Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

Stefano waited until her body fully relaxed in sleep before he gently rose from the bed. He wished he could crawl under the covers and sleep like the dead with her, but there was too much to do. He didn't want to let his guard down until they were out of the city.

Working quickly and efficiently, he opened his laptop, found a company that rented cabins and showed plenty of availability, and wrote down the address. He thought it would be best if they just showed up. Making a reservation would leave a paper trail. He didn't want anyone to find them.

Next, he grabbed two suitcases and filled them with clothes and toiletries. He always kept plenty of cash on hand. He took it out of the safe and put it in his satchel with his computer, chargers, and an eReader.

Roselia had always had her head in a book. He'd buy her whatever she wanted and load it to the device. Maybe it would help occupy her mind as she worked through the trauma.

You are not even close to being qualified to handle her emotional turmoil .

He told himself that, but he wasn't willing to share her whereabouts with another living soul yet, so she was stuck with him as her doctor and counselor for now.

When he was done packing and had everything piled by the door, he sat on the edge of the bed and let himself stare at her. Her face had finally relaxed in sleep. She was so fucking beautiful. It had been difficult for him to force himself not to react to the six welts on her body.

Fuck Leo Vanderbilt. Who the fuck did he think he was?

Stefano had a billion questions. He'd wanted to rapid-fire them at Roselia, but that hadn't been an option. She was traumatized. He couldn't even fathom what she'd been through, and it killed him.

Stefano tried to work through the facts, but what he knew made him cringe, and what he didn't know made him want to run into the bathroom and vomit.

Worse things have happened to me, Stefano …

Those words echoed in his head over and over. "What have you survived, sweetheart?" he whispered under his breath. He wanted to know everything. He wanted her to be able to unload her burdens on him. But could he listen to her without reacting violently? And what would keep him from sneaking out at night and killing a few people with his bare hands?

He'd met Leo before. He was a friend of Santo's. He'd been to the house a few times. Fucking asshole had obvious health issues. Stefano was pretty sure the guy had had at least one heart attack. He shuffled around as though he was eighty when really Stefano was pretty certain he was in his mid-sixties.

Stefano ran a hand down his face. He needed to stay calm, let her unload at her pace, hold her when she cried, and wipe her tears. He wouldn't rush her, but he did need to know if there was any chance she could be pregnant or if she'd been exposed to any STDs.

"Fuck," he muttered almost too loudly. The thought of Leo or any other asshole raping her made Stefano sick to his stomach. How many men had violated his sweet girl?

It wouldn't change anything. He was half in love with her. Or was he all the way in love with her? He wouldn't let anything that had happened to her before him into their bedroom. He'd do everything humanly possible to erase the bad and replace it with gentle kindness.

It was possible she'd been so traumatized from being taken against her will that she wouldn't want him to touch her. She was so nonchalant about her nudity. It shocked and unnerved him. It meant there was every chance she'd been naked a lot in the past eight months, so much so that she was desensitized to the notion.

Her body… Fuck, she was even more gorgeous than he'd imagined. Every inch of her was perfection. The only thing that had kept him from losing himself and dropping to his knees to worship her had been the seriousness of the situation. His cock had managed to stay under control for the last few hours because he'd been all business. Breaking and entering. Scaling walls. Rescuing the woman he couldn't get out of his mind.

The fucking welts made him wince. It had been difficult to remain calm and detached while he'd put ointment on them. They would heal. They only looked so bad because they were recent. They hadn't broken the skin. She'd be uncomfortable tomorrow, but she was right. By this time tomorrow night, they would have faded enough that she could sit on them without too much discomfort.

He glanced at his watch. It was five in the morning. She'd only been asleep a few hours. He wished he could let her rest for ten more, but he didn't want to risk someone looking for them.

He'd worn that hoodie over his head to cover his face, but he couldn't be sure Vanderbilt wouldn't recognize him in the camera frames. If he showed the video to Santo, his boss would recognize him for sure.

When Stefano didn't show up at work, how long would it take before Santo sent someone here to check on him? Would he break in? Probably.

Stefano smirked. He wasn't stupid. Working for a prick like Santo, Stefano had been prepared for any eventuality for years. He had a duplicate computer he'd packed in his satchel. His regular one would remain on his desk. He would also leave his phone behind. A burner was already in his pocket.

Santo wasn't smart enough to hack into either device, nor was there anyone else in his immediate employment who could do so. He might eventually hire someone to break into both, but he wouldn't find anything but the things the asshole had hired Stefano to do. Accounting, security, protection detail. That was it.

Stefano was prepared. They needed to leave, though. He leaned over, kissed Rose on the temple, and stroked her hair back from her face. "We need to leave, sweetheart."

She blinked her eyes open and stared at him for a moment before bolting upward to sit. "Oh, God. It's real. I'm still here."

