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I didn’t know what had possessed me to put my hand in his. But deep down, I knew he would never hurt me. He was different from Maurizio’s other men. What I hadn’t been able to figure out was why he was here. This place wasn’t for him.
Another knock sounded, and I opened the door to Santino. “I overslept. I’ll be ready in five minutes.”
All my movements halted when I set eyes on him. The black eye he’d had since yesterday was turning a dark purple, rivaling the bags under his eyes in color. His usually shiny hair was dull and hung on his head in limp strands. “Are you okay?”
He took up position next to my door, arms crossed, eyes forward. “I’m fine. We’re running late.”
Okay, then. Guess it’s going to be that kind of day today.
I raced through the room, clothes flying everywhere during my search for my jeans. I had two pairs, and one was in the wash. Unearthing the remaining pair from underneath the bed, I rushed to the bathroom to get ready.
A quick splash of water on my face before cleaning my teeth, a brush of my hair that I then put into my usual French braid, and after getting dressed, I was ready. I didn’t bother making the bed; the room was always impeccable when I returned, a housekeeper attending to it every single day. She was the only one besides me and Lucius who had access to the room.
Santino walked me to the kitchen and took his seat, not once looking at me. Mariana, on the other hand, watched me with too much interest, her face worried, her usual happy chatter absent.
“More?” she asked, pointing to the scrambled eggs in her pan. I had hardly touched what was on my plate, but I couldn’t get myself to eat it. She must have felt mighty sorry for me to attempt to speak English, but I couldn’t even get excited over the fact that she was trying.
“Thank you, Mariana, but I’m full.” I patted my stomach to emphasize my words.
She shook her head at my refusal to eat more and continued to fuss over me. She patted my hair every time she walked past and asked me if I needed anything, at least as many times.
I forced a smile onto my face. She didn’t buy it and continued to push pastries and cups of tea at me. I ate a bit of everything to be polite. She went through a lot of trouble baking so much.
Santino nursed his coffee and read the paper, ignoring me as usual.
Mariana took both of my hands and kissed my cheek when I stood up. She gave me another one of her amazing hugs, and with one last squeeze, she released me.
Santino led me to the office and locked me in with a grumbled “Stay.”
Seriously, would it kill him to at least speak in full sentences? Or say “please”? You don’t see me going around growling at people. And I have way more reason than he does to be pissed off.
At least work would take my mind off my impending doom at seeing Maurizio again. I’d closed all the accounts the old accountant had used to funnel money into. Once I found them, it wasn’t all that hard to take control. It also helped that during my senior year in college, I had a light class load and developed a crush on the resident computer nerd, Stan. That year I learned how to write code, hack computers, and that Stan wasn’t interested in what I had to offer. But I’d made a lifelong friend, and I had great fun hanging out with him and his boyfriend, Toni, before they moved to New York.
They were two of the only friends I had besides Thea.
I’d made no progress on finding a way out and I felt defeated. Hopeless. And, most of all, useless. I couldn’t even get myself out of this mess. How was I supposed to help Archer? He was still out there somewhere, and I wouldn’t give up until I found him.
I’d graduated at the top of my class. Everything I had in life, I had built myself. I never took anything for granted. Never took stupid risks. Except for going after my brother. And it seemed my one mistake would cost me my life.
I was too tired to think anymore and placed my head on the desk.
“Wake up.” Santino nudged me, and I shot up, disoriented at first. I nervously studied him, but he didn’t seem to care that I’d been sleeping.
I followed him out the door, wiping my face and smoothing down my hair. I had drool stuck to my chin, and my hair had somehow gotten free of the messy braid I’d wrangled it into. I’d never spent too much time on my appearance. Even less so now. Thea would be horrified if she saw me.
The sudden realization that I might never see my best friend again made me stumble. Santino stopped and looked at me with a frown.
Suddenly, I couldn’t breathe. I knew it was another panic attack. For someone who was usually levelheaded and put together, the lack of control was something I couldn’t handle.
I didn’t know how to stop the overwhelming onslaught of emotions. A look at Santino confirmed that he was just as clueless. But instead of staring at me, he pulled his phone out of his pocket and barked into it. I steadied myself against the wall, but my feet were unable to hold me up any longer and I slid to the ground. My breathing sped up, and my heart was doing its best to break out of my chest.
I was sure I was having a heart attack.
Santino kneeled in front of me, reaching out as if to touch me. I scrambled back with a panicked cry and cowered away from him. “No.”
He immediately retreated. My breaths were coming hard and fast, and I was close to passing out. Black spots appeared in my vision, making it hard to see anything. I blinked a few times, trying to clear it, with no effect.
I put my head between my legs to stop myself from losing consciousness when someone cradled my face. A familiar scent engulfed me, and I leaned into the touch.
