“No,” Leo answers calmly. “In fact, I know exactly how bad you feel.”
“No, you don’t!” I raise my voice as I throw my purse at the wall.
How can he when he’s never lost anyone or anything in a fire?
Leo falls silent, a tormented expression on his face.
Shit. What am I doing? I’m lashing out at him again, when all he’s done is help me. None of this is his fault.
As he tries to stand up, I grab his arm.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper. “I’m just really angry right now. But not at you.”
“I know.”
“I’m still trying to move on from losing my dad, you know. I still miss him so much. And now, this. It’s like losing him a second time.” I let go of his arm to place my hand on my forehead. “Now, I really feel like I’m being punished.”
“Shh.” Leo sits down and takes my hand in his. “At least you’re alive. The pain you feel is proof you’re alive. It may seem like too much to handle right now, but I know you’ll overcome it. You’re a strong person.”
I shake my head. “I don’t know if I can still be strong.”
“You can.” Leo grasps my chin and forces me to look into his eyes. “I believe in you, Jodie. You can get through this and you will.”
The faith that rings so clearly in his voice and gleams in his gaze touches me and lends me a bit of strength. But I still feel like shit.
I rest my head on his shoulder. “Why? Why did this have to happen? Haven’t I lost enough?”
“Shh.” Leo puts his arm around me. “You’ll be okay. I’m here. I’m not going anywhere.”
“I just don’t understand any of this.”
“I know. None of it makes sense. But don’t worry.” He squeezes my shoulder and pulls me closer to him. “I’ll make sure you’re safe.”
Safe. I do feel that as I lean against his firm chest. The sound of his heartbeat calms me down. As I close my eyes, his words echo in my ear.
I’ll make sure you’re safe.
My eyes fly open. Wait. Doesn’t that sound like he’s trying to protect me? Wouldn’t you only say that to someone if you knew they were in danger from someone or something?
I pull away from Leo and give him a puzzled look.
“Make sure I’m safe from what?”
~
“You have nothing to worry about or fear, Jodie,” Leo’s father assures me over the phone. “Your father was a dear friend of mine, and if not for him I wouldn’t be alive right now. I won’t let anything bad happen to you. You have my word.”
I don’t answer because I don’t know what to say. I’ve never had a conversation with Leo’s father before. I know he’s a wealthy businessman and a good father and yes, my father’s friend, but other than that, I barely know him. I want to believe in him, especially since he’s saying all the right things, but can I trust him? Can I still trust anyone?
“Jodie?”
“Okay,” I say simply.
“Stay in that apartment as long as you like,” he tells me. “Whatever you need, just tell Leo. When all this is over, I’ll find you a house.”
When all this is over? It hasn’t even sunk in that something’s begun.
“Okay,” I say again.
“You get some rest now. Good night.”
“Good night.”
The call ends. I move the phone away from my ear. But I don’t give it back to Leo right away.
“You knew my father was… murdered,” I tell him.
Damn it. I can barely say the word in that sentence.
Leo nods.
“And you didn’t tell me?” My temper rises. “The whole time we were at the camp, you knew and you didn’t tell me? You didn’t think that was something important that I needed to know?”
“I was going to tell you,” Leo says. “As soon as I found out what happened to your father, I knew you had to know, but…”
“But you chose to make a fool out of me like always,” I interject.
Leo shakes his head. “I was going to tell you that day I came to you in the parking lot of the courthouse, but you wouldn’t listen.”
So this is my fault?
“And the other times that I was willing to listen?”
“My father told me not to tell you,” Leo answers.
I nod. Just as I thought, I can’t trust Alessandro Ursini.
“Why?” I ask him. “Because he thought I couldn’t handle it?”
“Because he didn’t want you to get hurt. Because he wanted to keep you safe.”
“And look what happened.” I lift my arms and let them fall to my sides. “My father’s house burned down, and I could easily have been there when it happened. I could have gotten hurt or… died.”
“He should have seen this coming, I know. He should have done something to prevent it from happening. But he’s still recovering from…”