Page 14 of Cruel Redemption

“All right. I’m turning around for the airport now.”

“Where are you?” I thought he would be waiting to catch his connecting flight inside the airport.

“Philadelphia.”

“What?” My mind raced. “What are you doing there?” We lived in Philadelphia until I was twenty-one. It was where my family was. It was where I was raised. It was home until I claimed New Orleans for myself.

“I don’t have time to get into it now. It’s part of my trip to France. That’s all I can say. I need to purchase a new ticket and start making some calls.”

“Ciro,” I warned, but I was too exhausted to lecture. Too tired to tell him to put this investigation into Luka’s past, away. It was costly. Look at what happened to Enzo.

“Yes?”

“Let me know the minute you touch down in New Orleans.” Luka was waiting for me. “I’m not sure where I’ll be.” I didn’t want to disclose the meeting with Katya yet or Luka’s insistence to hide me from the world.

“I will. I’ll text with my ETA.”

“Thank you. And be safe.” I hung up and rested my palms on the counter. My mouth felt dry, and my head hurt. The sliver of skin where Ciro had removed my tracker stung from the shower. Should I have left it in? My mind reeled. I couldn’t keep one steady thought.

“Everything okay?”

I turned around when I heard Luka’s voice over my shoulder. I wanted to cling to him. Hold him and be held. We could figure it out. Let our souls thread together and dissolve the pain. Any space was too much, too wide. I didn’t want distance between us anymore. Never again. But I couldn’t take the first step toward him. I was still Amara Amato. And she could be very stubborn.

* * *

Luka checked his phone as often as I did on the ride out of the city. I had been reluctant to pack a bag, but I did it anyway. The next few days were uncertain. I included a separate bin with files from my office. I wasn’t going to stop working. Barbara had given me piles of contracts to read over and sign.

“As soon as we arrive, I want to take you somewhere,” he announced. He turned onto a rural road. It was more dirt than pavement.

“What kind of somewhere?” I asked.

“It’s not the Vieux Carre or anything, but there are a couple of cabins on the property. While I speak to Katya, I think you should stay there.”

I bit the inside of my cheek. “I told you I don’t want to go into hiding. It’s the wrong message to send. It’s not the kind of message I’m going to send.”

Luka slammed on the brakes and the car screeched until we were stopped. I braced myself against the dash. “What the hell was that?” I yelled at him. “You almost threw us into the sugar cane field.” A cloud of dust billowed around the car.

“I don’t give a damn about the sugar cane field right now. Listen, I’m not going back and forth about this.” His face was red. He whipped the shades away from his eyes. “Would you hide me?”

I glared at him. “What does that have to do with?—”

“No,” he snapped. “If this was reversed, what would you do? Would you parade me out in front of the families? Would you put me on a jet and send me to another country? Would you hide me in the tunnels for weeks until you had everyone’s head on a pike? Tell me. Look at me and tell me what lengths you would go to, to make sure I wasn’t killed tonight.”

I closed my eyes, glad he couldn’t see my full reaction. “The situation is not reversed.” I spoke between clenched teeth.

“That’s not what I asked. I’m talking about the hypothetical situation we could have been in, we’re almost always in, Amara because of the lives we live. Tomorrow, it could be me. So, answer the damn question. Would you hide me?”

I pinched my lips together and folded my arms. “You aren’t going to make me do this. I won’t give you permission to take control.”

He sighed. “I’m not trying to control you. I’m controlling the situation. I’m trying to do everything I can to keep you alive.” The bitterness was palatable. “There is a big fucking difference.”

“It doesn’t feel that way from where I’m sitting. I’ve been okay all these years without you. Now, you want to swoop in and make it all better? Save me? Is that what you think you can do?”

“Stop.”

“Did I hit a nerve?” I knew I sounded spiteful and angry. That was only scratching the surface of the rage boiling in my veins.

His hands landed hard on the steering wheel before he unclicked the seatbelt and climbed out of the car. The door slammed behind him, but I didn’t sit with the silence. He wasn’t going to leave me inside the car alone. No. I bolted out right after him. I couldn’t believe he was doing this.

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