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Annalisa’s eyes narrowed, her lips firmed. “You should watch what you say in front of my—”
“Annalisa, I need to speak to Cat for a moment,” Rafe interrupted. “Alone.”
“I don’t know how I feel about that.” Annalisa turned away from the bed to face Rafe, her simpering voice grating on Cat’s nerves. “I think I should be in the room when you tell her about us.”
“She deserves a bit of privacy for what I’m about to tell her,” Rafe said irritably. “Please. Give us a few minutes. I’ll let you know when I’m finished.”
Annalisa turned to glare at Cat before she went to Rafe and kissed him hard on the lips. He stepped back, his expression full of disgust, though Annalisa didn’t seem to notice. She practically skipped out of the room, slamming the door so hard the walls shook.
Rafe rushed toward her bed, gathering Cat in his arms so quick, she gasped. “I’ve missed you,” he murmured just before he kissed her.
Despite Annalisa had just kissed him, Cat melted against Rafe, his strong arms tightening around her, holding her close. She opened to him, his tongue sweeping in, sliding against hers, and she wound her arms around his neck, her fingers buried in his hair.
He broke the kiss first, his gaze locked on her face when she opened her eyes. “We need to talk fast before she comes back in here. Are you all right? You look good. God, you look beautiful.”
She reluctantly withdrew from his embrace. “What’s going on, Rafe? My mother told me Annalisa drugged me and that the two of you are now engaged? And how did you get out of jail?”
“Your sister dropped the charges.” He blew out a harsh breath. “She wants to be with me. Claims she’s always wanted to be with me and said this was the only way she would get me out of jail.”
“By drugging me and getting you to be her fiancé?”
He nodded. “She’s crazy. She hates you. I think she hates me too, but she’s convinced we belong together. So I agreed.” Reaching for her, he smoothed the hair away from her forehead, his fingers lingering, caressing her skin. “You know this is all pretend, right? It was the quickest way to get me out of that damn jail cell and to you. She admitted she drugged you, which I recorded.”
“How did you record it?”
“I left my cell phone recorder on. I got a bit of incriminating evidence. Not much, but hopefully enough that we can have her institutionalized, at least temporarily,” Rafe explained.
Cat shook her head. “I’m still a little fuzzy-headed from the sleeping pills, I guess. What do you mean, institutionalized? Commit her to a mental facility? Doesn’t she have to commit herself?”
“Not if we prove she’s a danger to herself and others, which she absolutely is, especially to you. Now come on, get out of bed.” He stood and waved his hand. “We don’t have much time. I want to sneak you out the window.”
“Are you serious?” She tossed back the covers and climbed out of bed, thankful she still wore her clothes. Slipping on her shoes, she looked around the room for her purse but it was nowhere to be found. “I need my purse.”
“That can wait till later. I need you to hop out the window and go to Matteo. He’s waiting for you in his car.” Rafe went to the window and bent to peer out of it. “See? He’s right over there.”
Cat followed him, glancing out the window to see a sleek, black Mercedes sedan parked on the edge of the drive. “Won’t Annalisa know I’m missing? See me running across the yard?” The front lawn was huge and there was nowhere to hide.
“I’ll distract her. Tell her you’re despondent and you need to be left alone in your room for a while.” He threw open the window and fiddled with the screen, pushing it off within seconds. “I’ll replace it if it’s damaged,” he muttered. “Now go.”
“But…”
He kissed her, smoothed his hand down her cheek. “Go, Cat. Trust me.”
She did. She trusted him more than anything. But she was scared. The situation had gone from weird to scary in a matter of minutes and she didn’t want to be apart from Rafe. “Be safe,” she whispered, her voice trembling.
