Page 6 of The Forbidden Secret

“It’s a safe house.”

“Once we’re sure we lost them, I get to go?”

“So eager to get away from me?”

Not even a flicker of amusement flashed across her face, and something in my chest tightened. It didn’t matter. It was better she hated me than to feel interested in something I couldn’t give her.

I knew from the moment I had seen her sneaking out of her family’s home a year ago that something was intriguing about her. And from there, the feeling only grew more powerful. More potent.

I wouldn’t let her have the same story as my mother.

Not when I had become just like my father.

“Yes.”

The word felt like a blow, but I didn’t let it show. She shouldn’t have meant anything to me. I had decided to leave her and cut all communication, and I had to stick by that for her sake.

“Well, in three days, you’ll be free to go.”

“I am not staying here with you for three days.”

“You are,” I said. “I was hired to get you out and safe. I’ll book you a flight to wherever you want to go in three days, but until then, we have to monitor the situation and ensure everyone is off your trail. Plus, I need the time to get all your identity-changing documents. Fake name. History. All of that shit.”

“I already have all of that.”

I paused and tilted my head as I took in every part of her demeanor. She stood, closed off, with her arms crossed over her chest. Her light brown hair fell over her shoulders in unkempt waves, and she stared at me through wide-framed glasses as if I had betrayed her rather than saved her life.

“You already have a fake ID, passport, documents proving past employment, a fake social security card?”

“Yes.”

“Why do you have all of those things already?”

She didn’t bother answering my question. “Are three days really necessary?”

I clenched my jaw. “I’m sure the thought of staying in my presence for three days isunbearable,” I said sarcastically. “But for your safety, it is important.”

She huffed. “Fine.”

“Fine,” I repeated as she turned and walked toward one of the two bedrooms.

Then, she slammed the door behind her.

Chapter Three

Evelina Bianchi

Two and a half days, and I had not said a single word to the man who had saved my life.

I knew I didn’t need to be so angry about the situation. I had gotten my daughter out of it, and I had never needed his help. But to see how oblivious he was to the situation—to see that he had no idea someone else looked after our daughter while I fought for my safety—struck a nerve.

Today—maybe tomorrow morning, if he decided to wait out the night—I could finally go get her. I would finally have my Beatrice in my arms for good.

I knew there was over a hundred thousand dollars in a bank account that I could access with my fake identity as soon as I arrived wherever I was going. I would be free.

I heard Zeke walking from the other room, and it shifted to the second half of the small apartment long enough for me to bolt into the bathroom and close the door, still imagining the life I would have in a few short days. The vision of holding my daughter and knowing that I could finally keep her filled my heart with hope.

I considered Maggie’s quickly swelling belly and the timeframe. She would be giving birth in a matter of weeks, and I had to have Beatrice by then. I had bought everything she could possibly need in caring for a child, and in exchange, she kept mine safe.

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