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LEO
I didn’tlike Roxy much the first time I met her, and I don’t like her much now, either, but I have to admit she has a certain charm. And I’ve never been good with crying women. I’ll say whatever I think they want to hear to get the crying to stop.
Roxy is crying now, as Pedretti shows her into the room, and she’s a damn good actress, too, but these tears look real enough. “I’m so sorry you got mixed up in this, Leo,” she says miserably, standing there awkwardly in the middle of the room.
“Get over here,” I say. “Give me a fucking hug or something, and stop crying, okay?”
She runs over and throws her arms around me, burying her face in my chest as my head strobes with pain. The Doc gave me a few pills, but I guess they haven’t kicked in yet. I pat her back awkwardly, waiting for her to calm down. “It’s okay, Rox,” I say, even though it’s not. “We’re going to get through this.”
She pulls away and looks up at me with red, puffy eyes. “Leo, I was so scared. I didn’t know who to trust—when you turned up at the Chateau, I thought you were there tokillme.”
That explains her reaction at the time.
“Silly girl,” I tell her gruffly. “You think I’d do you and Gino dirty? Fuck that. And fuck Dad, too.”
The mention of him makes her sit up, and her face gets this weird look on it. “I still can’t believe he wants me dead,” she whispers.
She knows why he does, though. I can fucking read it in her eyes; she knows she did something dumb or found out too much.
“Why do you think he’s after you?” I ask, trying to ease her into talking.
“I have no idea,” she says, her voice low and full of fear. “No idea, I swear. Apart from the Castellani connection on the film—“
I scoff. “That’s bullshit, and you know it. The Castas aren’t a major production partner. Old Ciro used to put in some chump change here and there, just to keep his cred with the Hollywood crowd. Dadmustknow there’s no real connection.”
She looks down at her fingers, entwined, her knuckles white from gripping too tight. Her eyes are cast down,and the tears have dried up.
“I overheard him one night,” she says quietly. “Back at his house, Gino and I were there for dinner. I’d left my coat and purse in his study, and when I came in, he had the phone on speaker, and someone was talking. He told them to stop at once when he saw me standing there. But I guess maybe he saw by the look on my face that I’d overheard something.” Her voice is low and full of dread. “Whoever was on that phone, they were freaking out about Julian Castellani.”
“Shit.”
“I know, right? I was terrified. IknowI’m not supposed to hear anything like that. I gave him a bright smile and...”
She goes on, explaining how she tried to cover it up, but I barely listen. Was my father really so concerned about people finding out about his Julian plan that he’dkillRoxy to hide it? It doesn’t make much sense. “Did you tell Gino?” I break in.
The mention of my brother’s name prompts a new trickle of tears. “I had to,” she sniffles. “He could tell I was worried about something, and he kept onasking, so I told him what I’d heard and figured he’d know what to do.” She takes a deep breath and looks me in the eye. “But now I wish I hadn’t said anything. It’s all my fault. If your father finds out I’m alive, that you know about it...”
I might have underestimated Roxy. She seems genuinely concerned about my welfare.
“It’s not your fault,” I say with a sigh. I reach out and take her trembling hand in mine, trying to comfort her. But I’m not the guy she needs right now. “We need to get Gino in on this plan ASAP. He needs to know you’re safe. You get that, right?”
Roxy nods, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. “I wanted to tell him,” she sniffles. “It was only that the Castellanis kept insisting that no one could know.”
Fucking Castas. Still, from their perspective, I guess it was the right call.
“We’re all in it together now,” I tell Roxy. “You got Gino’s number? I’ll give him a call myself and explain.”
“They took myphone,” she wails, and now the tears really do come out again.
* * *
Roxy leaves after giving my bedsheets a good soaking with salt water, and then Julian comes back in, and I wish I’d made Roxy stay a little longer.
“I don’t want you anywhere near me,” I growl.
“Fine,” he says, smiling. “I’ll sit over here.” He goes over to one of the chairs in the corner, settles into it, and lets his eyes rest on me. “You just get some sleep.”
I can’t tell if he’s being sincere or if he’s just waiting for the right moment to strike. But the truth is, he’s much less unsettling when I have eyes on him. If only my eyes would stay open...
