Tough Love (Stripped 0.50)

“You’re the one who told me my father was right to keep me here.”

Gio swears in Italian. “He isn’t fucking in charge anymore. You aren’t safe here. You won’t ever be safe here again.”

I swallow hard. “Honor?”

“She’ll go too. She won’t fight it once she knows about Javier.”

“And you, you’ll come with us, right?”

He rests his forehead against mine. “Clara.”

Panic rises in my chest. “Gio, you have to. He’ll wake up. He’ll tell them it was you.”

Chapter Five

The door bursts open. I jump back from Giovanni, guilty and afraid of being caught touching—even though we have worse problems than that. It’s not my father. Not even Byron. It’s Honor.

Her gaze snaps to Giovanni, but she speaks to me. “Clara, I need a word with you. Now.”

She must have heard about Javier. I can tell by the strength of her voice—and the tremor hiding underneath. “You can say it in front of Gio,” I tell her. “He already knows.”

Honor’s eyes narrow. She’s wondering if we can trust him. She doesn’t know him like I do.

“You have to get her out of here,” Giovanni says. “There’s not much time.”

Slowly she shuts the door behind her and leans back against it. “I know.”

“Take my car,” he says. “It’s gassed up. It should get you a few hundred miles. Then you’d better switch vehicles.”

Honor nods. “That’s better than the bus. I know they’ll be checking.”

Giovanni crosses the room and stands on the back of the sofa. I can only stare as he reaches up to the vent that had been above us all those nights. He unhooks the grate and pulls out a black bag. “This has money,” he says. “It’s all I’ve got.”

My sister takes it without question. “Thank you.”

“Don’t tell me where you’re going,” he says.

I can only stare at him. Don’t tell me where you’re going. As if he’s not coming with us. As if he might get tortured for information. I grab Gio’s arm. “What are you talking about? You need to come with us.”

“Security,” he says. “They’re staying farther back from the house, but there’s even more than usual around the gate.”

“That means none of us can get out.”

He shakes his head. “I’ll cause a diversion. Distract them long enough so you can get out.”

What? “No way.”

“It’s the only way.”

I look at Honor. “This is crazy. Tell him he needs to come with us.”

Her eyes are sad. Sadder than I’ve ever seen them. But also accepting. Of all people, she understands about sacrifice. “We don’t have much time. The party is the best time to run, when they’re distracted, when it will be hard for them to search the house. Especially if he can pull the guards away from the gate. We need to go now.”

“No.” I take a step back. “This can’t be happening.”

Gio looks at my sister. “Can you give us a minute?”

Her dark eyes study me. After a beat, she nods. “I’ll go scout the best path out of here.”