“Except for the part where Kace goes to the meeting with Donelle alone,” I say, “yes.”
“Especially the part where I go to the meeting alone,” Kace counters, giving me a sideways look and sipping his coffee.
Blake chuckles. “I’m a married man who knows not to wade into this particular battle.”
He’s comparing us to his married life and when I meet Kace’s stare, his eyes are warm with the same understanding. “That’s between you two,” Blake adds, “and the team on the ground there.”
Reluctantly, I refocus on Blake and important and uncomfortable matters. “What about Nancy? I just can’t get my head around her being capable of doing me wrong. Or anyone wrong, for that matter.”
“Nancy has a sick mother and needs money. As for what we know, it’s not what we expected. The money came from Alexander.”
I suck in a breath and my gaze collides with Kace’s. “What is he up to, Kace?”
His expression tightens. “Any idea, Blake?”
“Several,” Blake says, “but I’m not inclined to speculate out loud. Nor am I inclined with all you two are facing to confirm my thoughts the slow way. I’d just as soon confront her and ask her.”
Kace looks to me. “Aria?”
“Yes,” I say, thinking of what Kayden said about unknowns being a problem. “Yes. Please just talk to her. How are you going to approach it?”
“As a member of your and Kace’s security team,” Blake states. “The question is, what do you want to do about her?”
“I want to fire her,” I say, “but then I think of her sick mom. It’s hard for me to be that cold.”
“Fire her,” Kace says, speaking to Blake. “Give her six months’ severance and pay her mother’s medical bills.”
I grab his hand. “That’s very generous. Are you sure?”
“It’s just money, baby. And it’s the right thing to do.”
He’s right. I know he’s right, but I don’t know that I’ve ever known anyone who would make such a decision at his own expense, even if they could afford to do it. Except my father, I amend, a thought that drives home just why he believed he and Kace were kindred spirits—we were.
“Is that a yes?” Blake asks.
“Yes,” I say, “because as much as I love her, I will never trust her again.”
Shortly after my agreement, the call ends and I check my messages. Still nothing from Gio. My brother is just plain missing again.
***
After Kace and I shower and dress in workout attire, we do a quick workout in the gym upstairs, which turns out to be right next to a dance studio. Kace looks it over and eyes me. “Ella really is a badass who can plié and handle a gun.”
“And she’s making me a badass.”
He winks. “You already are.”
I laugh and grab a couple of hand weights to prove his point.
Not much later in the morning, we join Kayden and Ella in the middle tower where we first head to the basement to what is the newly installed firing range we’re told. Turns out, Kace is an excellent marksman. I am not, and even with a collection of weapons to choose from, my shot doesn’t improve.
Ella steps in to help, and I improve slightly. “Practice,” she says. “That’s the key. And that includes handling the gun. Load it. Unload it. Make it become natural.”
Eventually, Kayden and Ella head on to the workout room and leave Kace and me to practice a little longer.
I watch Kace unload a round with precision and sigh. “How are you so good at this?” I ask when he pulls off his goggles.
“I’ve had a few stalkers over the years, but honestly,” his lips curve, “I learned to shoot and fight because let’s face it, no one carrying a violin wants to be called a pussy.”
I grin. “No, I suppose not. Thus the rock star image?”
“It certainly was motivation to redefine the expectation of a violinist.”
These little tidbits about his life never get old, and I gobble them up along with another hour of practice. I leave the range with a small handgun for my purse that I’m nervous to carry but eager to master. Next up, we head into a room with mats, where I’m set to train with Ella. At present, Ella is facing off with Adrian, and Savage is laughing his ass off.
“She’s going to beat your ass, man,” Savage calls out from the edge of the mat.
“Never,” Adrian calls out, while Kayden stands to the opposite side of the mat, arms crossed, and I do believe I spy a hint of pride in the hard lines of his stoic expression. Yep. I do. “Adrian’s going to get his ass beat,” I murmur to Kace.
