Page 74 of Shark Bait

“You’re weird.”

He chuckles but releases me, and now that my cover is blown, I use the bathroom and return to bed, where I sit up andopen the phone. It’s all set up for me, and the first thing I do is check the contacts.

There’re only three: Shark, Capital, and Cupcake. Since he’s awake, I dial Shark. His phone lights up, and I hang up. I won’t call either of the two Cs.

Next, I check the apps. There aren’t many, but I do have some games. I search for browsing apps and find none, so I go into the app downloader, which won’t open. My phone is restricted. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised since Alessio pushed so hard for the marriage that would enable him to protect me and also make me part of the family business or, essentially, the boy band.

Collectively, they can’t trust me until I’m in the fold; hence, my phone is limited.

Knowing all this doesn’t mean I don’t feel like I’m being held captive again. In a way, I am, and perhaps that’s how I’ll live out my life, since the sequence of events started last year can’t be undone. I’m forever to remain overseas. I’m forever to remain a missing person to my family. Or dead. Maybe someone declared me dead so they’d stopped looking for me.

But in case I’m wrong, I want to give Shark a chance. “Hey, you still up?”

“No.”

I smile. “I noticed my phone has no internet.”

“Mmhm.”

“I wanted to browse. When do I get internet?”

“In time.”

I swallow. “So I’m in a gilded cage now?”

Shark sits up next to me and cracks his neck. The sheet drops into his lap, revealing his muscular torso. “This is the best I can do right now.” He sighs. “I’m sorry La Falena took you. I promise you that he and all who contributed to your misfortune will be sorry for what they did. But I can’t let you go, if that’s what you’re getting at by calling this a gilded cage.”

“I didn’t say that.”

“If you are imprisoned, then what does that make me?”

I shrug. “If the shoe fits.”

Shark slides out of bed and puts on his sweatpants.

“You don’t have to leave,” I say. “It’s in the middle of the night.”

“I’m out,” he says.

“Fine. Don’t let the door hit your fine ass.”

He snorts and pulls on a T-shirt. “I got work to do anyway.”

“In the middle of the night?”

He nods. “Peak hours for me.”

“Wait.” I slide back out of bed and notice his gaze heats up at my nudity. I walk up to him, and he immediately cups my cheeks and kisses me. “It’s best if I go. I don’t want to argue with you.”

“I only wanted to idly scroll the social channels.”

“That’s not true, and you know it.”

I sigh. “I want to check on my family.” Tears brim in my eyes. “It’s so unfair to them. I want to see how they’re doing. If Denver got any gigs. If Levi’s with him. If Mom had her surgery. So many things I left behind.”

“That’s where the past is supposed to be. Left behind. Leave it, then.”

“I did. But you came and promised me a future, and now I want to check in on my parents. Maybe…maybe we can figure out how I can tell them without telling them that I’m okay.”

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