Page 46 of Saint Valentine

I opened my mouth to deny it, but he interrupted.

“I was going to pretend I didn’t know because you fighting me is kind of cute. But now it’s starting to hurt my feelings.”

I shook my head. “You're reading too much into something simple,” I muttered, my voice shaky. “I wanted to know how you were doing. That’s it.”

But the words felt hollow as they left my lips. I knew he wasn’t buying it. And deep down, I wasn’t sure I believed it either.

Before I knew it, my legs were moving, my feet taking me out of the room, away from him.

"I need to wash your men’s blood off of me," I said.

His sociopathic laugh followed me into the bathroom.

Chapter twenty four

Saint

I jolted awake, the distant echo of a dream I couldn’t remember fading away, replaced by a dull ache in my head. Exhaustion made my limbs feel heavy.

I felt like I’d been drinking. I didn’t remember drinking.

Where the fuck was I? The bed was too soft, and the smell of roses saturated the air.

I closed my eyes and tried to think. It all came rushing back—Aria, my mother’s house, the dead guards. I sat up, my eyes scanning the room for Aria.

I checked the clock next to the bed. It was nearly noon—almost twelve hours since we’d arrived. I’d never slept more than four hours at a time. I’d been down for more than ten. Something didn’t feel right. But then, I had been exhausted.

I sniffed, smelling food. I got out of bed, barefoot, and made my way to the kitchen.

“Where’d you get that?” I asked, my voice rough from sleep. There had been no food in this house last night.

She didn’t look up, just picked up my phone from the table and tossed it to me. “I ordered it. For someone who has people trying to kill them, you sleep like a bear in hibernation.”

I caught the device and looked at the confirmation screen, my irritation rising. My muscles tensed.

In a second, I crossed the space between us and grabbed her wrist. “Who did you talk to?”

She exhaled, unimpressed by my aggression. “No one. You still have my friends locked away, remember? What was I going to do? Beg UberEats to send a rescue team?”

I studied her, looking for any sign of a lie. “You shouldn’t have ordered anything to this house.”

Aria rolled her eyes and pulled her wrist free. “Yes, because the mob monitors UberEats grocery delivery. Do you want the food or not? Because you’re being stupid right now.”

I exhaled, running a hand through my hair. She had a point, but that didn’t make it any easier to let it slide. I let out a breath, shaking my head.

“Yes,” I muttered, grabbing a container. There was steak, eggs, and waffles. I sat across from her, picking up a fork. After a beat of silence, I added, “I’m only this way around you, letting my guard down. I trust you more than I should.”

Aria paused mid-bite but didn’t respond. Instead, she resumed eating, letting the tension settle into something quieter.

“What have you been doing? How did you stay off everyone’s radar?” I asked suddenly. “I think I have the right to know.”

She raised a brow. “Just ask. Don’t demand I tell you.”

I rolled my eyes but stayed quiet, waiting.

She sighed, placing her fork down. “I won’t tell you how I hid, but after what happened—after creating havoc and gaining a whole lot of enemies trying to make everybody responsible for my family’s destruction pay—I packed up and left.” She toyed with the edge of her napkin. “My par—mother wanted me to go to Africa with her. I went north instead. That’s where I met my friends—the ones you currently have tied up.”

I smirked at the bitterness in her tone. Her friends were in trouble because of what they did. I hadn’t randomly picked them to hold hostage. But I let her continue.

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