◇ KEL ◇
Me? In love with Miles?
The question left me speechless, much to my puzzlement, and it took me seconds until the thought finally sank in.
"Yes." I stared back at the guy sitting across from me just waiting for my affirmation.
It was partially the truth; I'd always liked Miles. Not only because he'd been a reliable friend and my only confidante the past couple of months, but also because he was the type of guy I wished I'd met before life started throwing painful curve balls I just couldn't dodge by myself.
But I'd grown past that. Life's hurdles had become less problematic these days with Miles being there for me. Just someone I could count on. I wouldn't have survived here in Italy without him.
"So, you'll try the long-distance thing?" Ricchar raised the glass to his chin, his lips slanted by another grin.
"I, um...yes," I muttered.
"You know about Niccolo?"
Oh jeez... Why won't his questions end? "They dated. Briefly." I paused to think harder. Then I recalled what Miles mentioned about his ex-boyfriend not a while ago. "Miles told me he's been reported missing."
"Niccolo Vinciguerra. Yeah. I've met his parents. The Vinciguerras own a few businesses here, one overseas." Ricchar put down his wine glass. "Like us, they're a complicated family, Mykaela. If he really is missing, I got a few ideas." Ricchar smirked. "Anyway, I'm sure you could say the same after meeting Zio and Zia."
"They're nice, caring," I commented of Miles' parents. "They miss Miles more than he thinks." I nodded slightly. "I find it comforting." I just didn't have a clue why Miles needed me to pretend we're together, I wanted to add.
"They care about his well-being. Because no matter how often he tries to forget it, he's still a Falco," Ricchar replied. "Being his father's only son, right now Maxim's clueless about what the family's planned for him, but I know he's gonna step up to his full potential. Just needs some time. The right push."
"Of course," I mumbled in reply. In all honesty, I couldn't understand why the guy was dumping all this information into my already bleary head. "How complicated?"
"Not your average Catholic Italian clan, if you know what I mean." Ricchar sighed. "But we're good people. Or at least we try to be."
"I wouldn't have thought otherwise," I replied, pretending to be interested in hearing more. The guy must be blind drunk at this point, muttering every single thing that crossed his mind. But I just didn't want to be rude to our generous host.
"If he decides to finally be part of the family business, it will cause issues in your relationship, and I'm speaking from experience here. So, early as now, know what you're getting yourself into." Ricchar gave me a timid smile. It seemed genuine, despite the cryptic implications of his monologue about his clan.
"Issues?"
"Time's number one." Ricchar played with his wine glass, the tilt of his head highlighting his shadowed features. "He'd be traveling here and there, and when you're also working full-time, modeling or as a doctor, he won't have much time for you and your relationship. And the other things can be hard to manage, too."
"Other things?" I repeated as I stared at the guy while mincing his unfaltering answers in my head.
"At times, he will slip, make mistakes...mistakes we can't afford to keep making these days. So if you stay with him, know that it's gonna require hard work and commitment." Ricchar stared again, seeming eager for a reaction from me. "You get what I'm trying to say?"
"Mykaela," a familiar baritone voice called out before I could attempt to answer Ricchar's question.
Relief enveloped me when I saw Miles' shadowed figure approaching our table, his steps big and agile, almost impatient.
"It's late. Go to bed," Miles murmured to my ear. Without waiting for me or his cousin to respond, he held my arms to help me up, effortlessly pulling me back on my feet.
Baffled, I held onto his forearm and excused myself. I glanced at his cousin's reaction. "Thanks, Charr. Um...chat again tomorrow."
"No problem." Ricchar winked at me. "Cloe will be here in the morning. You'll have fun."
"Oh. Great." Cloe? Ah. Right. His wife. "Lookin' forward to meeting her. Goodnight." Before I turned to Miles, I caught him throwing his cousin a glare.
"You okay?" Miles protectively put his arm around my back and then hugged me by the waist. He just about dragged me away from his cousin and the mansion's windy, dim-lit patio made of earth-colored bricks. It faced the quiet garden.
"Yeah." I looked behind and saw part of the elaborate maze the Falcos must've been paying a lot of money to maintain. "Ricchar found me in there."
"Where?"
"In the maze," I muttered, enjoying being so close to Miles and the way he hugged me. His grip on my forearm forced me to keep up with his pace.
We went up the stairs and reached the second floor in no time. "Why were you in the maze?"
"Curiosity."
"It's too dark out there."
