Page 46 of Savage Heart

I reach out to wrap my fingers around his pinky and force a smile as I shake my head. “Nothing. Nothing’s wrong. I’m still a little sleepy, I guess.”

“Okay. Then let’s get going and handle what we have to do before we set off for home.”

As much as I love the idea of leaving Italy, I’m reluctant to move. Alaric waits for me to respond, and when I don’t, he backs away from me.

“Sienna, what’s going on here?”

Suddenly, I feel defensive. Clutching the sheet under my chin, I look away, unable to face him. “Nothing. Nothing’s going on.”

“Then why do I get the sense that you think I’m wrong for saying your family needs to be taken care of? First there was that little crack about me being the one to know all about the dead, and now you seem to be acting like the thought of me doing what I need to with your brothers upsets you. What’s going on?”

God, the way he’s talking about killing people not fifteen minutes after waking up feels so wrong!

“Nothing’s going on! Why do you keep asking that?” I cry, far louder and more emotional than I would have liked at this moment.

His eyes stare down at me coldly. “Because I’m getting the feeling you don’t understand what needs to happen here.”

“I understand fine, thank you,” I answer, turning my head so I don’t have to see his emotionless stare aimed at me.

“Then you’re unhappy about it. Or maybe you don’t want to accept that this is how things have to go.”

Every word out of his mouth sounds so clinical now that I want to scream. Killing someone’s entire family should require some emotion, shouldn’t it?

“Sienna, he’s going to try to do it again, and next time, he may actually get you married off to some guy. I won’t let that happen. You’re mine, so you won’t be marrying some asshole of your brother’s choosing.”

I snap my head back to face him. “I’m yours? So I’m the reason all these people have to die? I can’t live with that, Alaric.”

“You’re not the reason. Matteo is the reason Matteo is going to die. I don’t understand you. He kidnapped you, sold you to the highest bidder, and now you feel some kind of familial ties that make you feel bad he has to pay?”

“I know what he did!” I say as I jump up from the bed to storm away to the bathroom. “I don’t need to be reminded of it. Trust me. I sat there in that room tied up for days. I’ll never forget that.”

For the second time this morning, I instantly regret the words coming out of my mouth. This time I stop and immediately apologize, though.

“That’s not what I’m referring to, in case you think I am.”

Alaric’s gaze is nothing short of icy as he practically glares at me. “I wasn’t thinking it was, but clearly you were in some way.”

“This isn’t about what happened with us. Don’t make it about that. This is about my brother.”

“And how you don’t want to accept the reality that he needs to be dealt with,” Alaric says flatly.

“Tell me. Do you plan on killing my entire family? Is that how it is?”

He simply shakes his head, as if he cannot fathom what my problem is. “Sienna, your brothers will hunt you down, and next time, I might not be able to save you in time. Why do you feel anything for them? They kidnapped you. Sold you to a man whose penchant for hurting women is legendary up and down this coast. What more do they have to do for you to understand they won’t stop until they get what they want?”

Tears well in my eyes, but I steel myself from crying. I will not become an emotional mess about this. I know Alaric’s right about my family. I know it, but the way he so blithely talks about having to get rid of them like they aren’t human beings isn’t something I can understand.

“I don’t feel anything for them. Or maybe I do because I’m a stupid woman who gets emotional over stupid things. They’re all I have, though. Without them, I have no family at all.”

That makes his expression soften, and he walks over to me to cradle my face in his strong hands. “You have me. You have the Rules. You’re never alone. I promise that.”

As much as his words should make me happy, they only create more questions in my mind. What does he mean I have him? Are we together like a normal couple now, or does he plan on depositing me back at my apartment and visiting me every couple years?

I cover his hands with mine and stare up into his eyes to find the answer, but I can’t see anything in them, so I’m forced to ask. “What do you mean I have you? What does that mean, Alaric? You left me alone for two years. You say I’m never alone, but when I was waiting all that time for you, I can tell you I was definitely alone.”

Now he seems to have nothing to say, which I guess is my answer. Backing away from him, I shake my head. “So I’m never alone, but I really am because this little time together is just a vacation from you staying away from me until you decide it’s time to pop in and say hi.”

That’s not fair, and I know it. Alaric hasn’t said we’re going to return to life as it was for the past two years, but if he’s not going to tell me what he wants us to be, I have no choice but to come to the conclusions his silence offers.

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