Chapter 13

B efore going to bed, Cleo clipped that she needed to check my bandages.

She came to my side and, without a word, cleaned it and re-wrapped it.

‘Who taught you triage?’ I asked, wincing as I tested the mobility of my arm.

‘Does it matter?’ she replied with a terse edge, avoiding eye contact.

She was still shitty at me.

‘Guess not,’ I said, trying to catch her gaze. ‘But you’re good at it.’

‘Nonna was a nurse, she trained me.’

Her voice was tight, hard.

I sighed, sensing her concern. ‘Your Nonna is well. Don’t worry.’

‘Of course, I’m fuckin’ worried about her. I also don’t trust you.’

I winced, perceiving she was losing patience with me.

I’d need to come clean, and soon.

‘Scusa, mia sola, if I’m being, how do they say it, too much. You’re not obligated to count on me, even if I occupy your bed.’

‘Damn right,’ she muttered, gathering the soiled dressings and disposing of them in the waste bin.

I fell silent, eyes on her, back against the headboard, having run out of shit to say to ease the ratcheting tension.

She left the room, and I heard her change in her living area before she sidled back in, cute as fuck in her kangaroo-print pajamas.

Forget lace and silk lingerie; this number had my cock’s attention, making it harder than diamond and steel.

She kept her face averted, her gaze and eyes away from me.

The punch of her disquiet hit, and I sucked my teeth.

The bed sagged as Cleo lowered herself onto the mattress, her back rigid and unmoving.

‘Lights off?’ I double-checked.

She nodded.

I turned the lamp down.

I shifted beside her, the thick duvet and sheets pooled around my naked waist and thin shorts, which I longed to shuck because, most times, I preferred to sleep nude.

The silence between us was impenetrable and heavy, broken only by the occasional pop and crackle of the banked fireplace in the living area.

I shifted to where her dark hair was splayed across the pillow, cheekbones casting shadows in the dim light.

Her stormy jade eyes stared unblinking at the rough-hewn ceiling beams above.

‘Cleo,’ I rasped, addressing the stompin’ massive elephant in the room. ‘About earlier with the aurora outside. I didn’t mean to -’

‘Don’t.’ Her voice was flat, emotionless. ‘Just don’t.’

I ran my tongue over my teeth.

Cleo was not the warmest person, but this coldness was new.

It cut.

It was icy and impenetrable.

Like an invisible wall had sprung between us, leaving me stranded on the other side.

I wanted to reach for her, to break through that frozen exterior and find the real Cleo underneath.

But I didn’t dare. Not when she was like this.

Not when one wrong move could shatter the fragile truce, if one remained at all.

So I lay motionless, my breathing faint, my body humming with tension. The frigid quiet stretched out unending.

In time, she shifted, rolling over so her back was to me. Her spine was a steel rod, muscles corded tight beneath her thin tank top.

I squeezed my eyes shut against the sting of rejection. Sleep would be a long time coming tonight.

If it came at all.

I cursed myself. My mind whirled with self-recrimination.

I’d spent hours chipping away at Cleo’s defenses, coaxing her to lower her guard. And in one careless moment, I’d undone it all.

The memory of her face flashed behind my eyelids - the raw joy in her eyes as she touched my hand .

The softness in her voice had been so at odds with her usual steely control.

She’d trusted me with a piece of her heart. And I’d thrown it back in her face.

Stupid. So goddamned dumb.

I wanted to explain, to make her understand.

My words had come from a place of pain, not cruelty. Old scars that had never quite healed. But explanations meant nothing in the face of Cleo’s hurt.

I glanced at her rigid back, the angry jut of her shoulder blades.

Every inch of her radiated ‘stay away.’ But underneath the sharp edge was a scared, scarred soul.

One which had been betrayed and abandoned too many times. She’d learned that vulnerability was a weakness to be stamped out early on.

I forced myself to be still. Giving her the space she needed, no matter how much it gutted me.

The minutes ticked by, each one an eternity. Inside me, guilt churned like a living thing, gnawing at my guts with merciless teeth.

Fuck, I felt like shit.

And hell, I wanted her so bad.

I frutti proibiti sono i più dolci.

Forbidden fruit was always the sweetest.

She’d been taboo to me for almost a decade, beyond a dream.

I had to fix this and find a way to earn back her trust.

As the night dragged on, exhaustion overcame self-recrimination. I drifted into a restless doze, my mind still whirling with thoughts of Cleo.

