Adrian digs his cell phone out of his pocket and flips on the flashlight so we can see each other. “This place is a shithole. Don’t they know concrete isn’t great for holding cells, too damn hard to heat.”
I shiver as if proving his point, but it’s more out of adrenaline from seeing them than the actual chill in the air. “What are you doing here? The stream I did should have given you guys time to get away.”
He snorts and shoves the hand not holding his phone into his pocket. “You really think I’d leave you, just like that?”
I wave at his wife. “To protect Valentina and your child, of course I would.” Maybe he’s fucking with me for defying his orders and coming after him even though he expressly forbade it. “And I sure as hell didn’t think you’d be dumb enough to bring her back here, under any circumstance.”
He meets my eyes head-on and shrugs. “It seems I can’t deny her anything. Her only request every day for the past week has been to come here and get you out. Considering I also want you out of this hellhole, I was inclined to make it happen.”
A bright light surges in my chest. “We’re leaving?”
“Not yet,” Valentina says, closing the distance between us. I stare at her, almost on equal height with me sitting on the bench and her short stature.
She strikes out, slapping me hard across the cheek. With the slap, she caught a little of my ear too, setting it ringing.
I clutch my face and glare her way. “What the hell? Haven't I been beaten enough recently?”
“Watch your tone,” Adrian hisses, stepping behind her to cup her upper arms and pull her back a few steps.
“Why didn’t you tell me Rose was alive?” she demands, her fists clenched at her side.
I peer over her shoulder at Adrian and answer. “Why do you think? Orders. It’s the reason I do anything that I do.”
She waves around the room exaggeratedly, her arm casting shadows in Adrian’s flashlight. “You seem to disobey orders just fine when it suits you, and I saved your life, or have you forgotten.”
Guilt. Another old friend threatens to choke me, but I shove it down again. “I stand by my decision to keep her existence secret. It wasn’t safe for either of you between Sal’s family and your father. Besides, mentally, she still needs a lot of care. She has a hard time processing things, being touched, and even going outside. And there’s one more major reason I didn’t tell you.”
Her hands frame her slim hips, her curls spinning around her face in her anger. “Yes?”
“She doesn’t want to see you. We talked about it. She specifically told me she doesn’t want to see you.”
At my admission, Valentina gasps and steps backward into Adrian’s chest. He immediately folds her into his arms, the light spinning to illuminate the floor. There’s only so much he can protect her from, and the truth isn’t one of those things.
I wait for her to get a hold of herself, praying it’s sooner rather than later as I do want out of this shit box before Henrietta returns and they find out what she’s been doing to me.
“Is that it?” she whispers. “Are there any other secrets I should know about? Any other lies you’ve gotten hidden up your sleeve waiting to ambush me?”
I shake my head. “No. I was tasked to take her to safety and keep her safe, and that’s what I’ve done.”
She freezes, her body going rigid. “Oh my God, she’s been there all this time alone, and you haven’t been able to check on her. What if she’s hurt or ran out of food—”
“I put a system in place. She has a cleaning lady, Parker, who comes every week and delivers anything she might need in case I can’t make it back to the apartment to check on her. Don’t worry. I know how to keep a person hidden and cared for.”
Something in her face says that is not reassuring in the least.
“I want to see her. I want to go get her and bring her home.”
I meet Adrian’s eyes over her shoulder. “Is that wise? She isn’t wrapped up in this whole council business. As far as I can tell, the world has forgotten she even exists. Wouldn't it be better if we kept it that way rather than put her in the council’s crosshairs too?”
Valentina looks as if she wants to argue, but after a moment, she drops her chin and shakes her head. “Maybe you’re right. We should keep her safe, protected, until all of this blows over, and then we can bring her home like she deserves.”
Adrian rubs her arms to comfort her.
A tiny part of me envies that comfort, the soft touch of human connection meant to heal, not harm. I seem to only ever get hurt.