Page 87 of Fire and Silk
I turn my head just enough to see him in the doorway. He’s not flustered, but he doesn’t hide the urgency in his voice.
“It’s Salvatri. He’s outside. Alone. But he looks like he walked through a fire just to get here.”
I step back. Lira slides off the table slowly, smoothing her dress. I’m already reaching for my blazer.
But her hand catches my arm.
“Let me talk to him,” she says softly. Her tone is calm, but her face is tight. She’s bracing for something.
I stare at her. She looks away—just briefly—and I see it. Guilt.
I exhale , slowly. Then I nod.
“I’ll be behind you.”
Chapter Fourteen – Lira
Dantès Estate
My heels whisper against the stone as we cross the courtyard. The dress I’m wearing clings lightly to my thighs.
He’s near the fountain, half-shadowed by the garden wall, his hands braced on his knees. Dust clings to his forearms. His chest rises and falls in staccato bursts. And then his head snaps up.
“Lira!”
He runs.
Before I can breathe, he’s in front of me—hands on my shoulders, pulling me into his chest like the world ended and I’m the only thing left. His breath stammers into my hair.
“Are you okay? Are you hurt?” His hands skim over me, frantic and trembling. “I came back and you were gone—the whole hotel was empty, the sheets were cold—I waited for hours, Lira. Hours. I went to the police. I filed a report, I thought—”
He can’t finish. His voice folds in on itself. He hugs me again, tighter, like I’ll vanish again if he doesn’t.
My chest aches.
He pulls back and catches my hand. His thumb brushes the edge of the gauze.
“What happened?” His voice cracks. “What did he do to you?”
I can’t answer.
He turns, fury building behind his eyes as he faces Severo.
“You took her.” He grabs the front of his shirt. “You took her again. Youdon’t get to keep herjust because you—”
From the colonnade, Severo’s second steps forward.
“Signore Dantès?”
His voice is low, controlled. Formal.
But Severo doesn't look at him. He lifts a hand—faintly curved fingers, more command than gesture.
“Stand down.”
He says it like a man brushing lint from his cuff.
Mico’s knuckles go white.
