Chapter 0010
Chapter 0010
1 knelt so my gaze fell even with Eli’s. “We’re only going to be here a few days, okay?”
“I know.”
“Do you need me to stay with you tonight?”
He shook his head, eyes wide and somber. “I can be brave. I’m not afraid to sleep alone.”
I wouldn’t let myself think how much like his father he was
Instead, I ruffled his fine blond hair, and nudged him towards the room. Eli slipped through the door without protest, without a backwards glance, and I closed the door behind him.
Safe, I told myself. Safe, Aldo had promised me.
“Layla.” Nonna murmured in my ear. Her fingers found my elbow to tug me gently back, away from Carlo, so she could speak without being overheard. “You have to be careful.”
My teeth gritted hard enough to hurt. “You think I don’t know that?”
“They’re a powerful family, the Marcellos,” Nonna murmured. “Have been since they came to America. For over a century. Killing is second nature to them.”
I nodded. I knew.
Maybe I should never have saved that man’s life. But … when my eyes lifted to Carlo, I knew I couldn’t have let him die. I was a doctor, and my job was life. Given the choice again, I’d made the same one.
So, I followed that man to my room.
It wasn’t until I’d closed and locked the door behind me that I felt I could finally breathe. I stood with my back against the door, letting my pulse calm, my breath return to normal.
Still, I couldn’t help the words from echoing through my head. The ones I’d overheard, the ones not spoken in hissed gossip between hospital workers. No, these, I’d gleaned from the police.
He has no heir.
Some factions think if they take down the Don, it’ll divide the family empire.
The attack was a test of Aldo’s power…
But I couldn’t think about that. Not here. Not now. I had to be strong–the woman I’d built myself into after my heartbreak had all but destroyed me.
I forced myself to straighten off the door. Force the thoughts down. Study my surroundings.
A king–sized bed sprawled in the center of the room. Thick curtains covered half a wall’s worth of windows. A set of leather–sofas sat before a massive wardrobe on the far side of the room, and a closed door likely led to an
ensuite bath.
Hopefully with a shower.
It wasn’t until I stepped away from the wall that I noticed the blood splatter on my shirt. I plucked at the white cloth to study the splotches of dried rusty–red. Where had they come from?
I was a doctor; I was no stranger to blood. Still, my skin crawled with the need to divest myself of the soiled shirt.
1/2
Chapter 0010
+25 BONUS
Of course, in my rush, I hadn’t packed any luggage. Maybe could find something in the wardrobe. In any case, looking was better than standing here, thinking. Remembering-
I crossed to the wardrobe and tugged open its door. An array of clothes appeared, tucked neatly onto hangers and arranged by color, like someone had stayed here recently. Men’s shirts, I realized as I riffled through.
Oh well. They looked clean, smelled clean, and would certainly feel better than this ruined blouse. I plucked one off the hanger and headed for the bathroom.
The marble ensuite was almost more luxurious than the bedroom. The sprawling jetted tub offered more than a slight temptation, but I opted for a quick shower instead.
The warm water, however, did little to soothe my frazzled nerves. I needed a bed, sleep. Unconsciousness.
So, in five minutes, I cut the water and slipped the too–large shirt over my shoulders. I slipped back through the frosted glass doors into the steamy bathroom, toweling my wet hair-
I half–collided with something solid. Warm.
Human.
I stumbled backwards, but large, callused hands wrapped around my waist, holding me steady. Holding me upright. Safe.
I dropped the towel and looked up–right at Vasco’s bare torso.
ぐ
