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I slowly shook my head, cupping his face. “You may be killers, but I think we've already established you'd never hurt me.”
He smiled, turning back to the steering wheel, and pulling back onto the road. “I'm glad you haven't forgotten that fact.”
We traveled the rest of the way in silence as I thought of how this ruthless man in front of me, had been showering and carrying me around stark naked with nothing but a towel on, just a few hours prior. There was a kind but tortured soul in that charming exterior, and whether he acknowledged it or not, he was a good man.
When we arrived at my winery, I had Nico drop me off at the estate sheds. I didn't want people seeing us together, not until I figured out the big picture. Besides I needed one of the winery ATVs to get me to the old oak tree up on the hill. Ever since I'd heard Atlas say those magic words, my memories were coming back like someone had opened the floodgates.
“Okay. So where do we go now?” Nico looked around at the deserted surroundings.
“Nowhere. I have to go somewhere. Alone.”
He frowned, “Let me help you.”
“You can help me with my crutches. After that I'll be fine.”
Nico pursed his lips in thought but didn't push the issue. He took out my crutches and helped me out of the car. “Want me to wait for you?”
“No. I don't know how long I'll be, and I need some time to process everything. It's been a lot.”
A flicker of worry came into Nico's eyes.
Was he hurt that I wanted to be away from him? Away from them?
“Look, I know you might be frightened by what we do, what we are, but that's never been our intention.”
“What are your intentions with me?” This was something that had been nagging at me and I still didn't have a straight answer.
Why was I with them in the first place?
Nico retrieved my bag from the car and placed it at my feet, sighing. “When Luca gets back, we'll sit down and answer all your questions.”
“Is that your way of saying you don't know, or you don't want to tell me?”
Nico rubbed his chin, “A bit of both actually.”
I frowned at his obtuse response, but I knew that if anyone had all the answers it would be Luca. Nico was lucky that I had bigger things on my mind right now, so I didn't push the issue.
“I’ll call if I need anything and when I'm ready to talk.”
He smiled, “You better. Take care, Catalina.”
Nico leaned forward and placed his lips briefly on my forehead before jumping behind the wheel. He sat, tapping the steering wheel for some time as he stared at me in thought, before starting the engine and driving away.
Eager to see what my father had left behind, I hobbled my way inside the shed and slid behind the wheel of one of our ATVs that we used for maintaining the grapevines. Balancing my crutches beside me, I drove out into the field and amongst the grapevines, with the wind in my hair. The fresh air instantly relaxed me as I drove towards our tree.
The old oak tree was the special place my father mentioned in his letter. As a child he had pushed me in a tyre swing, so high I could see our house in the distance, appearing so tiny amongst the rolling hills of grape fields.
I didn't know what I was going to find there. All I knew was that it had to do with my father’s business. To what extent was anyone's guess.
When I reached the giant oak tree, I parked close to the trunk. If my father had hidden something here, I knew it would be within the hollow of its trunk. A hidey hole I had found as a child, big enough that I could fit inside and hide in there.
I grabbed my crutches and hobbled around the trunk, noting the old tyre swing barely held up by the weathered and fraying rope.
I took a deep breath, “Okey dokey,” I whispered.
I reached inside the tree hollow and pulled out a large metallic box with a numbered lock. Setting it down on the grass, I sat beside it. The code of course was my birthday, only backwards. Not sure how I knew but I just did.
I stared wide eyed as I opened the box and found a letter at the top with my father's seal. A small key was on top, and I frowned at the key that had no tags or identifying features and put it aside. Taking a deep breath, I unfolded the parchment of my father's letter and began to read….
