When she saw him, her mouth went dry. Had he gotten more gorgeous since she saw him last? How was that possible? She unlocked the door, and he stepped inside. It had been raining, and he was dripping wet. Kate suddenly grinned.
“Are we in a cheesy movie right now?”
Lisander threw back his head and laughed. “Well, in that case …” He took her in his arms and kissed her so tenderly that her head swam. When she finally broke away, breathless, she grinned up at him.
“And hello to you too.”
“Sorry, I’ve been waiting weeks to do that.” He cupped her face in his hands. “Was it okay to do that?”
She smiled. “It was. Let me get my stuff, and we can get out of here.”
Alex Milland was drunk. Ori was kind of shocked when he lurched into the living room and slumped down into a chair opposite them. Maceo and Ori exchanged a glance.
“Are you okay?”
Alex looked up at her. “Viola?”
Oh god, he was really out of it. “No, sweetie, it’s Ori … remember?”
She got up to go to him, sat on the arm of his chair. “Did you have a drink?”
Alex sighed and rubbed his hand over his eyes. “Viola … why must you make me this crazy, all of the time?”
“Alex, it’s Ori, not … ”
What Alex did next shocked them all. He grabbed Ori and wrestled her to the floor, cursing and shouting in her face. Maceo dragged him off of her, roaring his fury at his friend, dragging him out of the room. Ori was shocked to the core, unhurt, but badly shaken. She remembered what Jason had said about the bruises on Viola. Ori felt sick. She got to her feet and followed the two men out; she could hear the upstairs shower running and Maceo talking angrily to his friend.
She hovered in the doorway of her bedroom as she saw Maceo carrying a dripping wet Alex into his bedroom.
A few moments later, Maceo reappeared. “He’s asleep.” He pulled Ori into the bedroom and hugged her tightly. She felt him trembling. “I’m so sorry,” he whispered, and she tightened her arms around him. “I know Alex is hurting but … Jesus, I’ve never seen him so …”
“It’s okay. God, everything is so fucked up right now.”
She couldn’t finish and held her hand to her mouth. Maceo held her tightly
“It’s okay,mio caro.”
She nodded, feeling safer with his arms around her. “I have just one question. Right here, right now, Maceo, just tell me. Do you think Alex is capable of hurting someone?”
“I don’t know what to tell you.” His eyes were hurt, deeply, and Ori could feel her chest quiver. Sadness. Fear. “He’s my brother, Ori.”
“I know, and I wouldn’t ask but …” She let out a shaky breath before meeting his gaze. “I know about you and Viola.”
Maceo’s expression changed. Devastation. Guilt. He nodded. “Yes. It did happen. Just once, and we both regretted it afterward. I think Viola told him.”
“I think so too.”
He pulled in a couple of painful breaths. “I’m so sorry I never told you, Ori. It was something I was, and am, deeply ashamed of. I broke the code and …”
“Alex kissed me.”
Silence. “When?”
“A few nights ago. The day I found out about you and Viola. We were talking about it, and it just happened.”
When finally she looked back at him, his eyes were kind. He pulled her into his arms.
“It’s okay, Ori, really. You got caught up in this bullshit, and I’m sorry.”
