“Sienna.” I tried to find the right words, but there was nothing there.
“Just answer me one question, Elio.” She sniffed. “Did you give me up to become Zazzero? Are you the other Santoro brother?”
I shook my head, answering only one of her questions, but she just covered her mouth and sobbed harder.
“Then why did you leave me back then? What could possibly have made you disappear so completely from my life?”
“I…” Once again, nothing came out. It was as if my brain couldn’t untangle all the things that were coming at me. There was so much she still didn’t know. That was such a dark time for me. I was lost, and I had given in to the monsters that held me tight in their grip as they waded me into a bloodbath.
“Let me get this straight.” She turned with tears streaming down her face. “I have to be honest, but not you?”
“It’s complicated.”
“Right.” She laughed and tried to dry her tears. She moved over to the table and started to gather her things. Suddenly, my head kicked in.
“What are you doing? We aren’t finished talking.”
“Seriously?” She made a wry face. “I want to leave, but I’m assuming that’s not an option tonight.” She waited for me to answer.
“No,” I whispered.
“Look,” she let out an unsteady breath, “it’s been a really long last few days. Can I just have a few moments to myself?”
“Of course.”
Just as she was about to disappear into the bedroom, she spoke over her shoulder. “One thing that I loved about the old us, Elio, was despite whatever was going on, you still talked openly to me. I was your person, and you were mine. It can’t be just one way now.” With that, she headed to the bedroom.
I ran my hands through my hair, wanting to scream with my inability to get past the mental block I was dealing with. Grabbing my phone, I dropped down onto the couch and called my friend.
“Please tell me you found her?” Francesco asked.
“I did, and she’s here, but I, ah…” I rubbed my face, feeling lost. “I could really use your advice.”
“Always.” I heard him close a door. “What’s going on?”
I spent the next fifteen minutes explaining everything to him, and all the while he just listened and let me get my jumbled thoughts out.
“We will have to meet as soon as you get back, I assume you have filled in your father about all this. There is a lot to digest after what has happened over the contract.” He went silent for a moment. “Mariano has a lot of explaining to do.”
“Yes, I filled my father in, and I suspect he’ll be calling you at any moment.” I glanced at the time. “And yeah, Mariano does. What the hell was he thinking? How the hell could he possibly think any of that was all right to do with her? He’s losing it, Francesco, and now look where we are.”
“We’ll deal with this once you get home.”
I stood, needing to hurt something, but when I heard the water turn on, I reminded myself she was still here, not running.
“What has he been up to since we left?” I huffed out.
“He’s been working closely with your father. To be honest, he’s been great.”
“That’s something, then.” I yawned and felt totally exhausted.
“I think you just need to lay it all out on the line for her, give her the benefit of the doubt. That little lady has shocked me from day one with how she deals with things, and after knowing all of that, and she still hasn’t run…I think she’s trying to tell you she’s all right with it.”
“Will she be, though? When I tell her the whole of it?”
“What choice do you have now? Give her a little credit, and you do owe her some honesty. I bet things will smooth out once you do.”
“Yeah.” I knew he was right, because never once had Francesco steered me wrong. “Why is it I can run our entire syndicate, take down another, kill someone with my bare hands and feel nothing, but one moment with Sienna, and I’m completely lost and can’t navigate my next move?”
He laughed. “You’re a natural born leader, Elio. It’s in your blood to do what you do, but where there’s strength there’s always a weakness, and that little lady is yours. Remember, behind every strong man there’s an equally strong woman.”
“True.” I had to smile, knowing he was right once again.
“I’ll keep an eye on Mariano, and you go talk to her.”
“Thanks.” I hung up and rubbed my head, wondering how quickly we had gone from such intimacy to separate rooms in a blink of an eye.
Pouring myself another drink, just enough to coat the bottom of the glass, I slowly made my way into the bedroom. The bed hadn’t been touched, and as I came farther into the room, I spotted her sitting on the edge of the marble stand-alone tub mixing milk wash under the rushing water. The robe she wore hung off one shoulder, exposing the flawless skin I had just enjoyed touching so much.
Moving to the corner of the room, I eased into a chair, stretched out my legs, and watched her from the darkness, needing to admire her again. The smell of the bathwater made me slip into a memory.