She’ll be okay with him. I know she will.
Papà starts shouting again, so I spin on my heel and flee.
I tumble out of the restaurant, my heart lodged in my throat.
I’m a tangled ball of fear, exhilaration, and anxiety. What if Papà calls his men to come after me? I have to put some distance between us. I have to disappear.
My feet move faster and faster until I’m sprinting down the sidewalk. I don’t stop until I’m completely out of breath.
I pop into a corner shop, get some change, and dial Vale from a phone booth. Before we left the house, I got her number from a phonebook Mamma still keeps in the kitchen, and wrote it down on the inside of my arm.
Her phone rings and rings. Is she ignoring me because it’s an unknown number?
My panic spikes. Calling her was just about the extent of my plan.
Please pick up.
Finally, there’s a click on the other end of the line. “Hello?”
“Vale!”
“Gemma?” she sounds surprised. “What number are you calling me from?”
“A phone booth. Vale, I need your help.”
“What happened?”
“I need to talk to Ras. Can you give me his number? I only had his US number, and actually, they took my cellphone away, so I don’t have it anymore, and neither does Cleo. I don’t know how to reach him. Something happened, Vale. Something I need to tell him about.”
“Whoa, slow down. Where are you?”
“In Chelsea. Vale, please, I need to talk to him. Is he with Damiano? Is he—”
“Gem, Ras isn’t here. Damiano hasn’t heard from him since he told him to come back to Italy.”
I frown. “Where is he then?”
“He’s still in New York.”
My stomach drops. “What?”
“Giorgio has been tracking him. He still has the same phone, and he’s in New York. He came back the day after you.”
My fingers squeeze the rubber cord. “He did?”
“Yes. I told Dem to get in touch with him, but he’s being stubborn about their little tiff. Gem, what did you do?”
“I called off the engagement.”
“You did?”
My throat tightens. “Yes. Vale, I’m in love with Ras.” For a moment, I consider telling her I’m pregnant, but there’s no time to explain everything, and I want Ras to know before anyone else hears, so I hold my tongue. “Look, I have to fix what happened between us. I have to see him.”
There’s a rustling sound. “Okay, hold on. Do you want me to give you his US number?”
“Please.”
She takes a few seconds to find it, each one feeling like eternity, and I dig inside my pocket for a pen.
“Okay, here it is.”
I write the damn thing on my arm right under Vale’s number. “Thank you. I have to go.”
“Wait, are you safe? Are you on your own?”
“I’ll call you.”
I hang up, my hands shaking as I dial the other number.
It rings and rings and rings.
I call ten times.
He doesn’t pick up.
“Damn it!”
He’s in New York. Where would he be? Who would know where he is?
My eyes widen.
Orrin.
CHAPTER 36
RAS
Knock, knock.
My head snaps up straight. I’m at the apartment, sitting on the ratty two-person couch, a basketball game playing on the TV.
It’s late.
Orrin knows better than to show up unannounced, so it can’t be him, and no one else is supposed to know I’m here. Have Garzolo’s men found me?
Fuck.
Was that him calling me from an unknown number? I had a feeling it was someone trying to bait me so they could get a hit on my location, so I let the calls ring out.
I reach for my gun, check it’s fully loaded, and move toward the door.
This might be my last stand.
Blood whooshes inside my ears as I turn the lock.
If I die here, at least I won’t have any regrets. I did what I thought was right. I went after what I wanted.
It’s too damn bad I still didn’t manage to get it though.
I crack the door open.
What the… “Gemma?”
She’s standing there bundled up in what looks like a man’s jacket, her cheeks slightly pink from the cold, and her arms wrapped around her.
I lower the gun and frown. “What are you doing here?”
Why is she here? Something bad must have happened for her to seek me out like this.
She swallows. “Um… I… needed to talk to you.”
My gaze drifts over her, hungrily committing every new detail to memory.
I’ve survived on a diet of short glimpses of her from a distance for over a week.
And now she’s right here, right in front of me. So vivid and real.
But I don’t like some of the things I see. Dark bags under her eyes. Pale skin. Has she lost some weight?
What the fuck have they been doing to her?
Tucking the gun into my waistband, I lean through the doorway and look down the hallway in both directions. “Where are your guards?”
“Not here.”
Frustration spikes inside of me. She’s here alone? Unprotected? “It’s almost midnight. Did you lose them somewhere?”
She looks down at her hands. “I…I don’t have guards anymore.”
Now, I’m really fucking irritated. “What? Why would Rafaele let you wander around on your own?”
Her teeth dig into her bottom lip, and she slowly lifts her gaze to me.
It feels significant. Like whatever she’s about to say might bring me to my knees.
“Because we’re not engaged anymore.”
I manage to keep myself standing, but the whooshing sound is back. I wrap my hand around the side of my neck, my pulse pounding against it like an off-beat drum. “Say that again. I think I heard you wrong.”
“I called it off. He’s… marrying Cleo instead.”
I’ve always been quick on the uptake, but for the life of me, I can’t make sense of the words coming out of her little pink mouth.
She sighs at my dumbfounded expression. “Can I come in? It’s been a long night.”
I step aside to let her pass.
Seeing her inside this crappy shoebox apartment only adds to my confusion. I never imagined her here.
She turns in a circle, taking it all in. “It’s cozy.”
I shut the door. Lock it. Take a step toward her.
That’s all it takes for us to be just inches apart.
“How did you find me?”
“I went back to that coffee shop where we met Orrin. He was there.” She glances down at herself. “He gave me this jacket and drove me here.”
“You’re telling me he brought you here but didn’t think to accompany you up?” How could he have just let her go up her own?
“Ras, it’s three flights of stairs,” she says with a soft laugh.
“This place is dodgy,” I growl.
“He tried to come, but I insisted on doing this on my own.”
“Let me get this straight,” I begin, sure I’m about to spew out nonsense. “You broke off the engagement.”
“Yes.”
“How?”
Her cheeks redden. Fuck, she’s so beautiful. I’m still not convinced this isn’t a mirage.