Page 54 of Vicious Rule

Of course, he’s not there. It doesn’t matter, though. Even if Andre doesn’t want to go with me, I’m heading out for a while.

“I’m sure he’ll be back soon,” he says as I close the door to the empty office.

“Well, I’m leaving. You can come with me, or you can wait here for him. Your choice.”

I don’t stay and turn to leave, happy to go out alone. Very few people in this part of Italy even know I live here, so I doubt that many of them would recognize me. And even if they do, I don’t care.

Behind me, Andre calls out, “Wait! I can’t let you go alone. Mr. Rule requires any of you who leave the villa to have a guard with you.”

Looking back, I see him walking fast to catch up with me. “Then you better get moving because I’m leaving.”

“If you’re going, I’m going too. I better not lose my job over this.”

His concern makes me laugh. “Don’t worry. I’ll put in a good word with your boss for you.”

“If he fires me, I’m going to blame you, Sasha.”

I stop and let him catch up to me. Weaving my arm through his, I say with a smile, “Nobody’s getting fired, Andre. We’re just two people going out for a little fresh air on a beautiful night. There’s nothing to worry about. Now let’s go!”

Andre and I walk arm in arm through the streets of Rome among throngs of people, and for the first time in what seems like forever, I feel like myself again. I’ve been cooped up in that villa for far too long, and my little escape to the coast wasn’t long enough to truly refresh me. If I think about it, Kerry did me a favor insulting me tonight. If she hadn’t, I’d still be sitting there in that place.

I take a deep breath of fresh air and let it fill my lungs. It’s a gorgeous warm night, the perfect time to explore the city.

“Do you know a lot about Rome? I’ve lived here for a while, and I haven’t seen much of it.”

Andre nods and grins like he’s been waiting his whole life for someone to ask him that question. “I do. Want me to show you some of the best places that aren’t tourist traps?”

His offer excites me. “Absolutely! I can see the Forum and the Colosseum anytime. Take me somewhere different off the beaten path.”

“Your wish is my command, lady. Hang on because it’s about to get wild!”

I somehow can’t imagine Andre knows anywhere I’d need to hang on for since he’s such a placid guy, but I take hold of his hand and let him lead the way down side streets and alleyways away from the groups of tourists out enjoying the night.

“You know, I don’t think I actually know much about you, Andre. How did you come to work for Alex and the Rules?” I ask as he turns a corner around a building and we head down another dark side street.

He gives me a half-hearted smile as he explains that he’s been a bodyguard for the past five years and Alex saw him at a club one night. He had to protect his client, some famous Italian racecar driver, from a group of fans about to swarm the man as he walked into the building, and by the end of the night, he’d agreed to come to work for Alex in his new villa.

“How did the driver guy take the news?” I ask as the street gets darker and darker. “And why don’t they have any streetlights here? If I didn’t have you with me, I’d be terrified of getting mugged.”

Andre tightens his grip on my hand and says, “He understood. I’m guessing Alex either paid him off or made him see it was the best thing for everyone involved.”

His diplomatic way of describing what Alex actually did makes me chuckle. “You mean he threatened him. Sounds like a Rule thing to do.”

A dog runs by us barking, and I can’t help but be startled. This dark alley tour of Rome wasn’t exactly what I had in mind when I thought about escaping the confines of the villa for a few hours.

“Where are we going?” I ask, hoping to hear it’s somewhere with food. “Any chance it’s a restaurant? I’m starving.”

“Chef Carlos said he was making a special meal for you and Mrs. Rule. You didn’t like it?” Andre asks as we turn onto a slightly brighter street.

I breathe a tiny sigh of relief at the sight of lights showing us the way again and answer, “The risotto was fine. Where are we now?”

“Almost there. It’s a surprise.”

He looks down at me and smiles, and I can’t help but notice he has kind eyes. I think I’ve always known that, but tonight I especially need someone to be nice to me after that dinner mess with Kerry.

“As long as it’s a nice surprise. I’ve already had enough bad ones for today.”

Andre turns to look at me and asks, “Did something happen? Want to talk about it?”

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