“They could have kidnapped me in my car. There was a man with a gun and insane instructions—”
“They have you exactly where they want you now. You are frightened for your life, aren’t you? You fear for what will happen to your parents…your sister?”
I tremble at the thought. “Why not make DeLuca do it? Why go through the trouble of selecting me?”
“Our best guess is that if it goes wrong, it’s easy to pin the crime on the daughter of a member of the mob.”
I turn to Jesse, who raises his shoulders and brows, because he said the same thing to me not too long ago.
For the second time today, I feel like I’m going to be sick. Heaving—that’s what I’m doing. Breathing in erratic pants as I try to stay calm. I can’t. A chill runs up my spine, and my head begins to throb.
Jesse steps behind me and wraps his arms around my chest, pushing my back tight against him. His inhale is deep, followed by a slow exhale. Mine are sharp and shallow, yet the longer he does this, the more I find my body meeting his breathing rhythm, finding my stability.
“There you go. Just like that,” Jesse says into my ear. “You got this, Amelia. Just breathe. Salinger and I have your back.”
His words are soothing in my ear as he wills me out of my anxiety attack and into the here and now.
Once steady, I stand up straighter and wipe under my eyes. Salinger’s eyes narrow at the sight of Jesse’s hand on me, forcing Jesse to step away and resume his spot from feet away.
“Okay, so what’s the plan? How are you going to help my family?” I ask.
“You’re going to do what they say,” Salinger states, and I yelp.
“You want me to actually go through with rigging a multimillion-dollar lottery?”
“Captain, with all due respect, it’s a plan destined to fail,” Jesse disagrees with his boss.
Salinger looks at his watch. “We only have a minute until they close the doors. The quick answer is yes. We can’t pin them on a crime that hasn’t been committed. Plus, no money has exchanged hands, and we don’t have anyone on tape, threatening you to do it. We need you to follow through. You’ll have surveillance. The Lugazzis won’t let you go in without one more word of caution. That’s what we need on tape. Let us handle this on our end. In the meantime, keep your head on a swivel and stay calm.”
“Easier said than done,” I state sarcastically.
Salinger walks toward us, and Jesse and I part as he opens the door. He leaves and turns to the right, where there’s a stairwell.
“What’s the plan?” I ask Jesse urgently.
“First, we get you home. My home.”
Chapter Fifteen
We get back to Jesse’s house. It’s been a long day, one I don’t ever want to repeat. Clearly, neither does he.
I put my bag on the floor and kick off my shoes. Since Jesse wants me to stay here until the drawing, we stopped by my place for clothes. He didn’t say a word to me while I put things in a bag and gathered my toiletries.
Silence.
That’s all I’ve been given from him, and I don’t know what to do with it.
He walks into his room, and I watch from the hallway as he empties his pockets on the dresser. His back is arched, and he looks defeated as he pads into the bathroom.
I walk into the kitchen to get a drink and hear the water in the bathroom running. I sigh as I drink my water and wonder how angry he must be with me. I didn’t trust him. All he’s ever asked from me was my trust, and I haven’t given it until today. I doubted him. The one person who has protected me in all of this, I doubted.
It makes me feel so horrible.
I open the refrigerator for … I don’t even know. When I do, I’m shocked to see it’s filled. Milk, orange juice, bread, eggs, fresh fruit, and even the ginger beer I like for my Moscow mules. I close the door and open the cupboard, smiling when I see a copper mug.
He bought things that I like. It’s so thoughtful, considering how little time he had to make this happen.
I’m such a fool.
A great man entered my life, and I questioned him when it mattered most. I ran from him actually. If he had done that to me, I would have been livid. I ran, and he knew exactly where to find me because he listens.
Do I even listen to him?
Words he’s said sing inside of me.
“… I’m fucking crazy about you! You’re all I think about.… The moment your life was threatened, I was destined to save it.”
“It’s you and me, Amelia. Just us.”
“I don’t know what will happen to us when this is over.”
I walk into the living room and stare at his mother’s painting. The theft of it is a sweet and impossibly sad action. Connection to family means everything to this man, even when he’s risking his life to protect others.
Who protects him?
He said he’d take a bullet for me. He deserves a woman who would do the same for him.
I head into the bedroom and see the steam from the shower wafting out the bathroom door. I walk into the bathroom and close the door behind me.
I can’t see him through the shower curtain, but I know he hears as I unzip my jeans and undress.
Naked, I push back the curtain and step inside the tub. Jesse’s back is to me. His arm is on the tiled wall in front of him, bracing his body, and he lets the hot water pummel
