then sighed. “And whatever you do, don’t fuck him.”
Oscar sat up slowly and tried to work the kinks out of his back. He knew sleeping on the pull-out couch was going to suck, but after the beating Luca had taken, he’d agreed with Selene on giving him the bed. Having Selene on the pull-out beside him made it suck a lot less than it would have otherwise.
Last night, after their phone call to Sebastian, they’d found a jar of spaghetti sauce and some noodles in the kitchen pantry and shared a peaceful dinner, pausing occasionally to check on Luca. It was only after he was asleep that they’d considered maybe he shouldn’t have been allowed to sleep in case of a possible concussion.
Once dinner was over, they’d cleaned up the kitchen, then pulled out and made the bed with some sheets and a blanket they’d found in a trunk in the corner of the living room. Selene had curled into his arms, put her head on his chest, and fallen asleep within moments.
He hadn’t been too far behind her, given the fact they’d only gotten a few hours’ sleep the night before.
He glanced through the remaining front window—outside, the world was white and gray, a blanket of snow on the ground and trees and an overcast sky above.
He felt Selene’s hand stroke his bare back, and he twisted around, smiling at her sleepy expression, admiring how beautiful her hair looked, tousled on the pillow.
“This bed is crap.”
He chuckled and nodded. “Never slept on a pull-out couch that was comfortable. Tonight, if Luca feels better, we’re flipping a coin for the bed.”
“What time is it?”
Oscar glanced toward an honest-to-God cuckoo clock that hung on the wall. The damn thing had squawked every hour on the hour, waking him up with the stupid racket from three in the morning on. Prior to that, he’d been too dead to the world to hear it. “Not quite eight. At least the snow stopped.”
Selene sighed. “For now. Looks like it could start again any minute. There’s at least two feet of snow out there. I doubt, even if it doesn’t start up again, they’ll be able to get us out today.”
“We could be here a while,” Oscar grumped. “Thank God there’s enough food.” He and Selene had gone through the pantry and taken stock of their stores while investigating dinner possibilities. While there was no fresh food—no milk or eggs or produce—there was enough soup and canned fruit and vegetables and spices. And, mercifully, the freezer had been stocked with quite a bit of frozen meat. He’d found a pound of bacon amongst the chicken and pork chops and steaks and moved it to the refrigerator to fry up for their breakfast this morning.
Clearly, they’d broken into someone’s weekend cabin. The owners had two distinct interests—farmyard animal decor and hunting. In addition to all the chicken shit, there were three deer heads—Jesus, he hated those things—mounted and hanging on the living room walls. He’d felt their glass eyes on him all fucking night.
Given this didn’t appear to be someone’s primary residence, at least the worry of anyone actually making their way through the blizzard in an attempt to return home was lifted.
Oscar scratched his chest as he rose slowly. He’d opted to sleep in just his boxers. None of them had a change of clothes, though he planned to see if there was anything in the bedroom they could pilfer.
Oscar was just bending over to retrieve his jeans when Luca came in.
“Buongiorno,” Luca said, before recalling himself. “Uh, good morning.”
Selene sat up and smiled at the Italian. Oscar was still trying to decide how to feel about the man. The stories he’d heard from his brother of Mina’s torment, the haunted look he’d seen in her eyes when she’d returned to the hotel after her captivity, were still fresh in his mind, but now that he’d learned the reason for Luca’s actions…Oscar couldn’t fault the man for trying to save his sister.
Of course, it didn’t matter how Oscar felt about it. If Rich and Langston ever got their hands on Luca, there would be no minimizing the beatdown they’d give him.
“How about some breakfast?” she asked Luca. “We found some bacon last night. Or there is leftover spaghetti, though I hesitate to give it to someone who lives in Italy.”
Selene obviously didn’t share his reservations about Luca.
Luca gave her a grateful grin. “Food would be good. I am very hungry.”
Selene stood up and crossed the