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I wipe my tears away. If I was innocent, what would I do now?
“Why are you so mad about all this?” I ask, my voice still thick with emotion. “How did you even know Miles?”
Everything depends on him believing that I don’t know what he did to the man I loved.
“I know a lot about the Barretti crime organization,” he says evasively, and I can’t help noticing that he doesn’t hold eye contact.Guilty bastard. “Listen, I need to leave today for a business trip.”
“Oh. Okay.” His sudden change of subject throws me for a loop.
“I will keep it to a few days. The doctor said you can be released this afternoon,” he continues, in a clipped voice. “You’ll recuperate at my house. I’ve already hired a nurse for you. You’ll have everything you need.”
“Will I be your prisoner again?” I ask in a halting voice.
He swallows. “No. That’s over. You’re free to leave any time you like,” he adds. “But for now, you’re in no state to travel. I hope you’ll wait until I get back.”
His eyes meet mine, the question lingering between us.
Finally, I give a halting nod.
He looks relieved. “Focus on your recovery,” he says, all business again. “I’ll be back in a few days.”
He turns walks out of the room, leaving me alone once again.
5
AVERY
Sebastian’s absencemakes recovering at his house easy over the next few days. I’m mostly left alone in my suite by Leon and the staff, other than the delivery of three amazing meals a day. The nurse is a friendly, gentle woman who drops by to change my bandages and make sure I’m taking the antibiotics the doctor prescribed, and I have all my clothes and comfy robes, and all the entertainment I could desire.
But it’s not a vacation. I have plenty of time to weigh my future.
What the hell am I still doing here?
Sticking around is like playing with fire. He’s bought my story for now, but he’s also shown me that there’s nothing he won’t do to those who wrong him. Locking me up in Larkspur is just the tip of the iceberg. I may have managed to get out of that place, but I have the literal scars to show for it now.
What will he do if my story slips again?
I weigh the question for days as I get my strength back and recover. Sebastian swore I wasn’t a prisoner, so after a couple of days lazing around the house, I tell Leon I’m taking an afternoon walk, and step out into the fresh air again.
I stroll, taking a meandering path through the neighborhood and nearby park to check that nobody’s following me. Then, when I figure I’m all clear, I buy a burner phone at the corner grocery, and call Nero.
He answers on the first ring, and I can hear the concern in his voice.
“Hello?”
“It’s me.”
He lets out a long sigh. “Finally.Fuck, Avery. Are you trying to drive me crazy?”
I can’t help thinking about the irony of his word choice, considering where I’ve been the past week or so.
“Don’t worry about me. Everything’s fine.”
I hate to lie to him, but if he catches wind of what Sebastian did to me, he’ll show up to settle things with a .45.
“Are you sure?” Nero asks, low and searching.
“Yeah, it’s going so well that he doesn’t want to be away from me often. Makes it hard to place a discreet phone call.”
