“Did you really love him?”

“I did. I still do,” I admitted. I didn’t want to lie to Talia.

“I don’t understand it.” Her warm breath fanned over my throat as she rested her head on my shoulder.

“Me neither. I didn’t want it to happen.”

“You can’t change how you feel. It’s okay,” Talia said softly, hugging me tighter.

“Mother has been avoiding me. I think she can’t forgive me because of Growl.”

“She lost Father. She needs time.”

I hoped Talia was right. But even if not, there was nothing I could do against my feelings.

Aria kept her promise. The next day Coco and Bandit arrived at the mansion. Luca refused to let them run around in the house though. I had to keep them on a leash outside of my room. Aria joined me as I showed them the garden. Both Coco and Bandit seemed to like her presence.

Luca trailed after us like a shadow. “They were used in dog fights. You should be careful. Most of them are nasty beasts.”

“They are good. Better than most people,” I said sharply.

“That’s not difficult. Most people are assholes,” Matteo said with a shrug, also appearing in the garden. “As long as those beasts are here, I won’t allow Gianna to come visit.”

“As if you could tell Gianna what to do,” Aria teased, then turned to me. “Don’t listen to them,” she said apologetically. She crouched before Coco and Bandit. I knelt beside her and patted Coco’s head. After a brief moment of hesitation Aria did the same. “See,” she said with a glance over her shoulder toward her husband. “They’re harmless.”

“They might act harmless now, but they’ve lived through a lot. Sometimes they lose control. I don’t want them near you.”

Aria sighed, then whispered to me. “Keep them on the leash until he’s calmed down.”

I nodded. I had absolutely no intention of going against Luca’s orders. I led the dogs into my room and stretched out on the bed.

They inspected the room but didn’t take their eyes off me. I had the feeling that they were looking for Growl. They probably missed him too. Eventually I patted the empty half of the bed. “Come on up.”

Coco lifted her head, ears perked..

I patted the bed more firmly and repeated my invitation. Coco was the first to trot toward the bed and join me on it with a hesitant jump. When I didn’t chide her, she curled up, pressed against my side. Bandit didn’t need another invitation. Soon he was snuggled up against me and Coco. I scratched them behind the ears, enjoying the feeling of their soft fur. With their warm bodies giving me the comfort I needed so much, I relaxed against the pillows and extinguished the lights. I hadn’t slept well last night, I’d dreamed about Growl’s dead, imagining one horrible ending after the other. I wished I knew exactly what had happened to him. The truth, no matter how hard, was always better than not knowing.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

Cara

A couple of weeks later, my family and I were starting to settle in, and Talia was almost back to her usual self.

I returned from my walk with Coco and Bandit on the vast premises of the Vitiello mansion and was on my way into the guest wing when words carried over to me from somewhere else in the house.

I knew that voice. Every night I heard it in my dreams, most of them nightmares. But not he was the cause of my fears, not anymore. So much had changed.

I dropped the leashes and began running toward that voice. I didn’t stop until I spotted him in the living room. I skidded to a stop, my heart beating in my throat.

And there he was dark and tall and bruised. One of his eyes was swollen shut and several cuts and more bruises littered his skin.

I couldn’t move. The dogs didn’t share my hesitation. They’d followed me, dragging their leashes behind themselves. They lurched forward, yapping and wagging their tails.

Luca, Romero and Matteo startled and pulled their guns. But Coco and Bandit didn’t attack. They squeezed against Growl’s legs and he reached down to pat their heads but his eyes went to me, piercing me to the very core.

Two weeks since we’d last seen each other. Where had he been? Why hadn’t he given me a sign that he was alive? I’d mourned his death, had made plans for a future without him, but now that he was here I wondered if we even had a future together. We’d never talked about it. I had been his, not by choice, and now that I was free I wondered if we could make it work. Did I really want to live with the man who’d as good as owned me? Did he even want me now that I wasn’t a mere gift anymore? So many questions raced through my head and left me reeling.

I searched his eyes and realized that just for an instant before Growl could put his shields back up, I saw my own questions reflected in them.

“You are alive,” I said simply.

He didn’t move closer. “I am hard to kill.”

I noticed Aria in the corner, watching us.

Luca broke the tense silence. “Is it done?”

Growl finally tore his gaze away from me. “I killed many of Falcone’s closest men. There’s a lot of fighting going on in Vegas now. His sons and Cosimo are fighting for power. It’ll keep them busy for a while.”

Luca seemed satisfied with that. Business. This was all about business. Was that why they’d taken Growl in? Because Growl had important information about the Vegas Camorra?

I wanted to run toward Growl but he didn’t seem to want that. Confusion filled me. I needed fresh air. I needed to think. I turned around and hurried back outside. I stopped when I reached a bench and sank down on it.