Page 31 of In My Heart
“But he didn’t get in, so that…that’s good, right? It means we’re s-safe here. You’re safe, aren’t you?” I couldn’t even stand to consider losing Rafe in that moment.
“Of course,” he nodded. “And as I said, I have tech guys working on the leads this attack gave us. With any luck we’ll have our hands on Kozlov, and what remains of his operation, very soon.”
“And if it wasn’t Kozlov?” I wasn’t sure I really wanted him to confirm what worried me, but I refused to not ask out of fear. “Itcould be the Armenians, couldn’t it? Adamian might know who I am to him after all.”
“It doesn’t matter who it was, Cara. You are protected in this house, and I will ensure it stays that way until all of this mess is cleaned up. I just need you to give me a little time to do that though. Can you do that?”
“You mean stay in the house?”
“Just for now. I can’t risk anything else happening to you. It won’t be for long,” Rafe almost pleaded.
“Okay,” I nodded. “But what about you? If this is Kozlov and he wants you dead…”
“Let him fucking try. I’m just waiting for my chance to make that bastard pay for all he’s done,” Rafe seethed.
“Just you make sure you watch your back too. You’re not expendable, Rafe. Remember that.” I stared him down until he gave me the definitive nod I wanted from him.
“I’ve got his back, Carr. Everything will work out,” Dio assured me. “Rafe, sit now. Let’s eat,” he added.
He pulled some plates from a cupboard above him, then brought them over.
Rafe sat beside me with a deep groan, like he was in pain. I watched him, pretty sure he was just in desperate need of some sleep. I wasn’t sure I had seen him get a full night in his bed since the day I had arrived there.
“Where’s Terza?” I asked. I laid the plates out at three spaces, one for me, and one either side of me. “Is she alright?”
“I told her to stay home today. She’s still pretty shaken up and worn out after yesterday. I’ll go and check on her after we eat,” Dio replied.
“You need to sleep, Dio. You both do. You look shattered.”
“I’m fine. I’ll grab a few hours later,” Dio brushed me off. “What were you doing downstairs? Did you use the pool?”
“I don’t swim,” I said with a shake of my head. “Cal keeps threatening to teach me, but he hasn’t had a chance with all the drama around here. I just used the gym, then decided to shower down there.”
“You shouldn’t be pushing yourself right now,Tesorino. You’re injured,” Rafe argued.
“Not badly,” I countered. “I needed something to do. Arran had to work and Cal’s meeting at the university ran late. I just need to keep busy right now. I think that’s the best thing to get me through.”
“Well, don’t push yourself with exercise. You’re still dealing with the effects of that concussion, and I know that your bruised ribs must be painful, no matter how much you argue to the contrary.”
“What else do you like to do,Piccola? Maybe we could find other things to keep you out of trouble,” Dio interjected as he set a huge serving dish filled with delicious smelling pasta before us, then took a seat at my side.
“Ideally I’d have a job, but that’s not going to happen right now, is it?” I shrugged.
“What about looking at taking some online course of some kind? You wanted to complete high school, didn’t you? Maybe youcould take some GCSE classes? Those are the exams you would complete to finish school in this country,” Rafe suggested.
“Maybe, but I’m not sure I’d be smart enough to start at that level. It’s been years since I was in school,” I admitted with embarrassment.
“We’ll discuss it with Cal, okay? He can help you work out what classes you should enrol in, and he can help you do that, if you decide it’s what you want,” Rafe told me, and when I glanced up at him, the mask was gone and there was a gentle, understanding smile on his face.
“Sounds good,” I nodded.
I watched on as Dio took the plate from in front of me and placed a couple of spoonfuls of pasta on it. I was relieved to see he had kept the portion small when he set it back down before me.
“Try to eat something, please. It’s not as good as my Mum’s, but it should be decent,” he told me.
I pushed the food around a little as Rafe and Dio filled their own plates with ridiculously huge portions, then tucked in like they hadn’t eaten in days, which, with how hard they both worked, was definitely possible.
“Will you both be home tonight? Maybe I could make dinner?” I offered. It would keep me busy and hopefully it would be a way I could help out in the house while they all worked on finding whoever had tried to break in.
