Page 51 of Winter
He walked silently away from the room where his lover and his brother were, and out of the house. He needed to get away, just for the evening. Needed to sate his rage somewhere else.
And he knew just where.
Olly Rosenbaum felt bad. He should never have said what he had to Inca—he no longer had the right. So when, the next morning, he found himself in the Sakura again, he made the point of apologizing.
“It’s okay,” Inca said, her lovely face tired. “We all do stupid things we shouldn’t have.”
He studied her –the dark circles under her eyes, the wan skin.” Hey, are you okay?”
She shook her head. “No. No, I’m not, but there’s nothing you can do about it. So please, let’s not talk about it.”
He was silent for a while. “Inks...”
“I made a mistake.” The words came out of her in a rush. But as soon as they were out, Tommaso Winter appeared at the door.
“Hello.”
Inca stared at him as if she’d seen a ghost. Olly nodded stiffly. There was a long silence, and then Olly coughed. “Well, I better get to work. Later, Inks. Winter.”
Inca mumbled a goodbye and Olly left, not looking again at Tommaso. Why did the guy get to him so much? He was Inca’s boyfriend now; he should really try and get along with him.
Except ... he stole a look back over his shoulder. Inca looked wary, maybe even scared ... Was Winter abusing her?
I made a mistake ...
What the hell had she meant by that? Olly didn’t know, but he was sure as shit going to find out.
But a couple of hours later, Olly Rosenbaum was to discover that Tommaso Winter was not a man to be crossed. Not a man to be crossedat all.
Later, when Tommaso had excused himself for a few minutes, and Inca had had time to collect herself, she looked up to see Scarlett coming into the teahouse.
“Hey, numbnuts. How goes it?”
Scarlett stuck her tongue out at her friend. She indicated behind her and Inca saw Knox and Tommaso standing outside talking—rather, Tommaso was talkingatKnox, Inca observed with narrowed eyes. She sighed to herself. A second later the two men walked in and Tommaso immediately walked behind the counter to kiss Inca. She moved her head to avoid his mouth on hers, his lips brushing her cheek. She smiled at him to lessen the slight, but Tommaso’s eyes were cold as he pulled an envelope from his pocket. He pulled a sheet of paper from it and handed it to her.
“What’s this?” Inca took the paperwork Tommaso offered her and read it through. She looked up, startled. “A restraining order?”
Scarlett gasped. “Against whom?”
Tommaso smiled at them, a cool, calm smile. “Rosenbaum, of course. He’s been harassing us. Harassing Inca.”
Scarlett glanced at Inca, who looked as shocked as she felt. A couple of customers had left when the men walked in, and now the teahouse was quiet and empty except for the four of them.
Inca got up and handed the paperwork back to Tommaso. “Tommaso … this isn’t appropriate. Olly is a friend.”
Tommaso put a finger on her mouth. “Inca, it’s been more than that, and you know it.” He turned to the others. “I’m scared that his obsession with Inca is dangerous. Now that Kevin Harnett is behind bars, I think we have been too complacent about Inca’s safety. I truly believe Oliver Rosenbaum is the greatest threat to her.”
Scarlett put a hand on Inca’s back. “Tommaso, you’re overreacting.”
“Yes.” Inca was starting to get annoyed. What was he playing at?
Tommaso smiled at her, but his eyes were cold. “I don’t think so. After all,” he said, his gaze locking with Inca’s, “Inca is a very beautiful woman. I think a lot of men are interested in her.”
Inca felt a hot flood of shame.He knows. Oh God. I’m sorry, Tommaso.
“Still, I don’t think this is really necessary in Olly’s case. He’s just being a friend.”
Tommaso was silent for a moment, then reached into his pocket. “Okay. I understand why you’re reluctant to think badly of your friend. If it was just in isolation … but take a look at these. I took these over the past four nights.”
