“No.”
I raise my eyebrows. “No?”
“No,” he echoes firmly. “You’re not permitted to use any of the phones on my premises. The day you decide you need to make contact with the outside world—your world—that’s the day I expect you to leave my house.”
I blink, but he’s deadly serious.
“I don’t know who or what you’re connected to,” he continues, “but I know it’s not good. I will not put my daughter in harm’s way. So if you want to recover properly—and trust me, I advise that you do, if you value your life—then you’ll forget about contacting anyone while you’re with us.”
Well, that certainly puts shit in perspective.
“I just wanna check in with my family,” I tell him.
Diego narrows his eyes at me. “Do you have a family, Cillian?” he asks, testing me.
If I lie to him now, I will forever break his trust. I can see that in his eyes.
“When I say family, I mean the family I’ve made along the way,” I admit with a sigh.
“You can contact them when you’re ready to leave here.”
I look down at my near-broken body and I realize how much further I have left to go before I can call myself fully healed.
In any case, I’ll be no use to anyone in this state. And with Budimir having the upper hand back in Los Angeles, I might only get one chance at a second life.
I have to make the most of it.
I grit my teeth and swallow the burning disappointment, but I also respect Diego. I understand his desire to keep his daughter safe.
It’s what I would do in his place.
“Okay,” I tell him. “You have my word.”
“Gracias,” he replies politely. Then he starts moving to the door. “Now that that’s settled, why don’t we let Cillian get some rest, mija?”
“But he’s been resting forever!” Carla complains.
Her papa smiles patiently. “Healing is a long process, little wildcat. Give him time.”
She sighs and looks at me. “Once you’re done resting, I have lots of questions for you,” she informs me.
I smirk. “I have no doubt.”
“Don’t sleep too long, okay?” she says. “We’re having roast chicken for dinner.”
“I wouldn’t miss it.”
The two of them walk out of the room. But before the door closes shut, I stop them.
“Oh, and Carla?”
“Yeah?” she asks, poking her head back into the room eagerly.
“Thanks for saving my life.”
Her face breaks into a bright smile. For the first time, she actually looks her age. “You’re welcome.”