Serena rubbed her forehead, the dull throbbing pain intensifying into a full-blown headache. “Don’t let him fool you. He seems laid back and disarming, but it’s all an act. A façade he’s honed to perfection through the years. He comes across as an Average Joe, but the man is a shark in the courtroom. And my uncle pulls his strings like a master puppeteer. If Big Jim says jump, Jonathan will be hopping before he even asks how high.”
“Shh. Let me do my job, I’m pretty good at it. In the meantime, you rest, and do what the doctor tells you.”
Serena closed her eyes, blinking back the tears threatening to spill. “Antonio, I’m scared.”
He stood, moving closer until he was by the head of the bed. She felt his lips brush against her forehead in a gentle kiss. Such a simple sign of affection, but it unleashed the waterworks, the tears flowing down her cheeks, great, gulping sobs wracking her body. Antonio sat on the edge of the bed and pulled her into his arms, cradling her against his chest, his strength like a bulwark against the world.
All the pent-up rage, despair, and anxiety unleashed in a barrage of tears, and she wrapped her good arm around him, needing the feel of his embrace like a lifeline, the single constant she could latch onto as a tsunami of feelings flooded her, crashing through her with the ferocity of a tidal wave. One hand cradled her head against his chest, while the other moved in soothing strokes along her spine, as her sobs devolved into teary hiccups.
When the torrent began abating, he leaned back and stared into her eyes, studying her with an intensity which shocked and thrilled her in equal measure. It felt like he could see clear to the depths of her soul. She felt raw and exposed beneath his perusal, flayed open to reveal every secret, every hope and desire. When his hand cupped her cheek, she leaned into his touch, trusting him not to abuse the trust she was putting in him. She’d been hurt so many times in the past, betrayed and used. With Antonio, she prayed for a new start. A tiny kernel, if tended and nurtured, might grow into something—wonderful.
“I promise I won’t let anything happen to you. You’re safe now, and I intend to make sure you stay that way.” His thumb stroked across her cheek, the touch light and gentle. “It’s too soon, I know, but I…care about you.”
Serena’s eyes widened at his words, but even more at the emotion behind them. Did he mean what she thought he did, or was she reading too much into the statement? Deciding to throw what little pride and dignity she had left to the winds, she blurted out, “Antonio, I…I care about you too.” She changed what she’d started to say at the last moment. Saying those three little words shouldn’t be so hard, but she’d never said them to anybody before, and was terrified he didn’t return her feelings. It was too soon and she was still feeling exposed, filleted to the bone, with all the revelations over the last couple of days.
“When I get back, you and I are going to talk. No more hiding and no excuses. Got it?”
She swallowed past the lump in her throat. “Got it. Antonio, please be careful.”
“Don’t worry about me, sweetheart. Drury’s not going to hurt me, and I’m going to find out exactly what he knows, and what Big Jim’s plans are. This will all be over soon, I promise.”
“I can’t help worrying. You don’t know my uncle like I do. He’s dangerous. Just because he’s behind bars doesn’t mean he’s incompetent or impotent. He still yields a lot of power. It’s honestly been a miracle I’ve stayed off his radar this long.”
“Well, you’ve got a whole lot of people looking out for you now, and we’re not going to let anything happen to you. Now, you do what you’re told and I’ll be back, depending on how things go with Drury.”
“Call me after you talk to him?”
He smiled, and touched her nose with the tip of his finger. “I will. Get some rest.” He reached forward and brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. “Even if it wasn’t my job, I’d still watch over you. Keep you safe. I’ll do everything in my power to never let you get hurt again, Serena. Haven’t you figured out how much I care about you? Seeing you here, knowing I wasn’t there when you needed me the most, it’s tearing me up inside.”
“Antonio, stop. None of this is your fault.” Her brown eyes stared at him, damp with unshed tears.
“Then let me take care of you. Before you say anything else, I know you aren’t helpless, just the opposite. You’ve done a magnificent job of keeping yourself safe for a long time with nobody’s help. You are smart and savvy and independent, and know how to do things nobody else can. It’s different this time, because you aren’t alone. You’ve got so many friends in Shiloh Springs, more than you can imagine. You’ve got Momma and Dad, and all my pain in the backside, overprotective brothers. And you’ve got me.”
Serena weighed each word, letting them sink in, and she finally gave a watery smile. “Alright. I’ll let you wrap me in bubble wrap and sock me away at the Big House this one time, if you’ll promise me you’ll be careful. You don’t know the people you’re dealing with, but I do. Big Jim, Drury, they’re not going to stop until I’m no longer a threat.”
“Then I’ll have to make sure they don’t have a reason to come after you.”
Leaning over her prone form, he stared down into her
