Page 46 of High Stakes and Soulmates
Everything in my body is telling me that I should not follow this man, but I can’t stop worrying about Arturo. So I find myself walking away from the safety of the city and into thedark. He very well could be taking me out to kill me, but I care more about Arturo than I do about my own life.
He leads me to a carriage hooked to two dark bay horses and driven by a man who never even looks my way. Louis waves me in and follows after me. I sit, but my hand is still on my bag, ready to grab my knife the very second he tries anything.
“Arturo’s been such a different person since he met you,” Louis says. “He rushes to get his work done and runs out the door with a smile on his face. It’s nice seeing so much delight coming from him. He doesn’t have many people around here who he’s close to. I kept asking him how fantastic you must be that he thought he could skip work to spend time with you. When he told me the two of you sit under a tree and read, I had to chuckle. Of all the things he could choose to do, he picks reading.” He laughs as he leans back and pulls the curtain aside to look out the window. The moon is only a sliver, resulting in darkness that spreads out for miles, so I’m not quite sure what he could even be seeing out there.
“You’re not much of a talker, Ezio.”
“I’m sorry, sir.”
“Tell me about yourself. A traveling trader, I hear?”
“Yes. My brother and I often deal in trading. We take a pause through the winter, focusing on smaller trades. But with the port nearby, we’ve been taking odd jobs moving things from the port to other nearby cities where we’re paid by merchants who don’t have the means to transport.”
“You often take such long breaks? You’ve been here what? Six months?”
“No, admittedly, this is the first time. I think my brother and his crew have fallen in love with the local life and he’s even talking about buying a home here. We haven’t had a lack of business, either, with the main trading port just a short jogfrom here. Honestly, the pay has been better than what we saw traveling. And the life is significantly easier.”
“And what would you do if he does? Would you stay as well?”
“I would love to,” I admit.
“Because of the city or because of my Arturo?”
I hate that word. “My” like he owns him. Only Arturo can claim ownership over himself. “It’s a beautiful city and fun company.”
“I see,” he says as he watches me closely.
The sound of the horses’ hooves changes, telling me we’re nearing the estate as the dirt road turns to cobblestone. The driver pulls right up to the front of the large building before someone opens the carriage door. Louis gets out first and I follow him, feeling very much like an animal walking into a trap. He leads me up to the estate where the door is opened for him.
“Should I get something for your guest?” a woman asks.
“He’s here to see Arturo,” Louis says simply and leads me down a long hallway. He doesn’t knock; instead, he pushes the door open and waves me inside. “Here you are.”
Arturo is sitting at a desk, but when he hears the door open, he looks over at me. Shock lines his face and none of it seems to be good. After not seeing him for nearly three weeks, my dreams of rushing forward and gathering him up in my arms are shattered by this man behind me. I can tell Arturo doesn’t want me here. I can tell I’ve fucked up by letting Louis bring me here. I’d promised Arturo that I would never come to the estate, but when I didn’t know how he was, how could I just walk away from an opportunity to see him?
“W-What is he doing here?” Arturo asks as he stands up, and I see the right side of his face which had been hidden by shadows. Bruises mar his beautiful face and his eye is swollen.His arm is wrapped and held against his torso, and I want to destroy the monster who hurt him. I know Louis said that he’d been mugged, but I fear the man standing in the room with us is the one who did it.
“He was waiting for you. Are you not excited to see him?” Louis asks.
The carefree man I’m used to interacting with seems reserved and distant. “I… am. He was gone a while. But I just… I… sir… he’s with the army. Isn’t that interesting? A secret, though.”
Louis chuckles as I stare at Arturo, confused why he’d tell this man that. He swore to secrecy and now he just gives that information up without questioning? It could fuck everything up if that gets out.
“That… That can’t get out. That was… not supposed to get out,” I say anxiously.
“I see,” Louis muses. “I suppose he doesn’t really look much like a trader, now does he?”
“Please, sir, that can’t get out,” I reiterate.
“Do you think Arturo would have told me if he was afraid it’d get out? Of course not. Do you not trust him?” he asks as he reaches up and gives my back a smack. “Go on now. Read your books together or whatever it is you claim you do together.”
And with that, he shuts the door.
Arturo holds up a finger, shushing me, his eyes fixated on the door like there’s a monster outside of it. After a long moment, he finally takes a deep breath. “You need to go.”
“I wanted to see you.”
“I know. I want to see you too, but you can’t be here.”
