Page 100 of Lies like Rubies, Part Two (Savage Jewels)

How was I going to hold myself together? I didn’t answer, just closed my eyes and leaned against the tile of the shower, trying to figure out how I was going to get through the night, do what I knew I had to do to get my daughter back.

A few minutes later, Nick joined me, the hot water pouring over us. “Sofia, do you trust me?” he asked.

What kind of a question was that? “Of course I do.”

“Of course I do, sir,” he corrected me softly.

My eyes widened.Is he really?—?

“This isn’t about sex,” he said quickly, tightening an arm around my middle when I moved to step away. “It’s about giving you space so you don’t fucking have to think so hard, for just a few goddamned minutes. Baby, let me take care of you, please.”

God, that sounded amazing, just a few moments to get my head on straight, where I didn’t have to worry about what anyone thought, worry about Lizzie and my mom, worry what news Lorenzo would bring, worry about Ana, worry if I was bringing danger to Ginevra’s door. Nick could give me that.

“I need you to use your words, Sofia,” he said, his voice hardening.

“Yes, please, take care of me, sir,” I whispered.

“I’ve got you, baby,” he said, gently tugging me until I stood under the spray. He washed my hair, massaging my scalp, then added conditioner, running his fingers through it until he’d worked all the tangles out.

“Hands on the tiles,” he said, turning me slightly to keep my head out of the stream of water. The tender strokes of his hands as he ran the soapy cloth over my body filled my chest with warmth, like honey pouring through me, not healing the wounds in my heart, but soothing them enough so that I could think.

By the time we both finished washing, my heart rate had calmed. Nick refused to allow me to dry myself, instead patting me down with a plush towel until he’d buffed my skin to a rosy glow. “I’ve got you, baby,” he repeated against my hair as he dressed me. Finally, we were both clean and dressed, ready to face the travesty that waited for us when we left the sanctuary of my parents’ guest room.

He looked me up and down, then snapped, “Kneel.”

“It’s time to join the others,” I said.

“You need five minutes. You can take it now, or you can take it after you freak out in front of your entire goddamned family because you were too selfish to calm yourself before stepping out of this room,” he said. “Kneel.”

Unable to ignore the sharp command in his voice, I sank into the plush carpet, leaning my face onto his thigh and closing my eyes.

“That’s it, baby. Just give me five minutes,” he said, scratching his fingers against my scalp. I brought one hand up to his knee, and he tangled his fingers in mine, stroking histhumb over my knuckles. The slide of his skin against mine, his quiet strength, and the knowledge that he had my back, no matter what, gave me solace as my world shattered apart.

When he finally released me, we stood together. Nick cupped my jaw and brushed his lips over mine. “We’re going to find her, Sofia. I promise.”

My answering smile was feral. “Yes, we fucking will.”

When my phone buzzed,I paused, turning my screen so I could see it, wondering who could be texting me.

Sergio

You know what you have to do to get them back.

All I had to do was hand myself over to him, agree to marry him, and he’d release Lizzie and my mother.

“Sofia, you coming?” Nick called over his shoulder, looking back at me with concern.

Quickly, I swiped my thumb over the message, deleting it. Sergio wanted me to give myself up, to give up everything, to save my daughter and mother. And Christ, I was considering it. No more back and forth, no more midnight raids on Costa territory, no more dragging innocents into Sergio’s madness. I could end it in a heartbeat. Myself.

No need for them to know. No need for them to realize I was considering it. No need to arouse their protective instincts. They’d stop me.

Papà arrived, looking haggard and tired. Declan showed up a few minutes later with an Irish doctor in tow, and Lorenzo arrived a few minutes after that. Good thing theRusso compound was enormous, because we had a rogues’ gallery of Yorkfield organized crime here tonight.

As the doctor worked the bullet out of my father’s shoulder, Liam explained what they’d found so far.

“Here’s what we know. The bombs were set in advance, maybe as far as a week ahead of the gala, with a trigger attached to a cell phone. Cormac’s tracing the number the triggering SMS came from, but we expect it to be a burner purchased with cash.

“The Costas, like us and every other family, are walled up in their compound with an army outside the gates.”

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