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“What have you… what did you do?” Delphine stutters, so shocked she can only sit up and gape at me.
The look of horrified heartbreak on her face is almost enough to make me stop and drop to my knees and grovel.
But I can’t. Not right now.
Not when I think I’ve discovered yet another deep, dark secret Ernest has been keeping.
“Salvatore, come back here! My rose necklace! How could you?!” Delphine rushes after me.
I’m faster. I wrench the door open and stride into the hall of her apartment building. I don’t give a fuck if it’s eleven p.m. at night.
This is urgent. If I’m right, it only proves there’s nothing and no one off-limits—evenDelphine. For Ernest Adams, so long as it benefits him, that’s all that matters.
22. delphine
“Salvatore, pick up the fucking phone!”I growl into his voice message for the tenth time in an hour. “You broke my necklace… you took my necklace! You owe me an explanation!”
My hand flies up to my naked throat and I shudder out a panicked breath, pacing through my apartment. Salt and Pepa try to keep up, trotting at my side with their little pointed ears at attention.
I’m still reeling from what happened. So much so I don’t know whether to go left or right. I don’t know whether to continue screaming into Salvatore’s voice message or throw on some pants and hunt him down myself.
He tore my rose pendant right from my neck. The way he stormed out of my apartment, it was like he was on a mission to handle some serious business. I was still in my fuckingpanties, settling in for a cozy night watching a movie in bed.
My guard was down.
It’s a violation of trust. He stole my most prized possession and disappeared without a word of explanation.
“Fuck this,” I growl. I stomp into my closet and throw on the first articles of clothing I can find.
I resort to calling Stitches from the ride share car I order. The call goes straight to voice mail. My temper flares hearing the beep in my ear.
“I don’t know what the hell is going on, but tell your boss to call me!”
Salvatore’s men at his compound are no better. Fabio has the decency to furrow his brow and apologize when I demand he let me see him.
“Psycho’s orders,” he says, guilt dripping from his tone. “Sorry, Miss ADA. Would you like me to arrange you a car home? We’ve been instructed not to let you through.”
I almost snap at him, but then I bite the inside of my cheek and hold it in. My anger slowly dissipates as I step away from the entrance to his compound. His men are following orders.
Salvatoreis the one I should be furious with. Salvatore is the one who ripped my rose pendant and disappeared without a trace.
I trusted him.
“Miss ADA,” Fabio says as I turn toward the street. “Please allow me to give you a ride home.”
I shake away his offer, once again thrown by what’s happened. Sleep eludes me when I do return to my apartment. I check my phone so often, at one point I hide it from myself.
Salvatore never returns my calls or texts. Morning arrives, and I’m beginning to question my recollection of events—why would he possibly take my necklace when he knows its significance to me? How can he possibly justify shutting me out for hours?
He even instructed his men to keep me in the dark.
And after I’ve started letting him in again. I’ve begun inventing scenarios where we could be together long-term—reallybe together.
“Stupid,” I mutter, covering my face with my hands. “How many more chances are you going to give him? How many more times are you going to let him make you look foolish?”
I dress for work, ranting to myself and the cats like they’re my therapist. Dad calls. I answer by accident on the first ring, under the assumption it could be Salvatore.
“Delphi honey, is everything alright?” he asks. “You sound like you were expecting someone else.”
