about yet. I’ll tell you when I can, but until then, I could really use your help.”
Pip’s shoulders sagged. “Of course, I’ll help, Em.” She pulled me close, hugging me tight. “But you have me pretty worried.”
“I know, and I’m really sorry about that. I’m sorry to drag you into any of this.”
