Page 97 of Where Wild Hearts Dance
That seems to settle Trilby slightly, then her frown sharpens. “Why did Benny tie you up in a basement?”
I take a long breath in. “He found the letter, believed I was working with Federico to avenge what Benito didto the Falconi’s. What hurt the most was, he didn’t even question it. Despite everything that had happened between us, he couldn’t find it in himself to trust me.”
Trilby rubs her eyes in my peripheral and mutters, “What thefuck, Benny?” Then she looks up suddenly. “Did he hurt you?”
Heaviness seems to engulf me until I can barely lift my head. “No. He didn’t hurt me. Not physically anyway.”
“So, what happened? How did you get away?”
“He released me eventually. But only after Cristiano confirmed the letter was old and Bambi had only just given it to me.”
“So Cristianoknew?”
Ohshit. They’re getting married in three days and I might have just got Cristiano into a bit of hot water.
“According to Benito, yes.”
I can hear her teeth grinding beside me. After a few long moments, she huffs out a tight breath. “Well, that certainly explains why you haven’t been around to the house and I don’t blame you one little bit.”
I look up and she’s shaking her head, vehemently. When she stops, her gaze is hard. “Are you okay, Tess? Answer me honestly.”
“I’m fine, really. I just don’t want to see him. At least, I don’t think I do… It’s complicated.”
“I wish you’d told me sooner,” she says through thinned lips. “I’m so angry with both of them.”
“I wish I hadn’t told you at all,” I murmur. “This is your moment and I really don’t want to ruin it for you.”
Trilby wraps an arm around my shoulders. “You won’t. I’m glad you told me. I’m going to be looking out for you better from now on, Tess. I promise. I’m never going to let anything bad happen to you again, okay?” She hugs me into her side but I don’t reply. It’s a sweet and honorable sentiment, but contrary to most peoples’ opinions, I wasn’t born yesterday. As much as Cristiano loves my sister, he’s still a mob man, and her influence can only stretch so far.
“Come on,” she says, pulling me to my feet. “Let’s go and get you some food.”
We turn and walk back toward the patio. From the sound and volume of voices, it seems our family and a large proportion of Cristiano’s have now arrived. We duck around some foliage framing the eating area, then my heart stops and the blood drains from the crown of my head to the tips of my toes.
Trilby is whispering something in my ear but I can’t seem to hear her. My gaze is caught like a rabbit in a snare. Benito Bernadi is standing at the doors to the patio and even though twenty people are chattering and moving around between us, it feels as though a tattooed calloused hand is sliding around my naked waist, hot breath coasting over my shoulder.
His eyes have darkened and even from this short distance I notice his jaw moving from side to side. One hand rests in his slacks while the other holds a lowball of whiskey. Whenever the light catches the dancing golden liquid, I’m reminded of the glisten in his eyes when he’s pulling me apart with his bare hands.
They’re not glistening now though. They’re opaque, and black.
Eventually, Trilby’s words cut through the haze. “Do you want me to get rid of him? Or we can take a walk. Whatever you want to do Tess. I’m right here.”
I give my head a small shake, my gaze still captured in his. “I’m fine.”
I’mnotfine.
My stomach has liquified and the butterflies are careening about within like they’ve been electrocuted. And a stone-cold heaviness pulls me downward, as though something inside me is trying to keep my feet on the ground.
The movements between us slow down until I’m painfully aware that people are watching us as we stare at each other. All I can hear now are my heart beats—hard, short and filled with heavy emotion.
“Benito!” Cristiano’s bark cuts through the tension across the patio and makes me draw in a breath. Benito doesn’t look away. He holds my stare a few seconds longer, making it subtly but crystal clear he will do as Cristiano asks eventually, but only because hewantsto. Just like there are a million other things he could do, if hewantedto.
When he glacially pans his gaze to Cristiano, the chattering across the patio slowly picks up again and I release my breath.
“Get some food,” Trilby says, in clipped tones. “I’ll be right back.”
She marches across the patio, around variousmembers of the two families, and follows Cristiano and Benito into the hotel. I can’t help the little ball of guilt that forms in my chest at the thought I’ve muddied what should have been Cristiano and Trilby’s idyllic and problem-free wedding event.
“There you are!” Sera bounds over with a plate. “Come on, the food here is so amazing. And I sprayed the whole lobby. There won’t be any more irritating bugs, I promise you.”
