I wait a moment to reply, and this time the blank space in my mind is pure bliss. I don’t know him, and I bite back a joyful smile he won’t understand. “Of course Kayden knows I’m here,” I reply, only to receive a skeptical arched brow, and I quickly amend with, “I mean, not exactly. I’m in the castle, so it’s logical I’d end up here.”
“I doubt he’d agree,” he says, his tone downright cynical.
Puzzled, I open my mouth to dig for more information when a brunette with olive skin appears beside him, managing to look quite pretty in an emerald silk top and jeans despite the dark circles under her eyes. “Kayden hates this tower,” she informs me.
“Giada,” Adriel snaps in warning.
She grimaces. “Right. Keep my mouth shut. Anything else you want, ‘master’?” She glances at me. “You must be Ella. What was it like being mugged?”
The random, out-of-the-blue question has me blanching. Adriel gives me a warning look that I read as “step cautiously,” though I’m not quite sure why. She’s his family. “Scary,” I reply, “and it came with a bonus headache.”
“I bet it’s not as bad as mine.”
“A different kind of headache. Neither is fun. Hopefully yours came with some fun in advance.”
“Don’t encourage her,” Adriel snaps. “She could have ended up mugged like you did.” He cuts her a warning look. “Or raped.”
She glowers at him. “Shut up, Adriel. I’m not doing anything you didn’t do.” She rounds the counter and walks away.
I close the distance between myself and Adriel, stopping at the opposite side of the glass from him. “Sorry,” I say softly. “I think I made that worse.”
“Most things do.” He lowers his voice. “She has a big mouth and we all want to stay alive. Your story to her is the same as your story to Gallo, which means amnesia right now. Understand?”
“Yes. Of course. And Marabella? Is it okay to speak honestly around her?”
“Yes. You can tell her anything. Same thing applies to Nathan and Matteo. Just not Giada.” He gives me a probing stare. “Any improvement in your memory?”
There is no concern in his voice or his eyes, just an obvious disapproval that hits like a slap. He doesn’t want me here. I don’t know why, but considering the death of his father, I would guess he thinks I’m dangerous. Like I thought last night, when that alarm went off. I am dangerous. And selfish for being here. “I should go,” I say, and when I would move away, he shocks me by covering my hand and holding it on the counter.
“What just happened?” he demands softly.
“You don’t want me here. I don’t blame you.”
“Did we have a conversation I wasn’t a part of?”
“You didn’t require words to get your point across. So I repeat. You don’t want me here.”
“I don’t want you dead, either. And without us, you would be.”
Either. That’s the word I latch onto. “But I bring Niccolo to your doorstep. I get it.” I glance at my hand, then back at him. “Please let me go.”
“Don’t tell Kayden I made you feel unwelcome.”
Not don’t go, but don’t tell. “If you hide it from him as well as you did from me, I’m certain he already knows.”
The door to my left chimes and opens. Adriel releases my hand and curses under his breath. I rotate quickly and my heart falls at my feet.
Detective Gallo is standing inside the shop.
fifteen
He’s dressed in a gray suit with a blue tie, both a bit rumpled like his dark brown hair. While I’m certain his gritty, rough-edged good looks appeal to many women, I’m not one of them. All I see is anger, and too much trouble to feel safe.
“There you are, bella,” he says, his gray eyes lighting on me. “I was surprised you left the hospital without telling me, but I’m even more surprised to find you here, after Kayden told me you took off on your own.”
Though I wasn’t prepared for this meeting, I somehow pull a rabbit from a hat for an answer. “I saw the hospital bill, and I didn’t want to add a heart attack to my concussion. I was going to call you Monday.”
“Today is Monday.”