Page 35 of The Sicilian's Obsession
Katima
Iopened my eyes and panicked, not knowing where I was. Groaning, I tried to sit up and felt a sharp pain in my chest. A pair of hands grabbed my shoulders to keep me still and I started to push them away.
"It's me, baby girl," Arturo's husky voice said. Knowing that he was in the room with me, helped me calm down. The sun was glaring through the window and I looked at it, confused.
"How long was I asleep?" I rasped. My voice sounded like a menthol chain smoker in a dusty room.
"Two days." I peeked up at Arturo and realized he had dark stubble all over his chin. His eyes looked sad. I reached my arms up and he collapsed into me. I grunted with the impact of his body. Not because he was hurting me, but because he was so large. Arturo snuggled into my side and let out a sigh. "I was so worried about you, baby girl."
"I was so scared. I thought I wouldn't see you again," I whimpered.
"This was all my fault. I shouldn't have left you alone." I swung my head in his direction, causing myself to feel woozy. "Be careful; you got hit in the head a few times. I had to wake you up repeatedly, but the concussion is mild."
"This is in no way your fault, Arturo. If anyone besides the people who lied and kidnapped me were to blame, it would be me, for leaving the safe house." I grabbed his face so he could see how sincere I was being.
"Why did you leave, baby girl?" He must not have seen the footage.
"Rebecca was at the lab. I wanted to make sure she didn't take anything, but it was a trap."
Arturo nodded. I'm sure he had seen situations like this before. All the more reason I should have listened to him.
"You need to eat and heal. Your father is here, but I have banned him from seeing you. If you want to see him, I can make arrangements."
I shook my head slightly, groaning at the pain. "I don't even want to be here, Arturo. I want to leave. That drive wasn't very far, so I know they are close and watching us. I need to move." I felt the panic well in me again at the thought of having to pack everything up.
"I know the perfect place, and you won't have to lift a finger. The guys will help you move, no problem. When you're feeling better, we can go visit Ma. I'm on desk duty because this mission was just too close to home. No more fieldwork for me. At least not for a while." Arturo shot me a grin, but it didn't quite reach his eyes.
"I'd love to see your ma again. Maybe after the bruises fade, though. That way, she won't be worried." I wanted to make Arturo smile again. He looked at my bruises and a flash of anger hit his face. His jaw was clenched with rage, and I knew talking about my injuries wasn't a good idea right now. No need to push the beast. "Can you send my dad in? I want to get this over with." I was still very angry with my father. I wasn't even sure what I was going to say to him.
My dad came in and rushed to my side, trying to give me a hug, but I pulled away.
"How long?" I asked him. He ducked his head, but there was no way I was letting him get away with this.
"They had you for six months," he said quietly.
I exploded. "Six months?Six months!What were you doing in that time? While I was missing?" He flushed and looked away. "So, I see you knew where I was and who I was with. Then later, you kept telling me my mind was just overactive, when in fact, I was kidnapped and held against my will."
He waited me out and then said callously, "That's how it is. I knew that going in. Your family becomes a liability. I never expected to fall in love with your mother. I didn't even know she was meant to be Luciano's, but I wanted her, so I took her. In turn, he retaliated and took you. That's the life."
I wished I had enough energy to punch him in the face. This was my father, the man I looked up to. I thought he could do no wrong in my eyes. Boy, was I ever wrong. "I want nothing to do with you; it's not like you're here anyway. You are nothing to me. I'm leaving and never coming back." He didn't even look like he cared. He just shrugged and strolled out. Was everything a lie?
Arturo came back in and gave me a hug. "You're almost packed. You want to get dressed, eat, and then hit the road?"
I nodded my head slowly. No way was I staying here any longer. Not with the man who put me in danger twice and didn't give a fuck.
A little while later, we were on the road. I had my face pressed to the glass, the coolness bringing my body a little relief. If I was honest with myself, I was feeling a little lost. While my father wasn't always there for me, the man I thought he was in my mind was an illusion. I didn't have that many memories with my mother, either, but I still felt like her memory was besmirched. Not only that, but the one place I could get answers had warned me away. I couldn't trust my father's word. I damn sure wasn't going back to Luciano. I glanced over at Arturo, wondering if I could put my trust in him. He hadn't failed me yet, despite the fact that I knew he was blaming himself for my kidnapping. Hopefully, time could change that.
An hour or so later, we pulled up to a small cottage. I stretched my arms over my head, wincing at the soreness in my ribs. The doctor said they were heavily bruised, not broken. All in all, it could have been worse. I only had a small contusion on the back of my head, some surface cuts, broken fingers and a whole lot of bruising and soreness. As weird as it might sound, I wished I knew who the man was who'd stopped Luciano. Even though he was a bad guy, he still got me home safely. We got out of the truck, and I smiled at the small place in front of us. It was adorable, something I would have never expected Arturo to have.
"This is my home," he said gruffly. I think he was embarrassed by the size. What he didn't know was that it was perfect. "It only has one bedroom and bathroom. I know that's small, but I figured until you know what you want to do, you can hang here with me."
My stomach clenched in anticipation. I wanted to purr at the idea of staying here with Arturo. We could have so much fun together. Right?
Wrong. Over the next couple of weeks, I healed, but it wasn't fun. Arturo only answered me in grunts. He slept in the living room. He spent all his time either working on his computer or shopping for things we needed. My bruises faded. The aches and pains I felt were gone. Other than my broken fingers, I was as good as new. Yet still, he wouldn't touch me. He got surlier and surlier until I finally snapped.
"What is your issue?" I fixed him with a harsh gaze.
"Nothing," he snarled.