In my dreams, specters rose from the shadows. Twisted, leering monsters with grasping hands and hungry eyes. They clawed at me, but they were too strong, too many.

I woke gasping for air.

That’s when I realized, with a stab of shock, that Cleo was gone.

I knifed up, moving fast, slipping from bed in my socks and sweat bottoms, chest uncovered.

I burst into the living area.

Lit by dawn’s weak rays, it was empty.

I caught the sound of an engine starting up and whipped myself around.

Nabbing my gun on the bureau beside the door, I ran to the front door and thundered into the early morning.

Just as Cleo’s rugged ride sped out of the parking shed and raced past me.

She was alone in the driver’s seat, her face hard and resolute in daybreak’s light.

Her truck careened down the driveway, and I cursed, soft under my breath.

Lifting the barrel of my Sig, I fired.

Two shots to the rear wheels.

Exploding air and mini dust blooms erupted in the truck’s wake.

It carried on for a few meters before its tires gave out .

It veered to one side of the roadway, then the other, rubber peeling and one tire coming clean off.

The vehicle came to a screeching halt, smoke rising from its engine.

I curled my lip and lowered my weapon, waiting.

She exploded from the car, clad in jeans, a zipped-up jacket, leather boots, and pure flaming rage.

Hair flying, eyes wild, arms pumping as she ran toward me.

She’d never appeared more fuckin’ beguiling to me.

I braced as she came to a stop before me, chest heaving, hands clenched in fists at her side.

We locked eyes, caught in an intense standoff between us.

‘What in the actual?’ she whispered. ‘You shot at me.’

I sucked my teeth. ‘Let’s be precise, mia sola. I blew out your wheels.’

‘Bastard! What in devil’s inferno were you thinking?’

‘What the fuck were you?’ I growled back. ‘Of more importance, where the hell were you going?’

I reached my gun hand for her and wrapped it around her waist, pulling her flush to my front.

It gave me the advantage of height, intimidation, and commanding control.

Her hands fell on my chest, trying to pull away.

I scoffed, tightening my grip.

She’d no bloody chance of getting away.

Not now. Not ever.

‘I won’t ask again, carissima,’ I rasped with menace, unleashing the full brutal extent of my ruthlessness.

Giving her flavors of my brutality.

She tossed her head back to stare up at me, fuckin’ undaunted .

‘To the Hendersons,’ she hissed. ‘To use their phone.’

‘Who were you going to call? The cops?’

Her nostrils flared with rage. ‘No, you paranoid freak. My Nonna. It’s her birthday. I always call her on her flaming birthday.’

Her voice broke, and I jolted.

‘I don’t know if she’s alive or dead, well or unwell,’ Cleo went on, railing into me. ‘I have no idea how she is. I need to know, especially today.’

Guilt, heated and lashed with condemnation, hit in a crushing wave.

I sucked her teeth and loosened my hold.

She whirled away as I turned from the pain flaring in her eyes, from the acid building inside her.

‘How would you feel, Alessio Calibrese,’ she snarled on, ‘if you couldn’t say happy birthday to the one blood relative you have left on this goddamn earth. The one person who means the world to you and the only soul who cares for you?’

Fotto, I was a monster, I thought as her words beat me up on the interior.

I sliced my eyes back to her, maintaining my mask of ice while howling at myself.

I should have been more clued-in, I raged in my mind.

I growled instead, ‘You could have told me; I’d have driven you.’

‘Fuck off, I don’t believe you.’

She’d no reason to.

The immorality of my subterfuge hit, and I cursed.

She deserved the truth.

Not tomorrow, not next week.

Right fucking now .

I braced, aware her hatred of me was about to ratchet even higher.

‘Cleo, there’s something you have to know.’

She huffed, a little puff of irritation that cut deeper than her ire at me.

‘What?’

Damn.

This tension was not knife-worthy; it’d necessitate a hatchet to get through it.

I sighed, inhaled in readiness for her inevitable attack, and growled. ‘Your grandmother is not being held hostage. She’s in care, with my men keeping an eye on her.’

She made a strangled noise in the back of her throat.

I threw my hand up. ‘Not to harm her but to protect her if Franco attempts to reach her. I might have used the fact to try and compel you to keep me close. Which was a shitty thing to do.’

Cleo’s head tilted as if scouring the heavens for patience.

Then she swiveled to face me, letting loose the full intensity of her disbelief. ‘Repeat that?’ she spat.

I did.

