I Thee Take (To Have And To Hold Duet #2) - Natasha Knight Page 0,22
sense. Well, that and smell. And I can smell a familiar scent.
I open my eyes with a sharp breath in. It takes me a minute to remember where I am. I scrub my face, looking over at Scarlett lying beside me. She’s undisturbed.
My phone buzzes with a message alert. I check it and see four messages all within minutes of each other. That’s what must have woken me.
I open the text window. It’s Antonio telling me to call him. I assume it’s an update on the destination of the boat that held Scarlett and where it went to on its last four voyages. The other images are of some broken-down room. A shack almost. Inside are scraps of clothing, remnants of food containers. Stains on the floors and walls. More on the single rotted mattress.
Scarlet mutters something. I look down at her, see her lips move, her forehead furrow. I doubt either of us will ever sleep peacefully. We’ve seen too much.
“Shh,” I tell her.
Her hand opens, fingertips brush my chest and she says one word. “No.”
“Shh, you’re safe. Safe.”
As if she hears me, she quiets, her breathing leveling out.
I climb out of the bed, draw the blanket up over her shoulder and pick up a discarded pair of jeans. Pulling them and a sweater on, I walk out of the bedroom barefoot, running a hand through sleep-mussed hair.
The first part of the nightmare is the recurring one. It’s the one that keeps me from sleep.
The second part though? That’s new. I don’t know if it’s a dream or a memory. It has the feeling that memories do. There’s a texture to it different than dreams.
I have a takeaway this time.
The man was my uncle. He’s been wearing the same cologne for as long as I can remember. Something made especially for him. My father used to make fun of him for that.
I stop, smile. A strange, unimportant detail but a detail. A memory.
A soldier greets me downstairs. I’m keeping them both inside and outside for now. I check the time. Four in the morning.
“Good morning,” I say, and continue to my study, but pause when I hear noise in the kitchen.
I glance to the soldier.
“Lenore’s up,” he says.
I’m surprised. It’s not like her to be up in the middle of the night. I walk to the kitchen to find Lenore muttering something as she plays with the nobs of the oven.
“What are you doing awake?” I ask her.
She startles, spins to face me. “Cristiano! You scared me half to death.”
“Sorry.”
Cerberus walks sleepily toward me and I lay a hand on the top of his head.
“I couldn’t sleep,” she says.
“That makes two of us. What’s going on?”
She picks up the pot of coffee and pours me a cup. “Nothing. I’m sure it’s fine.”
“What?”
She sits at the table. “Alec. I knew he could get hurt but I never expected it, I guess.” She takes a tissue out of her pocket and wipes her eyes and nose.
I’m unmoved. Not because I think she’s ingenuine. I just have seen worse. “He’s alive. He’ll heal,” I say.
“Is she worth it?” Lenore asks.
“Excuse me?”
She shakes her head. “Never mind. Don’t listen to me.”
I study her. “What were you and my uncle talking about on the beach yesterday?”
“What?”
“You took Cerberus out. He followed. I was in the study. Saw you from my window.”
“Oh.” She shrugs a shoulder and shifts her gaze away momentarily. “Nothing special. I was surprised he’d followed me out. He said he wanted to check in on Alec but, well, you know how I feel about that man.”
“Why do you feel that way about him?”
“Ah, that’s an old story and one not worth telling. Would you like some breakfast?”
“Did you ever come see me when I was in the coma, Lenore?”
“What?”
“When I was sedated.” It was a medically induced coma to let my body heal. “Did you come see me?”
“Only a few times. I would have liked to come more often, but your uncle wanted to keep your location a secret. Keep the fact that you and Dante survived a secret. And it made sense.”
I nod.
“Why do you ask?”
“Nothing. Just curious.” I feel a buzz in my pocket and reach in to see it’s Antonio with another notification. “I need to go.”
She nods. “Let me know when you’re ready for breakfast.
I head to my study, Cerberus walking beside me, considering my strange conversation with Lenore. There, I dial Antonio.