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“I don’t know,” he responds gently. “But it will. Eventually they’ll be caught.”
I once thought so too, But I’m not sure, anymore.
We sit like this for a long time. He rubs my back, my neck and shoulders, petting me like I’m an anxious kitten, while I soak his T-shirt with my tears.
“I was too late.”
“Too late for what, sweetheart?”
I stiffen when I realize I said it out loud, trying to quell the rising panic inside. You’re unpredictable. Impulsive. Reckless.
If he thinks I’m tracking the ring, he’ll blow an aneurysm before he locks me up and throws away the key. Who am I kidding? He told me exactly how he feels about trust. How vital it is to him.
“I cope by surrounding myself with people I trust implicitly—or that I can control. No one gets close to me who I don’t fully trust. No one.”
He won’t lock me away. He’ll wash his hands of me completely, and there won’t be any second chances.
I shake my head, my heart pounding in my ears. “That’s not what I mean. It’s a good thing I planned to get to Oslo later. What if they recognized me?”
He runs his mouth over my hair. It’s a tender caress that gives nothing away.
Rafael has run a successful company since he was in his early twenties, and he’s poised to take over all of the Huntsman empire. He’s shrewd and he reads people well.
I’m not sure he believes me.
43
RAFAEL
I peek in on Lexie, who’s sound asleep after a meltdown in the closet, which I still don’t fully understand. Despite my best attempt at aftercare, she might have still been out of sorts about the play earlier. It was a lot for a beginner, and although I didn’t edge her for hours, I still pushed too damn hard.
That might explain the overreaction to the news. But what I can’t get past is that she was headed to Oslo, to yet another location where the flesh traders struck. It’s not a coincidence, just like it wasn’t a coincidence she was in Porto.
I was too late. She didn’t misspeak. She was distraught and let it slip.
What the hell are you up to, Lexie?
She was in no condition to answer questions tonight, but it wouldn’t have mattered. She would have just told me more lies. Lies that will end any relationship we have before it plays itself out naturally.
I could get the truth from her. She wouldn’t be hard to break, but I’m not prepared to interrogate her in that way.
I have to get to the club. I’m late. It’s become a regular occurrence—always the same. I’d rather stay with her—even with all the lies—than go to the club.
Before Lexie, Sirena was how I spent my nights, and it had been enough. I love Sirena, but it’s a different siren who calls to me now.
She stirs but thankfully doesn’t wake. Even wrapped in my arms, she whimpered when she first fell asleep. Not whimpers of pleasure, but of pain—emotional heartache. It took her a long time to slip into a peaceful sleep.
I leave a note beside the bed, letting her know that Giana is in the kitchen. She likes Giana, and I don’t want her to be alone while I’m gone. Ordinarily I might text Valentina and ask her to call and check on Lexie, but Marco went home hours ago, and I suspect by now she’s livid.
I’m surprised she hasn’t called to rip me a new one. Valentina won’t—
“It’s Lexie. I’m surprised she didn’t try to capture the bastards herself.” That’s what Valentina said when I told her Lexie got caught up with the traffickers.
My blood runs cold.
She couldn’t possibly—no. But I can’t let go of the thought. Lexie’s just the kind of woman who would take that kind of risk—like my mother and Tia Lydia.
“I have some beliefs that I hold so dear that I’d be willing to lay down my life for.”
