“All right.” The word tasted bitter in my mouth, like a betrayal of the old me, like I was failing myself. Trusting Nino when it came to my wellbeing was easy. Without a doubt that he’d never hurt me intentionally, but Nino didn’t feel pity, even now. Not for others, never for others.
Nino was gone for a long time. My resolve to stay in the bedroom was slipping away with every passing second when he finally stepped back in, a deep furrow of displeasure between his brows and much of his hair fallen out of his short ponytail as if he’d ran his hand through it one time too often.
I asked immediately, “What’s going on? What did Remo say? And what does he need the nightgown for?”
Nino closed the door. “Remo will keep her here for now. He thinks she’s safer in the mansion.”
“Safer? She’s a captive. Who says she’s safe so close to Remo?”
Nino didn’t say anything. I could tell that he wasn’t happy about this development, but he was loyal to Remo, nothing would ever change it. I doubted Remo could do anything that would make Nino ever go against him.
“You have to stop him, if he tries to force himself on her. Promise me,” I said fiercely.
“Remo can’t be stopped if he’s made up his mind, not even by me. But as I said, I don’t think you have reason to worry about that.”
“What happens if the Outfit’s Capo doesn’t do what Remo wants? What is he going to do to her then?” I didn’t know much about Dante Cavallaro, only the rumors I’d picked up when I’d overheard Felix and Egidia discuss the Outfit, or the few times Remo and Nino had talked about him in my presence. He seemed to be a logical man who based his decisions on facts, not emotions, and that didn’t make me hopeful about Serafina’s fate. It went against logic to exchange a mere girl for a Consigliere, a man who carried the secrets of the entire Outfit, and probably Cavallaro himself. But Remo and Nino must know that, which left the question—why Remo had kidnapped the girl anyway?
Nino opened his watchband with steady fingers, getting ready for bed. “Kiara, this is Remo’s game. He hasn’t been as forthcoming with information as he usually is.”
“Are you sure? Or are you trying to protect me again?”
His face locked down as he put the watch on the nightstand. “I’m telling you the truth. And you have to remember that this war was initiated by the Outfit. They attacked our territory. They tried to kill all of us, even Adamo. Remo won’t stand back and have his territory breached like that. Dante will have to pay the price for it.”
“But he isn’t,” I said softly. “An innocent woman is.”
Nino didn’t contradict me. I wished he had.
“What about the nightgown? You didn’t answer my question. If it was only so Serafina had something to sleep in, he wouldn’t have asked for a specific color.”
“He wants her to wear it when he records a video message for her family tomorrow.” His emotionless eyes searched my face. “We ordered pizza, should I bring you some up?”
For a moment I could only stare. Sometimes I tended to forget how Nino dealt with matters, how easily he could push aside the bloody part of the business from his mind because they didn’t bother him. “I’m not hungry. I’ll take a bath. I don’t feel so good.”
Nino didn’t stop me when I walked into the bathroom, but his eyes followed me. I drew a bath, slowly slipping out of my clothes. When Nino had told me he loved me, I’d thought about bridging the subject of having kids. I’d started taking the pill before my marriage because I hadn’t been sure if I could risk getting pregnant as Nino’s wife. Now I knew that I and a baby would be safe in the Falcone mansion, well protected and even loved, but this new development with Dante’s niece raised new doubts. Nino had only recently discovered his emotions, and Remo had a woman locked in his wing.
Neither fact made me want to bring a baby into this world—this house.
I turned off the faucet and tested the water with my fingertips before I stepped in. Nino entered the room, his eyes roaming my naked body. I didn’t hide myself from him. There was a longing in his gaze that went straight into my heart. I sank into the water, flinching at the hot temperature. “You can join me if you want.”
Nino tugged his shirt over his head then slipped out of his pants and boxers. The muscles and colorful tattoos that had scared me not too long ago now brought a familiar warmth to my belly, but it was only a brief burst. I was too torn and emotionally drained to be up for that kind of physical closeness, especially not when a young woman was scared out of her mind in another part of the house.