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He answers after the second ring. “Hello?”
“Diego?”
“Ms. Dalton?” he asks. I’m surprised he recognizes my voice.
“Are you free? I mean—can you pick me up? I’m at Caligo.”
“I’ll be there shortly,” he says, and then promptly hangs up.
The front desk calls up ten minutes later and I meet Diego downstairs.
“Merda.” His eyes narrow when I step off the elevator. I’ve barely reached him when he launches into a flurry of questions that simultaneously warm my heart and kickstart my erratic breathing.
He starts with a relatively tame one as we walk to the car. “Have you eaten?”
“I can’t stomach anything right now.”
His brows knit but he nods. “Are you hurt anywhere else?”
“No.”
“Are you in pain?”
“A little,” I say, his eyes narrowing as he sees straight through my lie.
“Would you like me to take you to the hospital so they can assess the injury?”
I just send him a look that I hope conveys how much I absolutely do not want to do that.
“Worth a try.” He opens the passenger door and helps me in.
I settle into the pre-warmed seat as he rounds the front of the car. Did he know I’d be more comfortable up here rather than alone in the backseat?
“There are some painkillers in the glove compartment,” he says, fishing a bottle of water and a granola bar from the center console.
His eyes are firmly on the road as I glare at him.
“Just a few bites,” he says, nudging his hand at me. “Those pills are strong and shouldn’t be taken on an empty stomach.”
I begrudgingly take them from him, grateful that the bar is a subtle flavor.
A black torch-like gadget greets me when I open the glove compartment and I can’t resist inspecting it.
“Don’t tase yourself,” he warns.
I freeze and turn my head slowly to the side, but he’s still fixed forward. I put the taser back gingerly and pull the pill bottle out from the corner.
Managing to eat a little, I take a painkiller, handing the water and leftover granola bar into his outstretched palm.
It’s minutes before he speaks again.
“I’d offer to kill him for you,” he says casually, changing lanes. “But Mr. Conti would carve my eyes out if I stole that honor from him.”
I stare blankly at him, too stunned to respond. I’d ask if he were serious, but then I’d have to face his answer. I’ve seen glimpses of Leo’s possessiveness and his leashed rage.
The night we met, he tried to hide his soul from me, but I saw the darkness. I felt the abyss pulling me in. So, the truth is, I already know. And Leo wanting to be the only one to avenge me doesn’t scare me. Nor do the flashes I’ve gotten of his wicked world.
I’ve never felt safer than when I’m with him. And I’m forced to consider that may be because he’s not like any God-fearing man I’ve met.
