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“A new witness came forward. Things are moving fast and the paperwork hasn’t caught up yet, but you should be out of here today.”
I would have hugged him if I hadn’t been cuffed to the bed frame. I’d read romance novels where women actually enjoyed that—go figure.
“No jail?” I asked, just to check.
“No jail. It’s over. They’ll probably let Nico in to see you soon.”
Nico. At the mention of his name, my eyes went watery. He’d been my rock through all of this. The one person who’d believed in me no matter what the evidence said. The man who’d given me a home and stepped in to care for a child who wasn’t even his. I’d spend the rest of my life in his debt.
“Thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you.”
“Don’t thank me; thank the investigators who travelled to Africa and tangled with a rhino in pursuit of justice.”
“A rhino? Are you joking?”
“One of the missing witnesses from the Bluebird Inn was staying on a game reserve.”
“Oh my gosh. Is everyone okay?”
“Apparently, one of them climbed a tree pretty damn fast.”
Seemed as if Nico wasn’t the only person I owed a debt of gratitude. A thank-you card just wasn’t going to cut it, but I had nothing else to offer. All I did was cause people problems.
“Have you seen Addy today?”
She’d been shot with a small-calibre, full-metal-jacketed bullet, which was the only reason she was still with us, according to the one doctor who’d given me any information. Even so, she faced a long road to recovery, and this was only day five.
Aaron gave a curt nod. “She’s awake and asking for Mary’s triple chocolate cookies.”
“That’s a good sign, right?”
“I doubt she’ll feel quite so perky when they turn off the morphine.”
“I’m so sorry.”
“Colt will be along to speak with you soon.”
I lay back on the pillows, not that I had a choice in the matter, and blinked away tears. Aaron had said it was over, but in my heart, I knew it never would be. Not as long as there were still Cavallaros breathing. Not as long as Matty was still with me. Vito, Otello, Fausto… They’d never stop looking for us. Their stupid family honour was at stake.
And so were the lives of everyone I cared about.
* * *
“I can’t stay.”
“Kaylin, zolottse, I understand it’s been a difficult week, but if you think I’m going to drive to Portland International tonight and load you on a plane bound for Madagascar or Uruguay or some other far-flung place, think again.”
Madagascar? I hadn’t considered Madagascar…
I’d been back at the Peninsula for three hours. Or rather, Fort Peninsula, Oregon’s newest supermax vacation resort. There were guards everywhere. Oh, they tried to look unobtrusive, but there definitely hadn’t been this many muscly guys in sunglasses hanging out by the pool the last time I was here. And the bulges in their Bermuda shorts suggested they were packing entirely the wrong kind of heat.
“Fine, I’ll hitch a ride if I have to.”
“You’re safe here.”
“That’s what you said last time, and now Addy’s in the h-h-hospital.”
Nico wrapped me up in his arms, and I melted against him. This was exactly where I wanted to be, forever, and curse the stars for aligning wrong and sending me into Cesare’s path instead. Nico was my safe place, and Matty’s too. My son was sleeping now, barely aware of all the drama swirling around him. Nico had kept him insulated from the worst of it.
