Page 15 of Depths of Desire
"You didn’t realize," he repeats, his mouth pulling into a tight line. "Or you didn’t want to admit you needed help?"
I don’t answer. Because he isn’t wrong. Once he pointed it out on the boat, I knew it was bad. It started throbbing, and blood had oozed out of the jagged cut the entire boat ride in.
He shakes his head, grabbing antiseptic and gauze from the kit. "This is going to sting."
I bite my lip as he cleans the wound, his movements precise, controlled. He’s done this before. Probably too many times.
"You should get some rest," he murmurs as he wraps the bandage around my arm. "You’re dead on your feet."
That snaps me out of my haze. I sit up straighter. "I’m not staying."
His hands still, his gaze darkening. "Yeah, you are."
"No, I’m not." I meet his eyes, willing him to understand. "Nico, this doesn’t change anything. I still have to leave."
His jaw tics. "You don’t get it, do you?"
"Oh, I get it," I snap. "You think you’re obligated to keep me here because my best friends are married to your brothers. But you don’t. You really don’t. You can just let me go, and you will never see me again. I won’t tell a soul that I saw you, and if you keep your mouth shut, no one will be the wiser. It’s a win-win for you and me.” I thump my chest for emphasis, and the gash on my arm stings.
"This isn’t about what you or I want, Luna. It’s about what’s coming for you."
The air shifts between us, thick with something unspoken. I hate how steady he looks. How calm. Because it makes me feel reckless. Unstable. Like I have no control over this at all.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” I stand, ignoring the dizziness. “You don’t want me around, trust me. I know you have no interest in being forced to protect me. Just let me go, and no one will be the wiser. You keep your mouth shut, and my father won’t even know to come ask you about me.”
Nico leans on the desk, his legs crossed out in front of him. “Luna, this isn’t about your father.”
“Not for you,” I agree, “but it is for me. It’s all about my father. I’m not staying. I will not be forced into some loveless marriage so he can maintain some kind of relevance inla famiglia. I just won’t. I will not sacrifice my life for his ego.” The last sentence comes out as a snarl. I’ve been hiding my true feelings for weeks, months… years really. I will not ‘be a good girl’ and ‘do the right thing’ by my family. No fucking way.
Nico’s eyes narrow, assessing me. I force myself to stay still under his gaze, but my pulse hammers against my ribs. Maybe, just maybe, I have him convinced.
“Did you see any video cameras on the ship?”
The question completely throws me for a loop. “What?” What the hell is he on about now?
“Cameras on the ship. Did you see any?”
I frown. “I don’t know…no…I wasn’t looking for any.”
“That’s what I thought. When you were with me moving about the ship, didn’t you wonder why we were taking the long way to get anywhere?”
I didn’t even realize we were, but I’m not about to admit that to him. “I?—”
“You didn’t even bother to look at the schematics before you boarded that ship, did you?” His tone was both accusatory and dismissive.
“Listen, asshole, I?—”
He talks over me. “Luna, there were a lot of cameras on the ship. I avoided all of them when you were with me, with the exception of maybe one on deck. I’m pretty sure it was blocked, but I can’t be one hundred percent certain. You, on the other hand, wandered aimlessly around the ship before I rescued you on the catwalk.”
“Rescued might be a tad overstating it,” I counter. This man’s ego is already big enough.
“Luna,” he says through gritted teeth, “my point is anyone looking at those cameras would know you were on board. Someone just blew up the ship. The way they targeted the explosives suggests to me that they didn’t want anyone getting off alive.”
“So?” I shiver. I am too fucking tired and pissed off to play anymore games with this asshole. “What is your fucking point?”
“My fucking point is that you should be dead. You shouldn’t have been there in the first place, but you were, and now they’re gonna want to make sure you’re dead. If your body doesn’t turn up, then they’re gonna know you’re alive. That’s not going to sit well with them.”
I stare at him. Is he for real? “Whatever was happening on board that ship has nothing to do with me. Those people aren’t going to care about me. Besides, they’ll just assume I’m dead. My body just as easily could’ve been washed away in the sea.”
