Page 98 of Redemption

I didn’t realize I was chewing it. My thoughts are in so many different places.

She puts her hand on mine. “Hey, you know I’m here if you need to talk. You have so much going on right now. And I know you’re worried about Kilian too.”

I look over at her. “Has Bastian heard anything?”

She shakes her head. “But Kilian wouldn’t contact him. Not if it would risk your life and Aria’s.”

I glance over the hedges to where Aria is practicing drills. “We didn’t tell her.” I pause. “I mean, I never did. She has no idea he’s her father. And I am so worried that he got himself into trouble or killed and she will never know him as her father. Just the man I’m dating.”

Cam squeezes my hand. “Kilian is resilient. He is alive. You would feel it in your heart if you thought he wasn’t. That’s the feeling that kept me hanging on to seeing Bastian again. When I found out he was arrested, I was so pissed, but I wasn’t allowed to see him. That’s when I found out he wasn’t really in prison but being tortured by The Partners. I worried he was dead so many times but, in my heart”—she pauses and puts her hands against her chest—“it’s like I could still feel the part of his heart he gave me beating here. And I held on to hope he was alive. For two months, I held on.”

A tear falls from my eyes. “I still worry.”

“Of course you do, you love him.”

She stands and starts for the house. “I have some emails to catch up on. Let me know if you need anything. A friend, a glass of wine.”

I smile at her. “Thank you.”

She heads back inside and I try to focus on the book I was reading but my thoughts are still all over the place.

I must fall asleep because I am woken up to my phone ringing, Maria’s name on the screen. “Hello?”

“Mira, oh my gosh, I am so happy you are out of town.”

“Why?” I ask, confused.

“It’s just awful. Magda and Salvatore were killed last night. Someone just walked into the place after closing last night and killed them both. And Luigi. I kept thinking, what if you weren’t out of town? What if you were there last night?”

I’m in shock. Because I know that was no random hit.

“It’s just so awful. A tragedy,” Maria cries into the phone. “The police have no idea. No leads. At least that’s what my cousin is saying who works at the station.”

Of course the police have no leads. Because they were either paid off, or the hitman Giancarlo used was thorough. It was a message for me. To return home before he kills someone else. I only hope it doesn’t mean Kilian is next.

I hang up the phone and run into my room. Throwing random clothes into a bag and booking a flight back to Cefalù. He has to be waiting for me to come home.

I rush into Cam’s office. “I need you to watch Aria.” The words a jumbled mess as they fly out of my mouth.

“What?” Her voice high pitched.

“I just need you to protect her. Keep her safe. I need to go home.”

“What are you talking about?” she asks as she rises from her chair.

I take a deep breath. “My uncle left a message for me back home. I have to go. I have to set things straight. But I can’t bring Aria with me. I can’t risk it.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea, Bella. It could be a trap.”

“Then it’s better I leave Aria here. If it’s a trap, at least it’s just me.”

She rounds her desk and walks toward me. “I think you should wait until Bastian gets back. Or let’s call him at least.”

I shake my head. “No, I have to go now. Before someone else ends up dead.”

“Bella…”

“Please, Cam. I have to go.”

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