Page 110 of Where Wild Hearts Dance
“I burned down my house.”
Nicolò rolls his eyes. “Now, why would you do that? It’s not like you need an insurance payout when we run the damn insurance companies anyway.”
“You’re right,” Benito says, calmly. “That’s not why I did it.”
His gaze pans softly to mine and I suddenly know. My heart stops beating and the room sways.
With eyes locked on mine, he enlightens us all. “I did it for her.”
There’s complete silence while Augie, Nicolò and Fed look from Benito to me and back to Benito again, rightly wondering if this is a joke.
“I did it so I’d have a viable reason to move into the apartment above your studio,” he says, thinning my breath.
“You didn’t need to burn down your ho—” Nicolò starts, but Benito lifts a hand that stops him instantly.
“Come on,” Augie says, putting a hand on Nicolò’s elbow. “Let’s give them a minute.”
“Only a minute,” Nicolò replies. “Cristiano will slice my dick in two if I don’t get them into the function room, stat.”
“They won’t be long,” Augie assures him.
“What about this one?” Nicolò jerks his head toward Federico.
“He’s coming with us,” Augie says before whipping out a pair of handcuffs and attaching them to Federico’s wrists. “Just in case,” he winks.
Nicolò looks horrified. “What? You just carry those around? What sort of sick shit do you get up to in your spare time?”
Augie slides past him and through the door, pulling Fed behind him. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”
A flush crawls up my throat and I don’t know if it’s caused by the sight of a pair of handcuffs, Benito’s declaration, or the fact I’m suddenly alone in a room with him. I back up into a wall and grip my purse nervously. My gaze flits around, unable to focus on him.
I expect him to walk towards me and tower over me like he usually does, turning me on through sheer intimidation, but he doesn’t move. I flick a timid glance his way and notice the lines etched into his brow.
“I’m sorry,” he says, quietly.
The intensity of his gaze burns my skin so I escape it by looking down at the floor. “For what?” My mind has gone blank so I’m honestly at a loss as to what he’s apologizing for.
“For not believing you.”
Oh,that.
“Why didn’t you?” I look up before I can stop myself and am immediately caught by his bronze eyes reaching into me like tendrils.
He leans back against the table and releases a controlled breath.
“You remember when I told you I raised myself?”
“Yes.”
“That was true. But the bit about me not having parents… I did, once upon a time.”
It feels as though my heart is crawling up my chest and into my throat, trying to get a better view of this man bearing his truth.
“My mom died when I was four. I might have had a relatively normal childhood up to that point but I don’tremember any of it. I don’t remember her. My father was a hateful man. He was aggressive and abusive—to me and my brother?—”
“You have abrother?”
He closes his eyes for a moment, then looks distantly across the room. “Ihada brother. God knows if he’s still alive. Ran away when he was thirteen.”