“Yep,” he says, giving me a wink. “I do believe you are correct.”
Adrian lunges for Ella and ends up on his back. He’s back up again in a flat second. “All right,” he says. “I was taking it easy on you. Let’s go again.” He motions “come on” with his hands. “No more nice guy.”
Savage glances over at us from about a foot away. “He’s getting his ass whooped. Been there, done that. She’s a badass.”
Adrian flips Ella to her back and she pulls a gun and points it at him. He holds out his hands. “Unfair fucking play!”
“Bang bang, you’re dead,” Ella says. “And now that you’re dead you can’t cry like a baby about it being unfair.”
“I need a rule book next time,” Adrian snaps.
“No rules,” Ella says, pushing to her feet and grinning over at me. “Ready?”
“Not really,” I say. “But I’m doing this anyway.”
Kace kisses me. “Good luck, baby.”
I head out to the mat and I watch Savage motion for Kace to join him in the hallway. Nerves claw at me and I catch Ella’s arm. “Is there something going on with Gio or the Blue Owls?”
“So far, no. They’re radio silent, but you only made the call to set up the violin showing last night. Why?”
“Nothing. It’s nothing. I’m ready to get my ass kicked.”
She grins and then I’m on my back.
I spent the next hour doing just that—getting my butt kicked—but I learn things, too. When we finally call it a day on the training, Ella invites me to view the store while Kace heads upstairs to practice for his show. I join her and spend some time enjoying cases filled with treasures. When I finish up what turns into girl talk with Ella, I head to our tower to listen to Kace practice and end up on the floor of the dance studio, enjoying what’s left of his practice.
Later that night, Kace and I head out to dinner on our own, well, we have people watching out for us, but we pretend we don’t. It’s a lovely Italian meal, and once we’re winding down, enjoying dessert, I bring up his chat with Savage. “I saw Savage pull you aside today. Anything to worry about?”
“No. I’d tell you if there was something you need to worry about. You know that.”
I arch a brow. “Would you?”
He sets his fork down. “You think I would lie to you?”
“No. But protect me at all costs? Yes.”
He leans in close, his eyes dark. “Is that a bad thing?”
“Is it? I don’t know, Kace. Back in California, you were ready to leave me to protect me.”
“And now we’re here in Europe, Aria. It’s not the same time or place.”
He’s hiding something. I know it and I don’t like it. This is not who I want us to be. I set my napkin down. “I need to go to the bathroom.” I start to get up.
He shackles my wrist. “Sit,” he orders softly.
His orders work when we’re naked. They do not sit well now. “No. I need to go to the bathroom.”
His jaw clenches, but he releases me. I hurry through the cozy restaurant with ceramic ceilings and wooden tables. I’m just entering the hallway to the bathrooms when a man bumps right into me. He catches my shoulders and stares down at me, an evil smile curving on his lips. “Mi scusi,” he says, which is “excuse me” in Italian.
He’s still touch
ing me and I step back as if burned. He laughs and walks away.
Freaked out, I turn and this time run right into Kace. I melt into him, my hands on his chest, chin lowering. Kace captures my face. “What’s wrong?”
“A man ran into me. He just touched me too long and smirked and I really want to go back to the castle.”
Kace’s phone rings and he snakes it from his pocket. “Kayden,” he says answering but he doesn’t speak. He listens and then says, “Thanks, Kayden,” before disconnecting.
“What was that?” I ask.
“Kayden has eyes on us. He doesn’t know who the man was, but he has men following him. We’re fine.”
“Can we just go back to the castle?”
“We can.” But instead, he pulls me further into the hallway and cups my face again. “I need to say something to you first. I will never lie to you.”
“You’re hiding something, Kace.” My voice is low, raspy. “I know you.”
He inhales, gaze lifting, turbulence rolling off of him before he meets my stare. “Alexander is missing.”
I blink. “Missing?”
