Page 27 of The Beast

Her eyes widen and I say with a deep sigh. “To be honest, you are best forgetting all about him. He’s not worth your effort. Concentrate on remembering who Winter is and take it from there.”

“What about you?”

She gazes at me with a curious smile. “You say we’re friends. Where did we meet?”

“Rockwell Academy. Don’t you remember we spoke about it at the hospital?”

“We did?” She looks surprised and the warning bells start ringing loud and clear.

“It was only a couple of days ago.”

“I’m sorry.” She looks upset.

“What for?”

“Not recalling our conversation.”

“Do you remember the hospital?”

“Yes, but, well…”

“Well, what?”

“I remember I was there.”

Suddenly, her eyes fill with tears and the agony on her face is too much to bear, especially when she whispers, “I’m frightened, Alessandro.”

Fuck convention and in one swift move I pull her into my arms and hold her so tightly the emotion almost breaks me. As I pull her frail body in my arms, it’s like a homecoming. Her gentle sobs slices open my heart and as I stroke her hair and whisper words of reassurance, it would take a bullet through my head to release her now. I can’t let go. Finally, she is where she belongs and yet she’s broken. Can we repair her? You can bet your fucking life we can, even if we engage every specialist in the world. Winter is in the safest hands and whatever she needs, she will get.

When Angelo and Jasmine return, I make no move to release Winter from my arms. Angelo looks destroyed when he sees her sobbing gently into my chest and Jasmine brushes a tear from her eye. I shake my head and continue stroking her hair because this is what she needs right now. She must feel so alone and there is no need for that. She will never be alone again, even if I make it my life’s work.

Angelo says gently, “Winter, can I get you anything?”

His voice causes her to glance up, and she smiles through her tears. “I’m so sorry. I don’t know what came over me. I don’t suppose you have a glass of water.”

Jasmine grabs one from the refrigerator and hands it to her and, as she sips the cool liquid, she settles into my arms as if she was always meant to be there.

She looks up from under her lashes and says in a whisper, “Thank you.”

“No need. I will always be here for you.”

“I guess that’s because you’re my friend. I can see why I like you.”

I tighten my grip and swallow the rush of words I really want to say and as she sips her water, she closes her eyes and makes no effort to move.

As we carry on our journey to Sicily, all my dreams have come true. My woman is back in my arms, but fate’s a complicated bitch and I wonder how long I get to keep her there.

CHAPTER14

WINTER

Ishould have thanked him and taken my seat again. I don’t know why, but I couldn’t leave his arms if I tried. There is something so comforting about them. As if I have a home here. The fact he makes my pulse race, and my heart flutter, may have something to do with it because this man was crafted from my dreams. He seems so familiar to me and I’m guessing it’s because he’s my friend, but for some reason I want more.

As we take the flight, I am in no hurry to move, and I settle down with his arms locked around me and fall asleep. This time there are no nightmares. I’m safe here. It doesn’t even seem wrong, as if I will be punished for doing something I shouldn’t. No, with Alessandro there are no threats, no bad feelings, only happiness.

It’s dark when we touch down in Sicily and it’s as if I’ve been traveling for days. We all appear to be tired, and I wonder about the place we’re heading. I don’t think I’ve ever been to Italy, but they will probably tell me I live here. It’s the strangest experience not knowing my history. There is a fog where my memory used to be. I can sense it. A barrier against information, and I’m hoping a few more days may change everything.

Once again, we travel in convoy. I chose to go with Alessandro because Angelo would probably prefer to travel with his wife. I still don’t understand why I’ve never met her before. I must be the worst sister in the world, and I hate my past self already.

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