Page 43 of High Stakes and Soulmates
“I really need to go,” he whispers between kisses.
“But I want you to stay.”
“I know, but I shouldn’t have stayed this long. I should have been back well before now,” he says as he starts to slide over me so he can get out of bed.
Before he can go, I wrap my arms around him and squeeze him to me. It takes pretty much no effort to get him to sink down on me.
“Ezio… I want to stay.”
“Run away with me.”
A look of pain crosses his face, making me hesitate. I never want to cause him pain.
“I would… I would in a heartbeat, but I know that I can’t escape him.”
“I’d make sure he’d never find us.”
Arturo frowns and I can tell I’m upsetting him more, so I stop. “I wish I could. I really wish I could, but no matter how hard I run… I can’t seem to outrun Louis. And he promised me that the next time I tried… he’d make sure I could never try again.”
I hesitate as this sinks in. “What the hell? Arturo… he can’t hurt you like that.”
“He won’t if I’m good. So I have to be good,” he says as he gives me one more kiss before jumping up and pulling on clothes. “Have a good night, Ezio. I love you.”
“I love you too.”
How does he expect me to have a good night now that he’s gone? I feel like my entire night is ruined the moment he leaves. The perfect world I build up when he’s by my side cracks and shatters, and all that’s left is a man who is slowly falling apart.
My hand slides across the bed to the spot where the warmth from his body is slowly fading.
I’m furious this man is keeping such a precious person from me. He’s going to take everything from me… and there’s not much left.
Could I kill him? There’s never been a man I couldn’t kill. I’ve never wished to kill one before, yet I find myself fantasizing about his death. He likely has guards with how rich he is, butI bet I could sneak into that estate and finish him in the night. Then I’d draw Arturo away from that darkness.
What the hell am I thinking about? Slaughtering some man I don’t even know? What if he’s a good person? What if the only reason I think he’s a monster is because he has what I want?
“Ezio, what the hell are you doing? Get out here,” Lorenzo shouts as he hammers on the door.
Quickly, I get out of bed and dress before stepping outside to face my brother.
“You don’t get to slip out of your duties.”
“I was working the entire night while the rest of the army slept… I’m not allowed to sleep?”
“Don’t talk back to me,” he says. “Clearly, I’ve been letting you get away with too much shit. Come on. We have a job. Pack your bags, we’ll be away for a week or two.”
I hesitate. “What do you mean?”
“You do realize we’re not going to be stationed here forever, right?”
“Obviously, I know that,” I say. I just don’t want to face it. I was just moving through life before Arturo came into it six months ago. But now… could I deal with a life without him? I’d suffocate.
“Stop just standing there. We’re moving out shortly.”
I head back into my room and look back when I realize Lorenzo is following me.
“I’ve heard some pretty bad shit about the man who owns that guy you’re obsessed with. I think it’d be best if you use this as an opportunity to cut ties with him.”
How could he possibly think I’d just… cut ties? What if someone told him that about his wife? “If he’s not a good man, maybe we should do something about him.”