“Yes.” His lashes lower and then lift. “Blake couldn’t prove he killed Maggie, but he had enough to believe he did. I played my father’s game. I handled it and made sure the dirt wasn’t on my hands.”
“What does that mean?”
“I sent the information anonymously to Maggie’s brother, who is powerful and vicious. I assume Alexander now knows he knows and he’s running from the embarrassment that will follow. He’d be shamed and ousted from his financial lifeline, his career.”
“What do you think his brother will do?”
“Accuse him publicly. Ruin him financially. And Aria, I don’t regret that.” His hands go to the wall, no longer touching me, but his eyes hold mine, letting me see the truth there. “I don’t feel remorse. There is that side to me, that part of me that is my father and I can’t erase it. But I will only use it when I have no choice. He wasn’t going to stop coming at you.”
“Were you going to tell me?”
He answers without hesitation. “Yes. After the announcement. After I knew you were safe and didn’t have to worry about men who bump into you being a threat, not to the extreme you do now. And I wasn’t going to let you go home to another threat in Alexander.”
I study him, shadows in his eyes, doubt etched in those shadows. I press my hands to his waist and lean into him. “You hate yourself because you think you’re like him. You are not. And I love you even if you can’t love yourself. I love you, Kace August.”
He stares down at me for long intense moments, and then he’s kissing me, and this is a kiss that is so many things: passion, desperation, torment, and love. So much love. “Let’s get out of here,” he says.
“Yes,” I say. “Please.”
This earns me a smile. “Always with the manners. I’m going to make you use those manners tonight.”
And he does. When we get back to the castle, he bypasses everyone who tries to stop us, and when we’re alone, he kisses me just like he did in that restaurant hallway. And then he makes love to me, but not without making me say “please, Kace,” and in the aftermath, I have a realization. “Please, Kace” doesn’t intimidate me anymore. I am free with this man. I am me with this man, and until I met him, I didn’t know who that was. Now, if I can just get him to feel that free with me.
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
The next morning, Kayden assures me that the man in the restaurant was just a creep of the average variety and as I dive into another day of training, the creep fades from my mind. For the next two days, we live a similar schedule of training and practice, all without any news on Gio or the Blue Owls.
Wednesday morning, one day before the meeting, after a good hour looking around the store, which is remarkable compared to my old store in New York City. There is also lots of chatting with Ella and Marabella, but not too much. I’m ready to be back with my man. “I’m going to head upstairs,” I announce. I start to leave but find myself hesitating, my focus on Ella. “Any buzz on Gio, or anything, for that matter?”
“There’s nothing,” she says, walking me toward the castle door. “Right now, it’s as if Donelle has no nefarious connections, when we know he has a past with your father.”
“I’m confused. I thought we were certain the Blue Owls would show?”
She punches the code in to lift the door between the store and castle. “Honestly, we’d rather deal with them after your big reveal. But if the Donelle visit is uneventful, I’d be shocked. Either way, this ends for you soon. Maybe not immediately. The press will buzz about you after the reveal but by Christmas, I’d say you’ll be old news.”
It’s a wonderful sentiment, but one that doesn’t offset the absence of answers. Eager to discuss my concerns with Kace, I head to our tower and to the stairs that lead to the dance studio where Kace should be practicing, but I hear nothing. Hurrying up the steps, I’ve just passed an office on the left when I hear Kace say, “Holy fuck. When? No. Right. No. I don’t give a damn about the music right now.” He’s silent a moment, and then longer. I decide the call has ended and hurry up the stairs.
I enter the dance studio where he practices to find his violin on a stand nearby, while he faces the wall, his hands pressed to the hard surface. “Kace,” I say softly.
His head lowers just a little further to his chest, as if my voice punches him in the chest, and then he turns. “Hey, baby.”
There are white lines around his mouth, his jaw so tight it looks like it might pop. My heart squeezes with fear and I close the space between us, stopping in front of him. “What happened?”
