But then, I got up one morning and heard Camillo on the phone again. I crept around the corner and stood there, pulling my robe close against my body while his fluid, sensual voice jolted me back into reality.
“Are the weapons I requested in place?” he asked.
I felt bile rising up in my throat as the sun slowly started to trickle up from beyond the horizon.
“Yes, it’s happening,” he said. “All you have to do is get them in their proper place. I’ll take it from there.”
Tears rose into my eyes as I pressed my back against the wall. How could I have been so stupid? How in the world did I fall for this again? How could I have convinced myself that we weren’t still in danger? Camillo was still who he was despite where we were. I heard Camillo hang up the phone before he strode around the corner, and I could tell I’d caught him off guard as his eyes descended onto my shaking body.
“How could I have been so stupid?” I asked breathlessly.
“What’s wrong, Rose?” he asked.
“What’s wrong?” I asked. “ Who the hell was that on the phone, Camillo? I allowed myself to fall into this fantasy you’ve painted for all of us, but enough is enough. You need to tell me what is going on.”
I saw a frown cross his face before he drew in a deep breath through his nose. He tried to take my hands, but I wrenched them away, pressing my quaking body deeper into the wall as he took a step back from me.
“I found the source of our issues,” he said. “They’re camped out in areas around my cabin back home.”
“So, what the hell are you going to do from here?” I asked.
“Nothing,” he said. “I’m leaving soon to go take care of it.”
“Wait, what? You’re… you’re leaving us here?”
“Yes. To resolve our issues, once and for all.”
“Stop being so cryptic, Camillo,” I said. “ Talk to me. Tell me what’s going on.”
“What do you want to know, Rose?” he asked.
“Who are these enemies? Why are they so dangerous?”
I could see the war raging behind his eyes. He was battling between telling me everything and keeping me in the dark. But I was done with the darkness, and I was done with the mystery. It was no longer fun, sexy, or intriguing.
I wanted answers, and I wanted them now.
“Come with me,” he said as he held out his hand.
He led me into his room before he locked the door behind us. He guided me toward the bed and sat me down, my hands encompassed by his while he sat next to me. I took deep breaths to try and still my body while his eyes searched mine, and then he drew a deep breath through his lips.
He was finally going to talk to me.
“You have to understand, Rose. It’s hard for me to say these things.”
“But you have to,” I said. “You can’t build a life worth anything around secrecy.”
That seemed to be the statement he needed that broke the dam of emotion behind his eyes.
“My father was a powerful man in Italy, but he had poor taste in friends. He built an empire in organized crime, but it ultimately led to the death of him and my mother.”
“Oh, my gosh,” I said breathlessly.
“My father vowed revenge, and that’s when he dragged me into things, training me to take over the family business. I never wanted this lifestyle for myself, but I couldn’t disobey my father. And after he and my mother were killed, my brother Lorenzo and I were left with a mess on our hands. I was good at what I did and I continued to do it because I didn’t know what else I was supposed to do.”
Tears poured down my cheeks as Camillo took in another deep breath. He had been born into a life that was full of violence and darkness and had never had a chance to really live in the light. As terrified as I was of his past and what it could mean for us, I was heartbroken for the man he never had the chance to become.
“Did these people also kill Junior’s parents?” I asked.
He nodded. “At first, all I wanted was revenge, but then I had Junior to think of and I couldn’t expose him to any more violence. That’s why I tried to leave the life behind, to make a new start for my nephew, and myself.”
“But your past just keeps coming back to haunt you,” I said quietly.
“Yes,” he said, nodding. “And now, they’ve tracked me down. I can’t outrun them anymore, so I’m going to have to stand and fight.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT – CAMILLO
The look on her face made me sick with shame and regret. Her expression changed from pity into anger, and the moment she slipped her hands from mine, I knew I was in danger of losing her. I wished I could have come to her clean, the way she had to me. I wished I could put back on that white suit and cleanse my soul for her taking. But I couldn’t. This was who I was. If killing these men was required to keep my daughter and the woman I loved safe, then I would do it without hesitation.