Buttons and Grace (Buttons 6)

She answered a few rings later. “I’m so glad you’re okay.”

When I listened to that concern in her voice, it made me soften. There was nothing better than having a woman like her care about me, one who wanted to hear my voice as much as I wanted to hear hers. Women used to mean only one thing to me—sex. But Adelina represented that and so much more. “Tristan is dead.”

“He is?” she asked with a gasp. “You’re sure?”

“I shot him myself.”

“Wow…” She took a moment to process what I said, to accept the fact that her tormentor was really gone.

“I killed the rest of his men too. No one will ever come after you again.”

“I…I don’t know what to say. I don’t even know how to process this. I haven’t been free in so long that I’m not even sure what it feels like anymore.”

“You’re free now, Bellissima.”

She breathed into the phone, the emotion obvious but the tears absent. “How’s Crow? Tell me he’s alright.”

“He’s in surgery right now. Had some internal bleeding.”

“No…poor Pearl.”

“She’s flying back today so she can see him.”

“You think he’ll be okay?”

I really had no idea. “He’s the strongest man I’ve ever known. If anyone will get through it, it’s him.”

“Yeah.”

“I’m gonna head over there once I’m finished here. That surgery is going to be at least a few hours. I should be there before he wakes up.”

“Can I come along?”

I’d love to see her and wrap my arms around her. I’d love to kiss her and to enjoy the peace that we both had now. “I would go get you, but it’s a long drive. I should get to the hospital as soon as I can.”

“I understand,” she whispered. “I can’t wait to see you.”

“I can’t wait to see you either.” When she wormed her way into my heart so easily, it didn’t surprise me that I fell for her. She hypnotized me with her affection, made me weak and want to crumble.

“You aren’t hurt, right?”

“Just a few scratches.”

“Good.”

“I should get going. I’ll give you an update when I can.”

“Okay…but I have a question.”

“Okay.”

“I think I already know the answer to this since you haven’t mentioned it, but…do you know what happened to Lizzie?”

I didn’t have the heart to say the words out loud. I didn’t want to hurt Adelina with the truth. Her friend had suffered a much worse fate than she did. She was beaten every single day until they took it too far and killed her. I would never tell her that Crow found her body wrapped in a plastic bag in preparation to release into the sea. I would never share the description he gave me, how her face was mutilated by fists. “I’m sorry…”

She whimpered into the phone, releasing a quiet sniff. “Lizzie…”

“I’m sorry.” I’d already said those words, but I needed to say them again. I really meant them. I would have saved her friend if I could have. I would have done anything to give Adelina what she wanted.

She started to cry.

“Bellissima…”

“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I always hoped I’d see her again…”

“She’s in a better place now.” After all the suffering she’d endured, being given the sweet release of death was exactly what she would have wanted. It was something I understood because I’d been in the same predicament before.

“I’ll let you go, Cane.” She stifled her tears so she could speak. “I know you’ve got your hands full right now.”

I wanted to run back to Tuscany and comfort her the way she needed. But I had other obligations that prevented me from doing that. My brother was my priority. I had to make sure he was okay, make sure Pearl got to his side safely. “We’ll talk about it when I get back.”

“It’s okay. There’s nothing more to say…”

“But I want to be there for you, Bellissima…”

“I know you do.”

Chapter 9

Pearl

Once the plane landed, the men escorted Lars and me into a series of three blacked-out SUVs. I felt like a high-class prisoner being transported from one place to the next. All the windows were tinted, and it was impossible to see inside the cars. The men still operated like I was a target for Tristan—even though he was long gone.

Even though Crow was nowhere nearby, I felt safe.

We hit the road and drove through Rome to the hospital where Crow was. Cane gave me an update an hour ago and said he was still in surgery. He hadn’t heard any updates from the nurse or the doctor, which was a good thing. No news was good news.

Thirty minutes later, we pulled up to the circular entrance at the hospital, and the men helped me out.

Cane was there, dressed in all black. He had a cut above his eyebrow and a few dirt stains, but he was in good shape. Until I looked at him, I didn’t even realize that I’d never asked if he had been injured during the raid. “I can take it from here, guys.” Cane took me by the elbow and pulled me away.