He stares down at me, his eyes heavy-lidded, seconds ticking by before his hands come down on my arms and turn me to the wall. “I know nothing about Gio. And yes, I’m upset about something, but don’t ask me today. Not before the meeting tomorrow. Not until after. Then I’ll tell you. I need you to understand and do this for me.”
The torment in him, the urgency, cuts me and I am bleeding because he is bleeding. I want to ask for more. I need to know what is going on, but this man has been unselfish in every way. I cannot deny him one of his few requests. “After,” I say.
Relief bleeds into his eyes. “After,” he promises and then he pushes off the wall and walks to his violin and picks it up. He starts to play and I slide down the wall and sit, knees to my chest, to listen to the wicked notes of his tormented music. Music that is dark, my damaged man bleeding through the notes. And there is a story in those notes, and it’s not a fairy tale. Whatever troubles him is not small, nor will it be gentle for him to speak or hold onto in silence. But neither is my love for him small. Nor his for me. And that’s what I hold onto in the way I plan to hold onto him.
***
That night, the anticipation for the next day’s meeting is thick in the air, and it’s hard not to allow nerves to get the best of me. Kace is reserved, far from himself, and since we aren’t talking about why, not just yet, the edge of his mood is best dealt with just me and him, alone. We eat in our room, treated to Marabella’s lasagna, and do so on the rug in front of the fireplace, and with wine in our glasses, we talk about all the new people in our lives: Savage, Adrian, Ella, Kayden. We talk about holidays of the past and the future. We laugh and smile and forget everything but us. We head to bed early, and I snuggle in beside him, my head on his chest, the lights off, the fire glowing. It’s a perfect, cozy night, but as I doze, there is something niggling at my mind and I drift into a memory.
“Wake up, Aria. Wake up.”
My lashes flutter and I find my mother leaning over my bed. “We need to go. Get up.”
I sit up to find her throwing things in a suitcase. “What time is it?”
“Time to go. Your father’s gone. He’s gone.”
Gio appears in the doorway. “Mom, what is this? What’s happening?”
“Your father’s gone.” Her h
and goes to her head. “They’ll come for us. He made mistakes. We will not make the same mistakes.”
“Who, Mom?” I ask, dropping my legs to the side of the bed. “Who? You’re scaring me. Where’s Dad?”
“Get up!” she yells. “Get up now.”
Fear tears through me and Gio rushes over to me and pulls me off the bed. “Put on your clothes, now.”
“Now!” Mom screams before she rushes out of the room.
“Gio,” I sob. “What is happening?”
He kneels in front of me. “Dad’s gone. I don’t know what happened, but Mom says he’s gone for good.”
“Dad?” I sob harder. “I want Dad.”
Gio shakes me. “Don’t cry now. Whoever took him will come for us. That’s what Mom said. We have to protect each other. I will protect you always, Aria. Okay? I promise.”
“I’ll protect you, too.”
“Yes,” Mom says from the door. “We have to protect each other. That’s what Dad would want. Now come with me.”
Gio drags me from the room, and I turn to grab my daisy doll Dad gave me, the one holding daisies in her hand, but I can’t reach her. She’s lost. I’ll never see her again and it only makes me sob again. We load up in the car and then we’re in the dark, on the road, and Mom is crying. She’s crying so hard. “I can’t believe he’s gone,” she whispers. “I can’t believe I let him deal with this alone.”
I gasp and sit up to find daylight breaking in the window and Kace missing. “Kace!” I call out. “Kace.”
He rushes around the corner with shaving cream on his face and a towel around his waist. “What is it? What’s wrong, baby?”
I grab his arm. “I thought you left.”
“No. Of course not.”
I twist around to face him. “I have to go with you.”
“We talked about this.”
“I remembered something. The night we left Rome, my mom was crying. I heard her say that she couldn’t believe she let Dad deal with this, whatever this was, alone. I need to do this with you. We protect those we love.”
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