I say, dashing for the door and the hallway to find Adriel nowhere in sight until I reach the stairs. I see him in the foyer below, his back to me. I run down the stairs, and watch as he slips his phone into his pocket and turns to face me. “You told him, didn’t you?” I demand, walking up to him.
“I left him a specific message. Yes.”
“If he dies—”
“He won’t, because he’s not dictated by his emotions. And if you can’t remove yours, to stand by his side, you will get him killed. You will be no different from Giada, who doesn’t belong here.”
“I’m not—”
“This is not your world,” he says from between gritted teeth. “And people who don’t belong in this world, but stay here, end up like Enzo. Dead.” He steps around me and starts walking, his boots sounding on the stone floor, no longer covered in a rug, and each booted step echoes, not like a warning, but a threat.
I decide right then that my uneasiness with Adriel isn’t going away, no matter how much Kayden trusts him. But now, when we’re all riding an emotional roller coaster, is not the time to go to war with him. Especially since I’m fairly sure that the only thing I’m objective about right now is the fact that I’m not objective.
Inhaling, I walk to the front door, open it, and exit, a motion detector triggering lights that cast the porch in a dim glow. Ignoring the cold night air, I shut myself outside, sit on the top step, and dig my phone from my purse, noting the ten o’clock hour. I tab to Kayden’s phone number, my finger lingering above it, but I remember my vow to only call in an emergency so I don’t hit it. And I quickly rule out a text as distracting and potentially dangerous.
The door opens behind me, and I twist around to find Matteo joining me. “What are you doing out here?”
“I need a few minutes of air.”
“It’s cold.”
“Is it?”
He studies me for several beats and shrugs out of his black leather jacket I don’t remember him wearing, offering it to me. “Kayden will kill me if I let you freeze.”
Kill me. I hate those two words right now, though of course I know they aren’t literal. It’s just . . . oh God. He doesn’t know. I accept the heavy weight of the jacket and manage a soft “Thank you,” hesitating to add, “Matteo . . . I . . . Enzo . . .”
His eyes shut, his chin falling to his chest, a guttural curse sliding from his lips, his reaction chilling me way beyond the cold breeze.
“I’m sorry,” I say. “We tried. . . . Nathan—”
“I know,” he says, looking at me again. “I know.” He scrubs his jaw. “Don’t stay out here long.” He doesn’t wait for a reply, turning away.
“Wait!”
He turns to look at me.
“They told Kayden.”
Understanding fills his eyes. “He’s The Hawk, Ella,” he says, as if that should explain everything. And I never get the chance to ask for more. He enters the castle and shuts the door firmly behind him.
I face forward to stare across the dark expanse of the yard, settling the jacket around my shoulders, and while Matteo might have given it to me, in doing so, he made it clear that Kayden is looking out for me even when he’s not here. He is The Hawk. The protector of his people. I would die for you, he had said to me, but the word die shifts me back to the moment Nathan said, “He’s gone,” and tears prickle in my eyes. He’s gone. He’s gone. Damn it. He’s gone.
My cell phone rings and I glance at the caller ID, hoping it’s Kayden. But it’s the number from Gallo’s business card—and like Kayden, I question his timing. My gaze lifts, scanning the darkness, looking for a way he might be able to see me. But there’s really no way to know, thus no certainty he won’t know I am ignoring him. I decide it’s best to avoid any more of his wrath.
I hit the “answer” button. “Hello.”
“We need to meet,” he says. “Tomorrow morning for coffee. There’s a place in the neighborhood called Caffè del Cinque. Be there at eight. Alone.”
“I can’t do that.”
“Do you want me to take a photo of my badge and text it to you? Or perhaps your temporary visa?” He doesn’t wait for a reply. “You can