Page 33 of The Sicilian Brotherhood I

He nodded, “You’re right. I don’t.”

That was it. He didn’t fight me down or behave like there was no way that I could possibly be right.

I found myself wanting to tell him about me and Franco, wanting to explain to him what had happened and how I’d ended up bound in a wedding dress to marry his greatest enemy when all I’d wanted was to escape and never return.

“Were you afraid?” He asked.

“Yes.”

“Like you’re afraid of me?”

I gazed up at him. His eyes were such a sharp, piercing shade of arctic blue. My stomach knotted with anxiety staring into them. I couldn’t tell what he wanted from me. Was I to tell him that I didn’t fear him? That wasn’t true. But it wasn’t quite the way I feared Franco. Nothing could beat that gut-wrenching terror I felt engaged to Franco.

“No, not like that.”

“But you’re still afraid of me.”

“I saw you —“

He interrupted me, “I know you don’t have to say it.”

“Sorry.”

“No,” he replied, “I should be sorry. I should not have killed him like that — in front of you.”

He sighed.

“He tried to hurt you and I couldn’t look past that.”

“Why do you care?” I snapped.

“I don’t,” he replied, clearing his throat, “But you know where my diamond is. It does good to keep you alive and well.”

“That’s it?”

“Yes,” he replied, “Of course that’s it.”

“Is it really safe to stay here tonight?” I asked.

“All you have to do is rest. You have your own room so you should be at peace.”

“You’ll stay down here.”

“I have a bottle to kill,” he muttered.

I set my empty glass on the table, considering inviting him up. I didn’t want him in my room because I was lonely. I didn’t want us pawing at each other in the night in confusion because there were no other bodies. After Franco, I didn’t want anything meaningless.

So I left him downstairs with his wine, but when I went to bed that night, I didn’t lock the door.

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Giac

I finished the Malbec alone and stumbled into bed before sunrise. I had to use something to drown the demons, to silence the voices that chattered in my head if I was ever alone long enough.

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