"Creepy, too." I waited for him to talk about something else. His reticent behavior lately intrigued me, and I certainly didn't like it whenever he kept to himself. Something bothered him. It was a gut feeling I couldn't simply ignore.
"Seriously." Miles sighed and walked on. He held me close to him as we rushed along the hallway, our surroundings still dim.
Thankfully he stayed beside me, and right this moment, nothing else gave me a sense of comfort and security. "I was looking for you," I said.
"Why? You should be sleeping." Our hasty pace shortly led us back into my room on the third level.
I was panting by the time we got inside.
Miles locked the door behind him. Then he started taking off my sweater. "There's leaves and pieces of twigs all over this thing– Why'd you walk into the maze?" Miles sat me down on the bed. It looked big enough for two.
Although I wanted to satisfy his curiosity, mine was more intolerable at present. I didn't even know where to begin.
His insistence that I come with him on this trip and meet his family? Or his plan to fool his own parents into thinking he was in a relationship with me? Both issues would be a good start. Was he keeping secrets from me all this time?
"Why are you pretending?" I stared at him despite the dimness.
Unable to maintain eye contact, Miles backed away tentatively. "You've just met my parents. Why even ask?"
I squinted at him. Did my question piss him off a little? "Be serious," I mumbled with a frown.
"I am." Miles sighed and stayed put on the edge of the bed. "Sorry, for earlier. And for the other night. Got drunk and...looked through your phone."
"Okay," I said calmly. It wasn't a big deal, really. My suspicions bothered me much more. Something clearly troubled him but he didn't want to say what it was. "Something up?"
"Nah." Miles avoided my gaze. "Talk tomorrow; it's late."
I scoffed at his dismissal. Why wouldn't he just talk and get it over with? He'd been distant all week. Didn't he trust me anymore? "Why're you avoiding me?"
Him being uncommunicative just kept hitting a nerve. He was keeping secrets; he was breaking our ultimate rule. Miles glimpsed his wristwatch and got up from the bed. "Go. To. Sleep."
"Wait." I grabbed his hand before he could make it to the door. I put my hands on his tense shoulders, ready to kneel and beg just to make him confide. "What's wrong?"
"Nothin'." Miles budged when I held him close. Then his hands gently pushed me away.
Although it hurt somewhat, I stayed standing in front of him. I just wanted a real conversation. Too much to ask, it seemed. "Stop lying."
"I just..." His voice loudened a tad. Then Miles propped his hands on his hips. "I couldn't deal with you leaving so suddenly. Okay?"
"What?" I made a face. "Calm down. I'm only goin' home 'cause my dad's in the ICU."
"But you didn't even say for how long."
"Sorry. I just don't know yet. Maybe two weeks. Three, at most." I covered my face with both hands. Heck. Was it the only reason he was also keeping to himself lately?
"What's the matter?" he muttered after a quiet moment. "Did Charr say something that upset you?"
Getting annoyed by his deflecting, I shook my head resignedly and walked away to start fixing the bed covers. "I actually don't mind it, because at least he talks to me, y'know?"
"Hey."
I didn't respond. Instead, I acted busy with tidying up the room. For minutes, I kept at it while Miles sat on the bed. Hopefully he would realize now that I wasn't happy with how he was keeping quite a lot of secrets from me.
"I said I'm sorry," he stressed when I kept folding and rearranging my clothes in my suitcase, just to maintain a certain distance from him. "Just kinda anxious right now."
"Why?"
"I don't want you to leave."
