Buttons and Grace (Buttons 6)

He pulled away and pressed another kiss to my forehead. “I’ll always love you, Bellissima.” He turned away without looking at me again, making sure he got into his car without turning his face in my direction. The engine was on, and then he was on the road. He left the terminal and got lost in the sea of cars that were leaving the airport.

It was the first time I was truly alone since I’d been captured. I stood at the airport with my suitcase and more money than I could ever spend. I was a free woman. I could get on a plane to America, or I could get on a plane somewhere else. It didn’t matter.

I was free.

Chapter 19

Pearl

“Leave him alone.” Crow filled the door with his impressive size so I couldn’t get by. “I know my brother. He just wants to be alone.”

I pushed him aside, but he didn’t move, much like a mountain. “No one wants to be alone.”

“Men do.” His hand moved to my arm, but he didn’t grab me. Instead, he gently guided me away from the door. “Give him space.”

I turned back around. “He needs a friend. He needs someone to talk to.”

“I’m telling you, he doesn’t want to talk right now.”

“Well, if it were me, I’d want to talk to someone.” I crossed my arms over my chest and looked up at my giant of a husband. “Now step aside, or I’ll make you.”

He didn’t move.

“Why don’t you want me to go? I’ll only be gone for a few hours.”

“I like it when you’re home.”

“Well, I’m needed right now.”

“I guess I’ll come with you, then.”

“No.” I grabbed my jacket off the coatrack. “He needs to talk to a woman. He’ll say things to me that he won’t say to you.”

“And I don’t want to hear them. We both know I’m not big on words.”

“Yes.” I rolled my eyes. “I’m aware.”

“But I still think you should give him space. He’s probably drunk.”

“Drunk or not, he needs a friend.” This time, Crow let me get to the door. I opened it then pulled out the keys I’d found on his nightstand. “By the way, you need to take me shopping. I need my own car.”

“What do you need a car for?”

“Is that a serious question?” I asked. “I have to drive the kids to school, to soccer—”

“Lars can do it.”

I pointed into his chest. “You do realize your enemies are gone, and there’s nothing to be afraid of, right? And you do realize that I can’t stay home all day and be a mother at the same time, right? I’m gonna be one of those soccer moms who’s involved in everything and drives them crazy. So, I need a car, Crow.”

He only wore a dark expression as a reaction.

I ignored it. “I’ll be back.”

“Text me when you get there, and text me when you leave.”

I wanted to tell him off and say that was never going to happen, but after everything we’d been through, I thought his request was fair. “Alright.”

He gripped me by the waist and kissed me hard on the mouth. “I love you, Button.”

And as if we hadn’t bickered back and forth for the past five minutes, I melted for this man. A part of me wanted to stay and curl into his lap for the rest of the night. We would lie in bed, and he would rub his large hand over my stomach, feeling the baby even though there wasn’t much to feel. “I love you too.”

* * *

I knocked a few times, but Cane didn’t answer.

So I rang the doorbell several times.

A man I didn’t know answered the door. He was in his late fifties, and he had dark hair that was perfectly combed back. He wore a collared shirt and slacks. “Can I help you?” He was rigid like Lars, standing perfectly straight with a welcoming smile on his lips.

“I’m Pearl Barsetti. I’m here to see Cane. You must be Gerald.”

He shook my hand. “I’m glad he talks about me.”

“Could you tell him I want to see him?”

“He’s been upstairs all day. I haven’t seen him once.”

“He hasn’t even eaten?” I asked with concern.

“I left a tray outside his door. Not sure if he was interested.”

I’d known Cane would take Adelina’s absence hard. The woman he loved wanted to start her life over where she was from. She didn’t see a future where he could be in it too. “I need to see him. I’m very worried about him.”

“I can let him know you’re here and see what he says.”

“He’ll tell me to leave.”

Gerald shrugged. “Then there’s nothing I can do for you.”

I wasn’t leaving until I got an audience with my brother-in-law. “Gerald, I know you’re new around here, so I’m going to go easy on you. But in situations like this, I get my way. I know Cane needs me even if he won’t admit it. He’s just going to stay locked up in his room drinking until somebody helps him back on his feet. So, are you going to continue standing in my way, or are you going to let me pass?”