Chapter 20

Chapter Twenty

Roselia was a ball of nerves as she entered Jagger's house with the other women that afternoon. She hadn't seen Stefano since she'd walked away from him in the hallway. Other than Damon coming in for a few minutes to comfort Gemma, no one else had emerged.

Grace's boyfriend, Khai, and Summer's two men, Bridger and Colter, had picked all of them up from the FBI offices and were with them at the house now. In fact, the three men were preparing dinner for all the women.

Roselia had learned a lot from the other women. They'd all ended up with the most amazing men on earth. Men who adored them and did everything they could to help them heal from their invisible wounds. Men who cooked and cleaned and worshipped the ground they walked on.

Men like Stefano.

She missed him terribly. They hadn't been separated for longer than it took to pee in nine days. She'd grown used to his presence. Most of the time, he hadn't even been far enough away from her that he wasn't touching her.

She watched as Khai took Grace in his arms and kissed her. When she shifted her attention to Summer, she saw the woman giggle as Bridger kissed her before passing her off to Colter.

Roselia wanted to feel the happiness each of them felt. She ached to join their "club." But until she heard from Stefano, she could feel nothing but fear. She wasn't even in her body. She was outside, watching all of this unfold.

"Have a seat if you'd like," Khai told her as she stood awkwardly watching everyone help themselves to drinks.

Kally giggled. "It's always crowded in here. We rarely manage to use the table for anything. It's more like a command center. We often eat in the living room or around the island. Would you like a soda, juice, water, milk, or tea?"

"Water would be great. Thank you." Roselia climbed onto one of the bar stools at the island and rubbed her arms.

Colter glanced at Roselia. "I'll get your bags from the car and put them up in the guest room."

She held her breath. It was the only way to keep from crying. She didn't want her bags in the guest room at Jagger and Kally's house. She wanted to be back in the cabin with Stefano. She refused to think about the fact that Colter had driven Stefano's SUV here and that she might very well have to go to bed alone tonight in a strange house.

Where are you? I need you .

Everyone tiptoed around her all evening, offering her food, drinks, and any other comfort she might crave. She hadn't been able to eat much and was growing more stressed by the hour.

None of the other men had returned either. Was that a good sign?

Gemma, Kally, and Nora seemed slightly nervous, but they, too, probably preferred not to be separated for so long from their men.

After dinner, she sat in the living room with the other women while the men cleaned up. Pulling her knees up to her chest, she rocked, trying not to panic.

No one tried to reassure her that Stefano would be home soon. They all knew that might not be the case.

"Should we turn on the TV?" Summer asked loud enough for the men to hear.

Colter turned toward her and shook his head. "No, honey. Let's leave it."

They all knew there was a chance Santo could have been arrested at some point during the day, but it seemed best not to get sucked into the news.

Gemma sat up straighter and pasted on a smile. "We all know each other better than Roselia. Let's share some more about ourselves."

They'd talked for hours that afternoon under the guidance of Carol. She'd been amazing at guiding the conversation, and Roselia could easily see why they all liked her so much. Roselia had promised to call and set up an appointment with her soon.

A beeping noise made all of them turn toward the kitchen, where Khai headed over to check the gate monitor. "It's Ella." He pushed a button, presumably to let whoever Ella was through the gate.

"Ella is Robert's wife," Gemma informed her.

Roselia lifted a brow. "Robert… Oh, the man whose name is on the chips?" She gripped her thighs together and squeezed them. She hated that fucking tattoo.

Nora was sitting next to her. "You can have the chip and the tattoo removed if you want. We've all done it."

Roselia's breath hitched. "Seriously?"

"Yes. An amazing female doctor with the FBI removed all of ours. It was such a relief. I slept better that night," Nora continued.

"I'd like that." I'd like to talk to Stefano. I'd like to tell him about the tattoo removal. I'd like him to go with me and hold my hand .

A woman with dark wavy hair came in through the back door and hurried toward them. She scanned the room before settling her gaze on Roselia. "I'm so glad you're safe. I was so worried about you. Oh." She hurried forward, holding out a hand. "I'm Ella."

Roselia shook the kind woman's hand.

Ella was dressed in a pencil skirt, pink blouse, and a suit jacket. She had on black pumps. She'd obviously come from an office.

"Ella's a lawyer," Kally told her. "As well as owning Roses and Thorns with Robert, of course."

"What is Roses and Thorns?" Roselia asked. There were so many things she didn't know. Half the time, it seemed everyone was speaking a foreign language.

Ella took a seat on the coffee table in front of Roselia. "It's a club. Well, several clubs. Robert has owned them for many years. An exclusive private fetish club."

Roselia nodded slowly. She'd never been to that kind of club, of course.

Ella continued. "The tattoo on your thigh is our exact club logo. We've known for a while that the seller wanted to frame Robert for the crime, we just didn't know why. I'm sure we'll understand better when the men show up."

"You're a lawyer?" That was the important part Roselia honed in on.

"Yes."

"Can you help Stefano?"

Her brow furrowed. "Does he need a lawyer?"

"I don't know. Maybe. He seemed to think he would be arrested after he came forward." Roselia didn't know enough about the law or everything that Stefano had done to believe he was in so much trouble.

Ella frowned. "I don't know enough about the situation to hazard a guess, but Robert would let me know if Stefano was arrested."

That made Roselia feel marginally better. She nodded.

Ella glanced around. "I'm sorry I couldn't be here earlier. I was in court today. Can someone give me the CliffsNotes?"

Kally was the one to retell the story, at least what the six of them collectively knew.

When she finished, Ella moved over to sit next to Roselia and took her hand. "Eighteen years is a long time to be off the grid, but let me ease your mind on a few things."

Roselia held her breath as she nodded.

"It's not inherently a crime to fake one's death. Now, if he'd done so to avoid prosecution for a crime or to fraudulently allow his relatives to collect his death benefits or to avoid paying a large fine he owed, that would be different, but it doesn't sound like he did any of those things."

Roselia shook her head. "I don't think so."

Gemma joined them. "I think he did it solely so he could get revenge on my mother's killer without anyone stopping him."

Ella nodded. "And do we know how he planned to get revenge?"

Roselia shook her head.

"He obviously didn't kill Santo. Do you suppose he killed anyone else?"

"No." Roselia shook her head with more certainty. "He told me he's never killed anyone."

Khai perched on one arm of the sofa. "If I set out to destroy someone and intended to take eighteen years to do it, I would ruin them financially. Did you ever notice Santo being stressed or suddenly unhinged?"

"No. I never noticed him being any different. I worked there for three years."

Ella slapped her hands on her knees. "Let's stop speculating. When the men get here, we'll know. Until then, let's talk about something more cheerful. Did anyone make dessert? I didn't get anything for dinner. I'm starving."

The tension was thick for the next few hours. It was almost midnight when Bridger and Colter decided to take Summer home. They would come back in the morning. Khai would stay all night, so there would be a man in the house. Kally had her own bedroom, of course.

She rose to show Roselia to the guest room, where someone had put her bags. The rest of the women would scatter to the other guest rooms and the couches.

Roselia hated this—she hated everything about it. She didn't want to go to bed without Stefano. It made her stomach tight, and she thought she might vomit. She said very little as Kally showed her to her room and pointed out the Jack-and-Jill bathroom. She was a great hostess, providing everything Roselia could need.

And then Roselia was alone for the first time all day. For the first time in ten days. She used the bathroom, went through the motions of showering and brushing her teeth, and then found one of Stefano's T-shirts in his luggage.

When she finally climbed into bed, she curled into a ball on her side and cried silently. This could not be happening.