Page 27 of The Art of You

“So, we have to stay in New York, right? No running away to Italy, then?”

Eyes back on me, he shot out a sarcastic, “Real funny.”

“I wasn’t joking.” I shrugged and had to clamp down on my molars to hide a grimace so he wouldn’t worry. My shoulder was feeling pretty good there for a minute. “Maybe somewhere we can take a helicopter so no driving will be needed.”

“We can probably make that work,” he responded after quietly studying me, easily making the connection as to why I’d prefer a helo to a car.

Like almost dying in one last night.

“We should take your family’s bird. My father would prefer to keep his hands as clean of this mess as possible.” His tone dipped lower and borderline icy when mentioning the governor.

“Even though he’s kind of why we’re here.” I was glad his father sought us out for help so we could save Lola’s life, but he wasn’t handling the aftermath of that decision so well. Not that I’d say it aloud, but from where I stood, his priority was ensuring none of this would hinder his chances at winning next year’s election.

“My father’s concern will always be about his job first and how to ensure he keeps it.”

I really wanted to hug him right now. Make up for all the affection he’d missed out on over the years. But my brothers were still lurking in the hall, and I didn’t want to cause Hudson any grief with them. Constantine would die for his best friend, but apparently, he would also kill him if Hudson ever crossed whatever lines he felt were inappropriate.

So, I got back in bed instead of wrapping this man up in my arms, denying the blanket of solace he seemed to need.

I removed the sling from my arm, discarding it on the rolling cart. “I take it Alessandro told you he couldn’t access the video footage from the party?”

“Unfortunately, yes.”

“And I assume you talked to Adelina?”

He nodded. “Only over the phone. The director wouldn’t let her come down here yet. She’ll meet up with us tomorrow.”

“And was she able to shed any light on anything, or was it too risky to chat details over the phone?”

“We couldn’t talk about the case. The Feds were probably listening in.”

Of course they were.“We should be on the same team as the FBI, and here we are feeling like their enemy.”This sucks.

“Your brothers filled her in about what we discussed earlier, though.”

“I know the Feds won’t share anything earth-shattering unless it’s because they’re charging us with something, but will she keep us in the loop?”

“Yeah, for sure.” He shot me an uneasy look. “I did manage to learn one minor detail from one of the Feds investigating the crash earlier. The fuses to my airbag were disconnected, but they’re saying it’s possible the wiring system was faulty and it wasn’t tampered with.”

“Faulty my ass.”

“It’s possible they didn’t screw with my airbag, though. If they needed us alive, they wouldn’t want to risk killing me.”

True but . . .“They could’ve been aiming to only kill you, assuming I’d give in easier when pressed for a location about their kidnapper friends.” There was a hole with that theory, too, though. “But I suppose if that were the case, our mystery person who fled the scene wouldn’t have left you alive, either.”

“Unfortunately, right now, we have more questions thananswers. Regardless of the situation with my airbag, all I know is that I’m relieved yours was okay. If anything?—”

“Nope, we’re not doing that. If you start the blame train, I’ll pick it up and run with it myself. So, if you want me to feel guilty, then by all means . . .”

The man had a black eye and bruises, but he still rolled his eyes at me.

I stole a look at my brothers in the hall talking. They were too far away to hear us, and I couldn’t eavesdrop on them either. “So much for this being a quick weekend op. Enzo should go back to Maria, don’t you think? We need to make him. He’ll want to stay, but it’s hard for him to be away from her when she’s pregnant.”

“I’ve already talked to Constantine about that, and he agrees. He’ll ride Enzo hard and ensure he’s on a plane tomorrow. Monday at the latest.”

“What about Alessandro? Doesn’t Callie need to get back to her life in Nashville?”

“She’s as stubborn as your brother. Both of them are staying until this case is resolved.”

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