“But most of them don’t have to remember that as the last moment the other was alive.” He shuts his eyes a moment, the lines of his face harder now, tighter, and when he looks at me again, he’s done talking. “Let’s go to sleep.”
“Did I upset you?”
“No.”
No means yes. I feel it. “I’m sorry.”
He rolls me to my back, leaning over me. “You’re the one who’s dangerous. You make me—”
A loud buzzing sounds from the corner of the room and Kayden stiffens, cursing under his breath and throwing off the blanket. He is off the bed and pulling on his jeans by the time I sit up, clutching the blanket to me and noting the sound seems to be confined to a corner of the room. “What is that?”
He shoves his legs in his pants. “Security system. Someone breached the castle perimeter.”
I glance at the clock, realizing it’s three a.m., and I’m suddenly afraid that I’ve brought trouble to Kayden’s doorstep. Maybe he’s right. Maybe I am dangerous.
thirteen
The alarm continues to sound, a constant buzzing contained to this room. “Does that mean someone’s breaking into the castle?” I ask as Kayden yanks his shirt over his head and I scramble to the ground to snatch up my own and slip it on, reminded I have no buttons or panties.
“They aren’t inside yet,” he says, grabbing his black lace-up boots and walking to the fireplace, where he punches a button by the mantel. To my shock, a panel beside it opens. He disappears inside and the alarm stops, assumedly by his hand. I quickly follow, entering what appears to be a surveillance room, to find him sitting at a long, built-in desk in front of a row of monitors showing various parts of the castle.
He curses and scrubs his jaw, his urgency turning to agitation.
“What is it?” I ask. “What’s happening?”
He indicates a monitor showing a woman hunched over by the front door. “It’s Adriel’s sister, Giada. She appears to be at the front door of the west tower, throwing up, when her passcode is for the east tower.” Relief washes over me that it’s nothing more serious. “Adriel’s off with some woman tonight, so she clearly didn’t want to call him. I told you. She’s a mess.” He stands. “I need to go get her.”
“Should I come? Maybe a woman can help?”
“She doesn’t know you and she’s prone to outbursts, so stay put.” He grabs me and pulls me to him. “And be naked when I get back.” He kisses me, hard and fast. “Understand?”
I smile, pleased that he wants me to stay. “Yes. Understood.”
His lips curve. “Good.” He releases me and exits the security room, and I claim the seat in front of the panel to discover Giada sitting with her knees at her chest, rocking back and forth. My heart aches for this young woman so obviously heartbroken; she really is “messed up,” as Kayden had called her. The bedroom door opens and shuts, signaling Kayden’s departure. I glance at the various views of the castle and back to Giada, and immediately get to my feet at the sight of a man rushing toward her.
“Gallo,” I whisper in shock. I yank my shirt together and dart across the bedroom. I pull open the door and start yelling, “Kayden! Kayden!” I’m at the top of the stairs, looking down over the railing, as he starts running back in my direction.
“Gallo is with Giada.”
He stops in place. “Holy fuck. What the hell is he doing here?” He points up at me. “Stay where you are.” He turns and takes off down the stairs and I stand there a minute in stunned disbelief. What the hell is Gallo doing here? And why am I standing here when I could be watching the action on the monitors? I take off running again, my feet brutalized by the cold, hard stone floor, but I don’t slow. Finally, I’m in the bedroom and back at the monitors, letting the shirt gape as I watch what is happening.
Giada is still on the ground, on her knees, and I watch Kayden reach the porch. She starts screaming at him, but Kayden doesn’t react, focusing solely on Gallo, the two men stepping toe-to-toe, looking like they are about to come to blows. I reach for the keypad to the MacBook connected to the cameras and try to figure out if I can get volume, with zero success. Gallo waves a hand at Giada and then points at Kayden, and I’ve heard enough of the war between these two men to know Gallo is blaming Kayden for the mess that Giada is in. I hold my breath, fearful of how this will end. While I am certain Kayden is a man of control, not easily rattled, I am equally certain this trait will infuriate Gallo and drive his actions to who knows where.
As if proving I am right, Gallo throws his hands in the air and starts walking away. Kayden watches him until he is long gone, only then focusing his attention on Giada, who either starts screaming at him again or never stopped. Thank goodness the place is too big for next-door neighbors to hear. Not even Marabella has surfaced with the disturbance, though I’m fairly certain that will change once they enter Giada’s tower. Kayden reaches for her and she starts kicking and punching him. Lord help that man, she is testing him, and still he doesn’t become rough with her. He patiently snags her arm, I’m guessing to wait for the effects of the alcohol to deplete her surprising supply of energy.
I stand up, wanting to go to him and help, but I know better. He’s right. She’s a mess and I very well might make it worse. Still, she is kicking the crap out of him and my fist goes to my mouth as I watch the hellish struggle he’s having with her, until finally, he’s had enough. He picks her up and throws her over his shoulder and enters the house. I switch to another screen to watch as she continues to punch at his back, brutalizing him as he punches in a code for the east tower, and the dungeon door seems to take forever to open. Apparently impatient—and who can blame him?—he ducks under it and I sit back down and wait, and wait some more, but he doesn’t exit. Activity appears on one of the monitors as Adriel’s Rolls-Royce pulls into the drive, and I’m wondering if Kayden called him on the way downstairs or if Adriel’s in for a fun surprise. Either way, I have a feeling Kayden isn’t going to be back anytime soon.
My mind goes to Gallo, who was surely watching the house, and I’m not sure if he’s protecting me or stalking me. I’m not even sure this is about me at all, but rather about hurting Kayden. His hyper-focus on either one or both of us scares me and, while I know he’s whatever Italy’s version of a detective is, something feels off. Very, very off. Kayden was worried about insiders working for Niccolo in the police department. Could Gallo be an insider? Surely not, or Kayden would be more worried about him. Still . . . maybe Kayden doesn’t want to freak me out, so he hasn’t expressed that concern.
I grab the pad and paper sitting on the desk and write Gallo on it. Then I underline it. I’m not sure why. I just need to make my mind work. Then I write Niccolo. I underline it as well and wait for either name to really mean anything to me, but they just don’t. Niccolo can’t be him. I don’t know his name or his image. I start writing again and the name I end up with on the page is David.
“David?” I whisper. “Who the heck is David?” Images start to flicker in my mind and I see myself standing in a hot
el. I write down Hotel and underline it. It feels important. I’m in a hotel, and this David person is there. He’s tall, blond, refined, and good looking, but he’s not him. I write that down: Not Him. I shut my eyes. I see him and his face clearly. I’m yelling at him. “We were supposed to elope and we can’t even legally get married here.”
My eyes pop open. Elope? My hand goes to my throat. How many men were in my life? I didn’t even love that man. I force myself to think, closing my eyes again. We keep fighting, but this time I can’t hear the words we’re speaking. I just see and feel the anger between us, my hands swiping in the air, his jabbing at his hips. He takes a call, as though it’s more important than our conversation, and he ends the call and leaves. Just . . . leaves. My mind tracks forward in time, and I have a sense of hours having passed. I’m pacing the room and he hasn’t returned. Something isn’t right. He’s not who he says he is.
I open my eyes and write that down. Not who he says he is. I stare at the paper. “He wasn’t who he said he was,” I whisper, and one certainty comes to me. David is how I ended up turning to him for help. I went from one evil to another. David left me. He betrayed me, but I don’t know how or why. I blink, and I’m drawing another butterfly. Why am I drawing another butterfly? It’s ridiculous. No wonder my head is starting to hurt, an unwelcome reminder that I need to go to my room and get my pills.