Page 12 of The Villain's Beloved (The Villain's Duet 2)

“It’s simple. He feels guilty for not coming for you sooner, so he’s going to want to be involved every step of the way. Overcompensate by giving you the care he thinks you need,” he shrugged, “and right now, he thinks you need to see a psychiatrist. So what you have to do is not give him any reason to believe that you need counseling. That you are happy here with me. Stable.”

My top lip curled. “So, I have to lie? Pretend that Ellie doesn’t exist?”

“Exactly. If you don’t, he will take you and force you to see a doctor. If you give them any reason to think you’re crazy, they will treat you like you’re crazy. And that, dear boy, will take away every chance you have of ever finding your sister.”

My head hurt. But in some twisted way, what he said made sense. Mr. Russo already wanted to take me away from here, and right now, here was the only place I wanted to be.

He stood, his six-foot frame towering over me. “From today, you never mention Ellie’s name to anyone but me, understood?”

In my mind, I could still see her face as if I had seen her five minutes ago. Her cute little smile, her blonde ponytail bobbing as she jumped around, laughing. She was the only part of my life that made sense. It was because of her that I held on, never giving in to the darkness Roland and my mom threatened to drown me in. So if pretending was what I needed to do to find her, then that was what I’d do.

I got to my feet and looked up at Gianni, knowing that this was the day my life would change forever. “Understood.”

4

The door creaked open,and I leaped to my feet as Elijah walked out.

“Everything okay?”

“Everything’s fine.” He shot me a half-smile, but it didn’t fool me. “Just two friends catching up.”

“You don’t look like a guy who just spent an hour catching up with an old friend.”

Elijah snaked an arm around my waist and turned to face Saint. “Will you be staying a few days?”

“Wish I could. But even though my wife is basking in the lap of luxury at the hotel in Rome, she’d be really pissed off if she knew I was staying on The Empress without her.” He glanced around. “We got married on this yacht, so we have some…” he cleared his throat, “fond memories of our first time together on this beauty.”

“Jesus, Saint.” Elijah rolled his eyes. “We’re all adults here. You can just say that you fucked like rabbits on this yacht.”

“Among other things.” Saint smirked and buttoned his suit jacket, the confidence he exuded bordering on arrogance. With Elijah clutching me against him and Saint staring me down with his crystal blue eyes, it was hard to fucking breathe because their presence alone sucked all the air out of the room.

“Charlotte.” My name rolled off Saint’s lips like honey, yet there was a certain look in his eyes as he pinned my gaze. A warning. A glimpse of caution. “Maybe you and Elijah should join my wife and me for dinner one night. It would be great to get to know you better.”

“Um,” I wiped my palm down my leg, “that sounds great. What do you think, Elijah?”

“I think there are more important matters at hand than a simple social dinner.” His words were clipped, his tone stern.

Saint slipped his hands in his pants pockets, the two men staring at each other as if they could read each other’s minds, making me feel like I was the third wheel here—a voyeur on whatever the fuck was going on between them.

“Come on, Elijah.” Saint held out his arms. “This is Rome. You don’t bring your woman to this beautiful city and not show her around.”

Elijah widened his stance, the lack of amusement painfully evident in his expression. “I’ll consider it.”

“Good. Great,” Saint said and held out his hand toward me. “It was great meeting you, Charlotte. Take care of this guy. God knows, he needs it.”

“Oh, I highly doubt that.” I glanced from Saint to Elijah. “Something tells me he can take care of himself just fine.” Of course, he could. The man was a goddamn hitman for the mafia—if anyone could take care of themselves, it was Elijah. But I wasn’t sure how much Saint knew about Elijah’s profession, so I chose not to say too much.

“Elijah.” Saint nodded in his direction. “You and Charlotte are welcome to stay on The Empress for as long as you like.”

“It will only be for a few more days.”

It will?

Saint straightened his jacket. “Don’t underestimate the Bernardis. Make sure it’s safe to travel before you decide to do so.”

Elijah pressed his lips in a thin line, and I could practically feel the tension ripple off him. “You don’t have to worry, my friend. I know how to handle the Bernardis.”

“I’m sure you do.”

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