He smiled. She was so fucking beautiful with her hair tousled and her total lack of realization that her breasts were now exposed. Now, his cock did get hard. He looked away and held up a loose shirt and yoga pants. He'd been the one to pack them, and he'd thought they would be the most comfortable for the next day or so. "How about these?"

She reached out and fingered the cotton shirt. "I can't believe you kept my apartment."

He didn't respond. He was damn glad he had, though, because it pleased her so much. "Let's get you dressed and in the car, okay? I didn't figure you'd want to wear a bra or panties over those welts."

She smiled as she took the shirt and pulled it over her head. "I had no idea how much I took clothes for granted." She eased to the side of the bed and lifted one leg to put on the black pants.

Stefano gritted his teeth when he got a good look at the tattoo on her inner thigh. He'd seen it earlier but hadn't let his gaze linger there. He was confident she hadn't gotten a tattoo on her perfect body before she'd been abducted, which meant some asshole had forced her to get it. Leo?

Her pussy was bare. He hadn't overlooked that either. Had she shaved herself before she'd been abducted? He doubted that, too. He didn't want to traumatize her more by firing a hundred questions at her.

Patience .

When she slid off the edge of the bed to pull the soft cotton over her hips, she winced slightly and then glanced at him. "They will fade quickly," she reminded him.

His brow was furrowed, and he'd probably let his breath hitch. He hated it when she winced. Her pain hurt him. Infuriated him. Maybe you should go kill Vanderbilt with your bare hands before you leave town .

That wouldn't help Roselia, though. She needed him. He was all she had. He couldn't risk a confrontation with Leo or anyone else. What would happen to Rose if he got caught?

He handed her tennis shoes and socks.

She leaned against the bed to put them on.

"I'll give you a few minutes to use the bathroom, sweetheart."

She drew in a breath and rushed toward the master bath. As soon as she shut the door, he forced himself to take deep breaths and calm the fuck down. It was hard. He listened as the toilet flushed, and then the water came on. After a few minutes, the water came on again. He figured she'd brushed her teeth.

When she emerged, her hair was in a long braid down her back. He'd seen it like this many times. It was how she most often kept it while working.

He reached for her from where he still sat on the edge of the bed, letting her come to him. He probably should have chosen any other shirt. This one was white and not loose enough to avoid noticing her nipples.

She stood in front of him timidly for several seconds before suddenly lifting her arms and wrapping them around his neck. She held him tightly. "Thank you."

He wanted to hug her back, but he was afraid he'd hurt her, so he settled for running his palms up and down her arms.

When she released his neck, she kept her forearms on his shoulders and held his gaze.

Stefano gripped her biceps. Her lips were so fucking kissable, and while he was thinking that, she leaned closer, bringing her mouth to his.

Stunned, he didn't react for a moment, but then he jumped into gear and kissed her back. She was breathing heavily, and he cupped her face to gain some control, angling his head to one side to deepen the kiss.

He was panting when he released her.

Her cheeks were red, and she looked down. "I…"

"You can do that anytime you want, sweetheart. You don't need to ask."

She swallowed. "That was my first kiss. Thank you for making it special."

Shocked, he inhaled a bit too sharply. Seriously? How was that possible? Besides the fact that she'd just spent eight months in God-only-knew-what situations, had she never had a boyfriend in high school or afterward?

His ego grew huge. He might not be her first for many things, but that kiss had been special, and he was honored. He would never forget. "My lips are at your service anytime you need them," he teased.

Rising, he took her hand. "We really need to go."

She nodded and followed him. When she reached for the straps of her bags, he shook his head. "Let me carry everything. Let's get you in the car."

"I'm not helpless, Marco."

He winked at her. "Stefano."

"Right. I forgot. That's going to take me a minute to get used to."

"It's okay. And I never for a moment thought you were helpless, but you're injured, and I hate to see you hurting. It makes my chest tight. So let me carry everything this time, okay?"

She nodded.

He took half the luggage and tossed it into the back of the SUV before opening the passenger door for her. She was shivering, and her shirt was going to cause him to drive off the road.

"Let me grab you a sweatshirt."

She climbed into the SUV while he jogged back to the house. He hated fucking leaving her alone even for a second again. It made him so nervous. He ran into the bedroom, grabbed a few more sweatshirts in case she needed them, picked up the rest of their belongings at the front door, locked the townhouse, and was back at the car in thirty seconds.

After tossing her one of the softest sweatshirts, he watched as she put it on, and then he shut her door.

It was cold out this early in the morning. There would likely be snow in the mountains when they got away from the city. Luckily, he'd packed both of their winter coats.

Stefano kept his eyes on every mirror as he drove out of the neighborhood. With any luck, none of his neighbors would have seen him arrive or leave with a woman. They'd only been there a few hours, and those had been hours during which most people slept.

Like earlier, as soon as he got on the highway, he breathed easier.