“It’s okay, princess. I know that was scary, but you’re safe now.”
I nodded against him, soothed by the deep timbre of his voice. I was so rattled by what had happened, I didn’t even register the strange fact that I was feeling comforted by Marco. Just a few hours ago, I’d found him frightening.
But there was nothing scary about the way he held me, warming my chilled skin with his body heat. Tears spilled from my eyes, wetting his shirt.
“You can cry,” he assured me. “Hold on to me and cry. You’ll feel better after.”
I let the tears flow freely as I purged the residual fear from my system. I was safe in his strong arms, and I didn’t have to be afraid of him anymore.
Joseph had been right all along. Marco only wanted to keep me safe. They’d both warned me that if I tried to leave the estate, their enemies would find me. Until now, I hadn’t really understood the threat. I’d believed that Joseph was somehow involved with the mafia, and I’d heard him loud and clear when he’d told me that he had enemies.
Do you want to be murdered? Or maybe they’ll just rape you. Or maybe they’ll pass you around until they get bored, and then they’ll kill you. Marco’s blunt description of what their enemies might do to me thundered through my mind, sending shockwaves of panic shuddering through my body.
You’re very pretty. I can see why Joseph likes you. I’m sure he’d be heartbroken if anything happened to you. The scarred man’s words layered over my memory of Marco’s warning, and my cheek burned where their enemy had brushed his knuckles over my skin.
I buried my face against Marco’s chest, as though his steady heat could melt away the taint of my attacker’s touch. Suddenly, this world of mobsters and mortal danger was very real. The gates that guarded Marco’s estate felt less like the bars of a cage and more like a defensive barricade.
Any fantasies I’d entertained about quickly returning to Harvard evaporated. From now on, I had to trust Joseph and Marco to keep me safe.
We would remain on this estate indefinitely. Together. The three of us.