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“How can she be safe? They keep coming for her.”
“That’s why you have to tell her. Whatever we need to do, Ally. We keep Dee safe.”
“I’ll make her understand.” I leaned my head on his shoulder and just existed for a few minutes with him in the quiet darkness. “Thank you.”
“When do you need to get back?”
“What time is it?” I jolted up and reached for my phone. I was sure I was still good, but I was cutting it close. “I should go.”
He stood, wrapped his arm around me, and held me close. Maybe because we both understood each time we said goodbye, it could be the last goodbye. So, we stayed in the moment a little longer.
He unwound from me.
“I need to get back up to the suite before Orlando comes looking for me.” And I still needed to swing into the boutique to cover my lie.
We made our way to the edge of the patio. “I’ll cut through the garden. My bike is on the street.”
He wrapped his arms around my neck, holding me close. I held my phone with one hand and gripped his leather jacket with the other. The faint scent of cigarettes clung to him. His T-shirt was soft against my cheek. I closed my eyes and breathed in the comforting warmth of him.
“I miss you,” I whispered. “I don’t know how I’d live without you.”
He pressed his lips to my forehead. “I love you, Ally.”
“I hate this. I hate that we have to hide.” I wanted my best friend. I wanted to know he was safe, both from the Irish and the Italians. I wish Marco could know him and not hate him. But not all wishes could come true.
“I’m always going to take care of you.” He took a step back, stared into my eyes, and wiped a tear from my cheek. “Don’t cry.”
I gulped and fought for a smile. “Don’t worry about me. Just take care of you.”
My chest tightened as he walked away. I unlocked my phone and sent a last text.
Mila: Stay safe.
And then I made sure the conversation cleared from my phone. Now up to the boutique, and then to the room to get back to Orlando. Not that I could eat with my stomach in knots.
Marco
Rage. An intense heat boiled up from my gut, burned through my veins, and seeped out of my pores. I stared at my phone as another text mirrored from Allegra’s cell popped up on my screen.
“Ant. Emilio.” I balled my hands into fists. The roar in my head grew louder and louder, becoming a deafening thunder rolling over me. I trembled with each word I read.
“Boss?” Ant asked, following me out of the house.
“We’re needed at the hotel.” I handed over my phone.
Ant read the message from Allegra’s phone, handed my phone back, and climbed behind the wheel of the SUV. Emilio slid into the backseat.
“My fiancée has a secret. I want to know who he is.” Emotions roiled in my gut. What the fuck didn’t I know about my wife and her friendships? She claimed a sheltered life, yet she fought with knives, challenged authority, manipulated soldiers, and had secret relationships.
How long had she been meeting Ashton behind my back? My hands balled into fists. There was no question that I was her first. Had she waited until I’d had her, and now she could spread her legs for him?
Another message came through the phone. He was there. My wife was rushing to meet another man. A man who knew about me, yet I knew nothing of him.
“You have ten minutes to get me to the hotel.”
“It’s a fucking car,” Ant said, “not a time machine.”
I opened the mirror app to Allegra’s phone. I accessed the camera and microphone.
