Page 50 of The Prices We Pay
Jesus fuck.
“No. I’m okay. Really.” She looks back at me and asks, “Can you tell me what just happened?”
I rub my hands over my head, letting the friction from my clipped hair against my palms ground me. “Clara popped a balloon. It sounded like a gunshot.”
Confusion covers her face. “You deal with guns all the time, though, right? I mean, you’re head of security, and you do…other stuff.”
“Sometimes, when I’m not ready for it, certain sounds or smells can set me off,” I admit.
“This has happened before?”
“He used to get them all the time,” Enz clarifies, knowing I don’t like talking about this. I’m not exactly a man who enjoys admitting his weaknesses.
“They got better as time went on. Hasn’t had one in a while, though,” Seb adds.
“Wh-what is it?”
“It’s a flashback. I—I have PTSD from my time in the Navy. Some really bad shit went down right before I got out, and it fucked me up. When I have flashbacks, it feels like I’m right back to that night. The smells, the sounds, the anger, the pain… it all comes flooding back. It feels so real.”
She takes a step toward me, and when I don’t stop her, she takes another until she’s right in front of me. I can’t take my eyes off her neck. I did that to her. Ihurther. And had she not gotten the attention of the guys, I could have killed her. The fact that the three of them aren’t foaming at the mouth in anger over the fact that I just had her by the neck speaks volumes to their understanding of the situation.
And then there’s Joe. I did what I just did… and here she is. She’s not running. She’s not afraid. She’s not angry or upset. She’s trying to comfort me. She’s trying to understand, and I… I have no words to express how much that means to a person like me.
“Dante. Look at me.” When I don’t comply, she lifts her hands, threads her fingers through my beard, and cups my face, forcing me to pull my eyes from her neck to her face. “What can I do?”
I’m not sure why, but I chuckle incredulously. She can’t be serious? She’s asking howshecan helpme.The cynical part of me wants to tell her to leave me alone. To stay away from me and not put herself in that situation ever again. But the other part… the one that wants, the one that feels alive when I can feel her stare into the depths of my soul… that part wants her to make it all go away. I’m torn on how to respond, so I simply say, “I… I just need rest.”
She looks at Luca, silently asking him something, and he responds with a nod. “All right. Let’s get you home.”
“Wait—”
“Here, Sweetheart.” He tosses her the keys to his G-Wagon and digs the keys to my truck out of my pants pocket. “Take my car. Last thing you want to be doing is driving his beast of a truck through the streets of New York.”
“Hold on. You’re—”
Before I can finish, she’s collecting her laptop, coffee, and bag from her desk. “All right, big guy. Let’s go.”
“You don’t need to take me home. I can drive myself.”
Sebastian takes a step forward to argue with me, but Joe holds her finger up, effectively silencing him. “I’m yours, right?” A nod is my only response. “Then you’re mine. And I take care of what’s mine.So march your fine ass downstairs and let me take you home.”
I turn around to look for backup only to find Enzo smiling ear to ear with his hands in his pockets, Luca giving me an I’m-not-arguing-with-her-on-that-one look, and Sebastian curling his lips while trying not to burst out into laughter.
Relenting, I sigh. “All right. Let’s go.”
Stepping to the side, I instinctively place my hand on her lower back, guiding her out of the office. But when we reach the guys, Enzo unashamedly pulls her in for a quick kiss. “We’ll bring some dinner home later, okay?”
She gives him a quick kiss in return. “Okay.”
Sebastian stands by Enzo’s side. Reaching out, he brushes a wayward black curl behind her ear. “You sure you’re okay?”
Joe leans into his touch ever-so-slightly. “I’m fine. I promise. Nothing a little concealer can’t hide.”
Luca pins me with a stare full of concern before he asks, “Are you sureyou’reokay?” In otherwords, can we trust you enough right now to be alone with her?
“I’ll be all right.”
Knowing I would never willingly put Joe in a situation where I thought I’d hurt her again, he takes me at my word. Walking up to Enzo’s opposite side, he leans forward and places a gentle kiss on her cheek. “We’ll see you soon, Vita Mia. Call if you need us.”
