She didn’t protest, but I could tell she was bothered by my words. I would explain things later, but right now the murderous feeling I had inside had me desperate to get us both away from the villa.
Sienna kept her head down, using her hair as a curtain between us. I wasn’t sure what to say to her. I just knew I wanted to get her back behind the Capri family gates. Once again, evil had found its way to her, and thewhat-ifscrowded my head.
Nonna’s words looped over and over in my head about not trusting Sienna, but now with this new discovery, I didn’t know what to think. Once we were inside the car, my anger took over, and I slammed the steering wheel, needing to hurt someone as I waited for the main gates to open. Once there was enough space, I gunned it up the hill and into my driveway.
“I’m sorry,” I finally muttered as I squeezed the leather steering wheel. “My temper is out of control lately.”
“I’ll survive.” She unclipped her safely belt, and I grabbed her arm to still her.
“I don’t like that you wouldn’t kiss me back.” I was referring to the last time we had sex. “You’ve never not kissed me.”
“We’re not in a good place, Elio.” She shifted uncomfortably. “We’ve never been like this before. It doesn’t feel right to kiss when I’m unsure what we evenareanymore.”
I felt split down the middle. I wanted to grab and kiss her and pull her on my lap and bury myself deep inside the only woman I’d ever loved, but another part of me kept sending a warning to guard my heart and my family from all the unknowns that came with her arrival.
“I guess things just got complicated quickly.”
“You say that, but I’m over here trying to understand what I did wrong.”
Her eyes grew glossy, and I saw the hurt from the last few weeks flash across her face. I wanted to give in, but…
“Stay here until I get back.” I winced through the pain in my chest.
“Where are you going?” Hearing the nervousness in her voice, I ran my thumb down her cheek, and after a moment, she pulled away like it was too intimate for her. She was right. We were not okay, and I needed to figure this out before it was too late or too much damage had been done.
“I need to deal with something. Promise me you’ll stay.”
“All right.” She slowly slipped her arm from my grasp and stepped out. “Where else would I go?” She gently closed the door and stepped back.
I tossed the car in reverse, pointed it back toward the road, and gunned it. I wasn’t sure where I was going, but I needed to be alone to figure it out.
I went to the only other place, besides my special sunflower garden, where I knew I could be alone. It was where I’d escape when I needed to get away from everyone at the house, space to be with my thoughts of Sienna.
It wasn’t far from home, maybe a mile or so. I randomly found it when I was hunting down a man who had stolen from us. It was a dome of trees that you could drive into, and it completely hid my car from the street. It was as if a camouflage blanket was suddenly draped over the vehicle and it disappeared suddenly from the world.
With a sick stomach, I dialed her number, knowing she’d answer.
She picked up after the first ring. “Hello, dear.”
“I need to ask you something, and I need you to answer me truthfully.”
“When have I ever lied to you, Elio?” Nonna’s voice was soft, the same tone she always used when speaking to me. The same one she used when she read me bedtime stories or when we were having lunch in the garden. I squeezed my eyes tight, feeling the confusion and hurt of questioning a loved one.
“Sienna,” I blurted, “found something, and I’m trying to make sense of it.”
“And what was it that she found?”
“A piece of paper, the same type as the one that I found the day I went to go back after Sienna. It had a photo printed on it and a warning telling me not to go after her.”
“I think I’m confused.”
“Nonna, the paper I found years ago was a thick paper with a thin border pressed into it, the same type of paper that Sienna found in the back of your old car.”
“I’m choosing not to address the fact that you are accusing me of something so outrageous and completely out of line, Elio. Think for a moment about just how many people rode in that car with and without me.” She paused to let out an audible breath, and I stared straight ahead, trying to connect invisible dots to this story. “Why would I leave a note warning you not to go after someone you loved?”
“You’re the only one who’s been questioning her loyalty to the family.”
“That may be so, but, dear, I’ve only questioned things about what she was doing when she was gone for those ten years. Why would I leave a note on your windshield years ago, when I’m only questioning her on her whereabouts now?”