Page 87 of Savage Little Secret

Or he still doesn’t trust me.

Regardless, I want to know what’s going on.

“Not yet, but I have men with their ears to the ground. If they hear anything worthwhile, they’ll let me know,” Sean replies before stepping closer and placing his hand on my upper arm. “Don’t worry, between Dmitri and me, we’ll find them all.”

I glance at his hand, feeling a faint stir deep in my chest. He hasn’t laid a gentle hand on me in a long time. I almost forgot what it feels like.

“I hope so,” I say as his hand slips away from my arm. “I can help now. I’ve healed enough.”

“No,” Dmitri says right after the words leave my mouth. His hand finds my lower back as he shakes his head firmly. “Not yet. You’re still recovering. You’re still in pain. There’s no reason to throw you back into the fray when you just got out of it.”

I frown at him, wishing that he would loosen the reins at least a little.

“There’s nothing for you to help with right now,” Sean tells me. “Maybe once we find someone to question, but that hasn’t happened yet.”

I suppose he has a point. I don’t know what anyone looks like. I only know the sound of their voices, which doesn’t help them at all right now.

“We’ll handle that too,” Dmitri says with finality to his voice. “All you need to do is focus on getting better.”

He means staying in the penthouse or within sight of him. There’s barely any healing left to do. My wounds have already closed, and all that I’ll be left with are scars and memories.

“I understand. I’m just getting a little restless,” I admit, hoping that Dmitri at least lets me get out of the penthouse a little more often. I’m starting to get stir crazy.

I was trapped in one room for weeks. This is starting to feel chillingly familiar.

Dmitri lightly curls his hand around my hip, letting my side press against his. “I know. I just don’t want to take any unnecessary risks right now. The Italians could be looking for you.”

“And I doubt they would take you captive again,” Sean adds with a serious expression on his face.

“They’d kill me this time,” I say quietly. It’s not like I gave them any information, and Dmitri didn’t trade Luca for me. They didn’t get anything that they wanted.

All that they got was their men killed.

“And that’s why I want you to stay put here where I know that you’re safe,” Dmitri tells me. “I just got you back.”

The slight hitch in his voice makes my throat tighten. I don’t wish him pain, but I hope the pain that I hear in his voice is genuine.

I want him to love me as he claimed the night that he rescued me, and I hate how desperately I yearn for that. I hate that I have to hope for it.

Why aren’t things clearer between us? Why do I have to walk on eggshells around the man I love?

“Okay,” I reply quietly, not wanting to fight. Honestly, I’m too tired right now. “I guess I’ll eat.”

Sean gestures at Dmitri. “Let’s let her enjoy her meal in peace. Is there somewhere private where you and I can talk business?”

At first, I feel a flare of annoyance at being left out once again, but when my father flashes me a brief look, I understand what he’s doing. He’s trying to give me some time alone. Away from Dmitri.

Dmitri looks uncertain at first as he peers at me, but when I smile and hold the bag closer to my chest, he releases his breath and nods. “My office is over here. I can’t talk for long.”

“I only need fifteen minutes,” Sean replies.

Dmitri gently rubs my back before leading my father through a nearby door that leads into his office. The door swings shut soon after, and I’m all alone with the bag in my hand.

My pulse quickens as I hurry to the kitchen island and open the bag, the smell of cooked sausage, potatoes, and herbs filling my nose. I pull out the glass container of stew and peer down into the bag, only seeing a steel utensil case at the bottom.

Did he really?

I grab the case and flip open the top, my eyes widening at the sight of a pregnancy test inside instead of a spoon. Clever.