Page 55 of Mercy in Betrayal

Enzo told me to spend his money. Evie told me to take control of my environment. I’ll work on doing both.

Excited by the prospect of a project, I start to make my way back to my bedroom, trying to remember how Sarah had led us here. I’m lost in minutes, somehow ending up in the foyer instead of anywhere remotely near the bedroom.

I’m going to need a map.

As I stand there wondering how to find Sarah and ask for help, the door opens, and Enzo strolls in, a burst of cold air riding his heels before he shuts the door behind him.

“Rowan,” he greets me, his gaze roaming over me. “Were you waiting for me?”

“I was lost.”

“Ah.” He shrugs out of his coat and hands it to Sarah, who has magically appeared out of nowhere. I give her a sideways glare. Strange that she didn’t do so when I was wandering around lost. “I guess I should give you a tour.”

“Maybe. Instead of staying out all night.”

Damn. Damn. Damn. I didn’t mean to say that. I don’t want him to think I care.

Enzo doesn’t respond to the jab, though. His eyes narrow before settling on the cat at my heels, and he squats, holding a hand out for Clementine to sniff. “Coraline, right?” Clementine eyes him with a bored expression without moving forward.

Coraline? I’ve only said his name half a dozen times. Or is he teasing me? There’s a twinkle in his eye that makes me unsure. “Clementine,” I reply evenly.

“She’s magnificent. Loyal only to you, I see.” Enzo stands. “Come, I’ll show you the way to our room.” Enzo starts walking, and I follow, Clem trotting behind.

“Clementine is a ‘he.’ I got him when he was a tiny kitten, and because…their genitalia is very similar early on…we thought he was a girl at first. It wasn’t until quite a bit later that we discovered otherwise, and by then, we were all used to the name.”

Enzo flashes an indecipherable look over his shoulder. “His harness is pink.”

I narrow my eyes. “He happens to like pink. We shouldn’t define his options by gender norms.”

“Okay.”

When we reach our bedroom, Enzo goes into the bathroom, and I hear the water turn on in the shower. I look at Clem. “That’s rather rude. I wasn’t finished talking to him.” The cat yawns. “Damnit.”

You are Don Scarpetta’s wife. Act like it.

I stride into the bathroom. “I wasn’t finished talking…” My sentence fades away. Enzo has already removed his shirt and pants and stands in only his boxer briefs, hand extended into the shower to test the water temperature. I shake my head a little, feeling myself lose focus.

It’s not Don Scarpetta in front of me, the man who stayed out all night the night before. It’s Enzo, the guy who bought coffee and held my hand. The man who took my virginity in an art exhibition. The man who fed me the best dim sum in Chinatown.

I want to hate him, but I can’t.

He studies me, watching the roll of conflicting emotions cross my face. “We can talk later,” he says, reaching for me.

I let him strip me, bare me of clothes and dignity and any pretense of distance. He takes me in the shower against the cold tile and then again on the bed, never letting me come down from the highs he drives me to before beginning all over again.

There’s something addictive in his touch. As much as I hate what he’s done, I’m a slave to the way he makes me feel.

Afterward, we sleep, exhausted. Or I do, at least. I don’t know if Enzo sleeps before he leaves me again in the cold hours just after midnight. All I know is that the dipping of the bed wakes me, and I stare at a shaft of moonlight on the ceiling until it gives way to the sun.

He’s still keeping secrets.

Chapter 19

Enzo

It doesn’t look like anyone is home. I lock my car and stuff my hands in my jacket pockets. The air is crisp this morning, laden with frost that pricks my lungs, but hasn’t yet clung to any of this concrete jungle.

When I was given this address by Ivan, I didn’t expect such a shit hole. The front of the building is boarded up, all the windows covered over with heavy plywood. Graffiti covers nearly every inch of the building. I cast a quick glance, trying to discern which gangs the symbols link to, but I can’t identify any of them without a longer study.

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