I also told her how three years ago, on discovering through Mauri that Guilia needed hospice support, I’d located the best aged care nursing home in the State.

Our Lady of Mercy was a well-regarded, clean, professional service.

I’d then arranged for a middle-aged couple, Joseph and Sofia, two respectable capos within the Omertà Alliance, to dine at Cleo’s cafe in Moss Vale, where she’d held a job then.

Between coffee and generous tips, they’d initiated a conversation about the cost of aged care for their fictional dependents. Extolling the praises of said facility to her and its very affordable fees.

‘You manipulated me?’

‘No. I worked out you were living paycheck to paycheck and desperate for some bill relief. I made it hard for you to refuse the appeal of Our Lady of Mercy. In weeks, you had a bed for Nonna at a discounted price.’

‘So when the administrators often returned my checks, citing overpayment, or sometimes waived the costs due to a generous donation from a wealthy sponsor, it was you?’

I shrugged. ‘Si.’

What I didn’t mention was that I’d bought the whole fuckin’ facility, every brick, nail, and door.

She stared at me, astounded.

‘You fucking piece of shit,’ she snarled when I was done.

I twisted my lips and arched a brow. ‘No thanks then?’

Her eyes blazed with fury as she unleashed a torrent of accusations. ‘You know I’m not reaming you for the latter revelation, which I’ll return to later. I’m freakin’ outraged by you holding Nonna over me as a threat. Of making me think she was in danger.’

‘Needs must,’ I drawled.

‘You selfish bastard! How dare you use my grandmother like that?’

I clenched my jaw, the muscles ticking beneath my skin.

Her words cut deep, each one a precise incision exposing the ugly truth.

‘She is old and vulnerable, and still, you exploited that to keep me in line. What kind of monster does that?’ Her voice rose, echoing in the early morning air.

I stood motionless, letting her verbal daggers pierce my armor.

She paced, her hands gesturing as she laid bare my transgressions. ‘Manipulating an aging woman, using her as a pawn in your twisted game. You’re nothing but trash, Calibrese.’

She stalked closer, her eyes blazing with a fire threatening to consume me. ‘I should have guessed you’d have no scruples taking advantage of the one person I adore most as a bargaining chip?’

The venom in her tone seeped into my veins, burning through my defenses.

I wanted to argue and justify my choices, but the words became ash on my tongue.

I raised a hand, a feeble attempt to stem the freakish tide of her fury.

But she was relentless, her voice rising to a crescendo as she laid bare the extent of my betrayal, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. ‘You took advantage of my devotion, employing it as a weapon to keep me hostage. How low can you sink?’

Each accusation hit its mark, exposing the cracks in my facade. The truth was bitter, but I endured her righteous anger.

I chose silence, allowing her to vent the pain and treachery I had inflicted upon her.

The weight of my sins pressed down on me, a suffocating reminder of the depths I had plumbed in pursuing my goals.

She shook her head, a mirthless laugh escaping her lips. ‘You’re a boss manipulator, aren’t you, Alessio Calibrese? Weaving your web of deceit, pulling the strings like a puppet master. Well, I won’t be your marionette one second more.’

Her truth cut deep, exposing the ugly truth I had tried to hide from myself.

The facade I had constructed crumbled under the force of her righteous anger, leaving me bare and exposed.

The words scorched like hot embers, but I forced them out regardless.

‘I get it; I’m a piece of vile pig shit,’ I drawled. ‘Here’s the deal, cara; you can continue spewing at me, or we can take my car to your neighbors as you want. So you can call and wish your Nonna a happy birthday. What’s it going to be?’

Seconds ticked by, each one an eternity of its own.

The tautness between us was palpable, a living, breathing entity that threatened to suffocate us both.

I tagged the war behind her eyes, spiraling from anger at me to concern for her grandmother.

After an age, she spoke. ‘Fine.’

The single word was clipped, choppy, and laced with a venom that made me flinch. But it was a concession, however grudging, even as guilt continued to gnaw at my insides.

I had a long way to go to make amends and earn back the trust I had shattered, but for now, I had to focus on the task at hand.

I jerked my chin towards her, a silent command, before stalking over to her still-smoking truck.

As I approached, the acrid stench of burnt rubber assaulted my nostrils, a stark reminder of the chaos that had unfolded mere moments ago.

With a grunt, I reached through the open window, grasping the steering wheel with one hand while the other found the clutch.

The muscles in my arm strained as I maneuvered the vehicle, my shoulder aching, and I hissed as the torture of it went through me.