◇
◇ KEL ◇"When would you be back?""I don't know yet."Sitting on the edge of the bed, Miles frowned at my answer. "Don't leave the country for good."His blunt response left me standing next to him, his attentive gaze taking over my thoughts.He looked sad—his eyes said it all. Apparently, he didn't want me to leave him alone in his countryside house while trying to make something out of his solitary life, left to his own devices for years and years to come. But there was something else he didn't want to share."Fine. Why?" I sighed. "Don't say nothing again, or I'll tell your parents you've been lying.""It wasn't... I dunno why I did it. Okay?""So if they bring it up again tomorrow, at some point, you'll fess up and apologize?""No." Miles cut off our staring contest and rubbe
◆ MILES ◆"Vases? Stuffing them in stupid jars? Really?" I watched my mother sit back in the elegant swivel chair. At my tone, her perfect brows creased and her reaction denoted confusion. "A ten-year-old could come up with better ideas, Mamma." I sighed and bit back the urge to swear. What I'd discovered just minutes ago now convinced me how big of a mistake it was to ask Mykaela to come with us.Where the heck was my father and cousin? But my mother being here should be able to straighten out a few things; I had a nagging feeling she knew all about it.Just another branch of the family business, seemed like. Impatiently, I paced around the study room filled with books and paperwork. I couldn't help but examine my mother's flimsy attempt at pretending to be busy.My Mamma Eleana sat behind a large desk, her prim manicured fingers flipping through the pages of a ledger. On the desk stood piles and piles of paperwork. A teacup the same white shade as her wrinkle-free dress sat next to a
◇ KEL ◇My search for the basement only took seconds. I found the narrow stairs behind a door almost perfectly hidden among inconspicuous marble columns, if it weren't for the bloody hand prints on the edges. Not to mention the bright red droplets on the floor.It's the door where Ricchar and his men went through; I was pretty sure. I took the stairs and was surprised when it led me to a wide and well-equipped basement. Tall dividers, rows of lights, and what looked like locked storage rooms filled the space. It looked three times bigger than Miles' studio-type basement."Charr? Ricchar?" I knocked on the rooms I passed by, ignoring the uncanny feeling of being watched.From what the maid said, the bloody and wounded woman was actually Cloe—Ricchar's wife—and Cloe definitely needed medical attention. I weighed the odds. There couldn't be a doctor around here, especially in a place as remote as this exclusive estate."Mykaela!" A messy-haired, scowling Ricchar grabbed my arm from behind
◇ KEL ◇Face and neck damp with sweat, I glanced to the other fully conscious person in the room. I opened the door wider and quietly stepped in.Ricchar watched his wife closely as he rested on the wrinkled comforter. Then he looked at me when I stayed slouching by the door. "Grazie."His wife remained still on the single bed. Cloe's face and extremities were no longer covered in her own blood. The exhaustion had knocked her out before her wounds got stitched and bandaged carefully—I had to stitch up the biggest ones to ward off infections.Ricchar and the guards trusted my first aid skills and training enough to let me do whatever I thought would help Cloe best.To our advantage, the Falcos' former medical staff had stocked first aid drugs and enough medical supplies in the mansion's basement, vital in cases such as this. The cold, dry basement was perfect for stocking emergency meds and supplies.
◆MILES◆"What d'you mean 'we can't leave'?""The risk is too high.""Her dad's critical in the hospital." I took a step back and sighed out loud. The frustration, confusion, and worsening anxiety was already constricting my chest. My father's inexorable response did nothing but thin out my patience.Fine. We shouldn't just leave the estate af
◇ KEL ◇What on Earth's happening?
◇ KEL ◇He'd seen me buck naked?Where? How? I never sashayed around his house in just my underwear. Never. Nor could I recall an incident where I'd posed naked in front of the camera. Even semi-topless photo shoots were out of the question. The most revealing catwalk outfit I'd worn only revealed a third of my bust. Even the big-name Italian brands...it didn't matter. Miles didn't let me pose nude, either, and he said I didn't have to, and that my parents had enough reasons to dislike him."Still there?" I shouted from inside the shower area. No noises from outside could be heard in the bathroom. It was like the light gray walls were soundproof. "Yeah."I froze under the showerhead. His muted voice sounded near. Standing by the sink? "Forgot to lock the door again, stupid," I mumbled to myself."It was that one time I found you in the bathtub, close to drowning. Just out of it. Puked your guts out all night.""What?""After Paul's party. You were drinking like a pro all night
◆ MILES ◆Every punch, every strike, every heavy blow to the head had the guy shouting profanities at the armed men beating him till he could barely speak. I winced and watched from afar. Fortunately, I wasn't the one hanging from thick, long chains, clutching onto them as if my life depended on it.The guy in shackles lifted his head while the rest of his bruised body helplessly swayed. The taller goon toyed with a baseball bat, using it to hit Niccolo's outstretched limbs."Figlio— Cazzo!" Niccolo's handcuffed wrists stayed attached to a concrete beam. Metal clanking against metal echoed within the cold walls of the basement. We all watched the Vinciguerra heir suffer. At least he still had the energy to swear out loud.I scowled when Niccolo glared at me again. Utter hostility hardened the guy's darkened eyes as I stood in the corner. Watching. Waiting.Did Niccolo blame me? It wasn't my fault we ended up here. He made the choice to betray my trust; the guy even tried to black