"How's Isa?" he asked in lieu of a greeting.
"Distressed," I admitted.
"I take it your plan didn't work out so well?" he asked, a low whistle as he followed the line of thought. "She'll come around if she's really meant to be yours. Just treat her right and give her some time."
"Like you gave Calla?" I asked, pursing my lips as he chuckled.
"Fair enough. Just treat her right and everything else will follow. You're a sick bastard, Rafael. Don't take it out on her that she never stood a chance," he said. "If you want her to love you, you can't treat her like she's one of your marks and torture her into it."
"I didn't call you for relationship advice," I growled. "I'll treat her well enough that my agreement with Matteo will be met. I've no interest in abusing her."
"If you didn't call for advice, then what the fuck do you want?"
"I want you to find the cop who filed the accident report when Isa fell in the river. She's hiding something, and I want to know what."
"And if he's not on Matteo's payroll and doesn't want to talk? What would you like me to do?"
"I don't give a fuck who you have to kill, but I want answers. I want to know what really happened and not the bullshit cover story of a girl falling into the river."
He paused. "Matteo won't like that. I'll see what I can find out and go from there," he said, trying to appease the monster clawing at the surface. Over sixteen months had passed, and I was still no closer to understanding why Isa felt so obligated to her family or why her sister hated her so much.
"Fine," I snapped, hanging up the phone. I should have worked. I had shit to catch up on if I wanted to be able to spend quality time with Isa when she was ready to get more acclimated to her new life.
Instead, I snuck into the bedroom and changed the bedding while she slept. Then I tucked her into bed while she protested my touch on her in her sleep.
Like being stabbed in the chest, I fled the room before she became fully lucid. Leaving her to sleep alone for a few hours before I joined her.
I had a feeling she'd need the rest with the days coming our way.