“You’re right. I don’t.” I felt the pressure of tears building behind my eyes, but I also felt too empty, too stunned to actually cry. “I’ve never lost someone close to me. I… I’m so sorry, Leon.”
For an instant, he looked surprised. Then touched. Then that coldness slammed down again, and his green eyes were unmercifully cold. He didn’t say anything, and maybe I was naively hopeful, but even though he was silent, it felt as if something had changed between us.
“Do you think being sorry changes a damn thing?” he demanded.
“Will hurting me change anything? Would your brother approve of that? Or your mom?”
He bared his teeth, his expression furious, but I could tell I’d gotten to him. “You think I’m that kind of man?”
“I don’t know what kind of man you are. You always keep me in the dark. Sometimes you’re kind. Sometimes you frighten me.”
He turned away from me, hands shoved in his coat pockets as he stared at the barren trees. His expression was stone. “I didn’t kill you. That should say it all.”
“You kidnapped me. That says you haven’t made up your mind.”
He didn’t answer, and my eyes blurred with unshed tears. I turned to go back inside before I started crying. I didn’t want him to see me reeling from the things he’d said, and my heart was low, aching, and devastated by what my family had done to his. I felt even worse for Mrs. MacCarrick, who seemed so kind.
To lose a child… I couldn’t even imagine.
It was strange, but it suddenly felt like it was my duty to go inside and look at all those family pictures on the walls. I wouldn’t know who anyone was, but it still felt as if I needed to make up for what had been done to them. I don’t know. It didn’t make sense, but I was feeling more than a little heartsick. Afraid. Alone. Anxious about what was to come. Ashamed of my father after seeing the wreckage he’d caused…
“I’ll get you home,” Leon said before I reached the door. I hesitated, glancing behind me to meet his fierce stare. “I won’t hurt you. That’s a promise.”
Trusting a hitman seemed like the riskiest thing on the planet, but I couldn’t help the wave of relief that swept through me, so strong it felt like I might be swept away by it. Because when he said those words, looking into my eyes like he was right now, it felt like a promise.
But there was still one lingering question. One that cast a long shadow over both of us.
“When will you let me go?” My voice was little more than a whisper in the cold.
“When it’s safe.” His words were curt, but his expression was troubled. “Head inside where it’s warm. I need to make another call.” His lips curved in a half smile as if he knew exactly what I was going to ask. “A call to my other brother before he gets here. Declan’s pretty good with computers. I want him to look at that thumb drive.”
“Why is that important?”
“It might not be. But you swear it’s not yours, so why was it in your suitcase? And why did your suitcase have a tracking device? I want to know what the hell’s going on before I hand you over.” He leaned in close, so she wouldn’t miss a single word. “You’re my problem now.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
LEON
“You brought that Accardo bitch here?” Ryan demanded, staring at me with a beer bottle in his hand and outrage on his face.
“Hey.” The glare I gave him was one my brothers knew well. It was the “look” before the beatdowns started. “Be a gentleman or I’ll kick your ass.”
Ryan had shown up less than an hour ago, escorting a flatbed truck with a car on the back. His guy had immediately switched out the cars, offloading a silver Lexus IS 500 and taking away the Audi with the bullet hole.
That had me breathing a little easier for the first time since last night. But my gratitude wouldn’t stop me from pounding Ryan’s face if he didn’t watch his mouth about Sofia. Ryan hadn’t recognized her until I’d filled him in. I didn’t keep many secrets from my brothers. From Mum? All the time. She was a saint, so we devils kept her in the dark. But from my brothers? They’d been my partners in crime for too long. Losing Cal had tightly bound us together forever.
“Kick my ass?” Ryan repeated with a scornful grunt. “I’m looking out for my brother and that’s what you say to me? After all the strings I had to pull for you today.” He shook his head sadly, like a disappointed parent.
He was my youngest brother. I loved him. But he could be an ass. True, I’d been told it ran in the family. My father’s side of the family, anyway. After Ryan had solved my “hot” vehicle problem, it would be downright unseemly to beat the hell out of him, but calling Sofia a bitch had my hackles up.
I took a sip of my beer, buying myself time to calm down. We were out on the porch alone. Sofia had gone inside after our little “talk.” No wonder I didn’t like to chat. That goddamn conversation had been gut-wrenching. Now she knew about Cal, and she knew I didn’t intend to kill her for it, no matter how hard I’d bluffed and kept her guessing. And she was in the fucking kitchen with my mother.
Jesus Christ.
“You look troubled,” Ryan said with a snort and a swig from his beer bottle. It was only afternoon, but I’d never had a problem drinking early. Another thing inherited from my father. Ryan gestured at me with the bottle. “Women will do that do you.”
I gave him the side-eye. “Guess you really are looking for that ass-kicking after all.”