I took it as my penance. Sweat beaded on my brow, a combination of the physical exertion and the simmering tension that hung in the air.

As I worked, I could feel her eyes boring into my back, watching my every move. I didn’t need to turn around to know that her arms were crossed over her chest, a defensive posture that screamed her lingering anger and distrust.

With a final heave, I pushed the ute out of the way, clearing a path for my vehicle. I stepped back, wiping my hands on my jeans, and turned to face her.

She stood silhouetted against the stunning backdrop of the rising sun. The golden rays painted the distant ranges in breathtaking colors, but I took no notice.

My attention was focused on her, on the way the light caught the fiery glint in her eyes and her jaw clenched with suppressed fury.

Damn, even in wrath, she was a goddess.

The fog rose from the ground, tendrils of mist curling around my ankles as I marched past her.

Mocking me, the birds began their morning song, their melodic trills starkly contrasting our tense silence.

I entered the shed, the musty scent of old wood and rusting metal assaulting my nostrils, and slid into my SUV.

The engine roared to life.

I reversed the car out, the tires crunching over the gravel.

Turning in a tight circle, I pulled up beside her.

She stood, arms still crossed, her gaze fixed on some distant point, refusing to meet my eyes. I lowered the window, the cool morning air rushing in, carrying the smell of dew-soaked grass and the faint promise of redemption .

‘Get in,’ I said, my voice rough, the words scraping past the lump in my throat. ‘Per favore.’

She hesitated, her jaw clenching, before she yanked open the passenger door and slid inside, slamming it shut with a force that made me wince.

I shifted into drive, and we rolled down the dirt road, the silence between us thick and oppressive.

My shoulder ached in a dull throb that pulsed in time with the migraine building behind my eyes.

Still, I drove on, jaw clenched, needing to get this shit over and done with.

The neighboring farm soon appeared, a picturesque scene of rolling hills and a red-roofed farmhouse nestled amid the lush greenery.

I pulled up to the front, the gravel crunching beneath the tires, and cut the engine.

Slicing my eyes to her, I found her gazing at me with pure disdain.

She unlocked the door, the sudden movement startling me from my self-flagellation. ‘Stay here,’ she said, her voice colder than the morning air. ‘I won’t be long.’

She marched towards the farmhouse, her shoulders squared, her head held high.

The door opened, and she disappeared inside, leaving me alone with my thoughts and the weight of my missteps.

I leaned back in my seat, pushed a rough hand through my hair, and closed my eyes as the sun climbed higher in the sky. The world around me came to life, oblivious to the battle within me.

Half an hour later, she emerged, her face an unreadable mask as she approached the car. The silence between us was deafening, a chasm growing with each passing second.

I started the engine, the roar of the SUV filling the void.

I risked a glance at her, hoping to catch a glimpse of some lightness in her spirit after her chat with her Nonna.

‘How is she?’ I ventured.

All I got was a baleful stare. Regret hit with a gut punch.

I’d shattered the little trust we’d had.

I fought the instinct to reach for her, sucking in air to keep calm.

Fuck. My. Life.

I spent the rest of the drive back to her cabin in a blur, the winding roads and lush greenery a mere backdrop to the turmoil.

When we arrived, the familiar ritual of securing the gate and locking my ride away was a welcome distraction from our taut agitation.

But as we approached the front door, I couldn’t hold back.

I stopped her, my hand on her arm, my eyes pleading to understand.

‘Cleo,’ I growled, raw with emotion. ‘I fucked up.

Her emerald eyes canted to me in a storm of conflicting emotions.

Anger, hurt, and betrayal all swirled in a vortex that threatened to consume us .

‘Forgive me, carissima?’ I murmured, reaching for her.

She yanked her arm away, her eyes flashing with a fury that ran my blood cold.

Her laugh was harsh, bitter. ‘Who the hell do you think I am? Your get-out-of-jail-free card?’

Damn, her voice was sharp enough to slice through to the heart.

She stepped closer, her face inches from mine, the heat of her anger radiating off her in waves.

‘Fuck off, Calibrese. And get the hella out of my cabin. I think I spotted tent swag in your fancy car. Use it!’

‘Are you kicking me out?’ I growled, incredulous.

She nodded. ‘Believe it, soldier.’

I tossed the idea of arguing and pleading with her.

But that wasn’t how I rolled.

I was no begging man.

Not now.

Not fuckin’ ever.

So I did the only thing I could.

I twisted my lip, swiveled, and strode away.