74

Adriano had disappeared but suddenly opened the door to step into the room. "The police want to talk to you, Maria. Anytime there's an injury involving a gun, it's protocol for the police to get involved. Saint has already told me exactly what you need to say..."

"Okay," she said.

"Soon, Saint will be getting one of the girls at Viktor's brothel to call the police. She will tell the police that one of the girls-you-have escaped and can not be found. When you escaped, you left the door open and she was able to get out, find a phone, and call for help. Your job is to say that you escaped and Viktor shot you, but you still managed to get out of the house before you later passed out on the road. Alessandro and I, who happened to be driving by, saw you and got you into our vehicle, and drove you here to the hospital. Reyna is here because she's your daughter," Adriano explained. She nodded her head with each sentence.

"What about Viktor? What about all the dead bodies back at the brothel?" I asked.

"Alessandro and Saint's men have already taken care of that. As far as the police know, Viktor worked alone and he is on their most wanted list," Adriano stated.

I nodded my head understandably. Just as I did, the door opened and two policemen stepped into the room. One was taller and had a lot more muscle than the short chubby man.

"Good evening. We need to talk to Miss Maria Fields alone please," the policemen told us. We all nodded our heads and cleared the room, leaving our mother alone with the two policemen.

Adriano had a phone call so he quickly answered it and walked down the hall to speak more privately.

"So, my little sister is Red, huh?" Alessandro asked. I looked over at him. He looked worn out, his hair was a mess but still suited him. He ditched the suit and tie and replaced it with a white v-neck and sweats. I was sure not many people had ever seen him so casual before.

"My big brother is a Don, huh?" I mocked him.

He chuckled. "I was talking to-well-our mother. She was telling me about my father and even yours..."

My brows came together. Mom didn't ever talk about my father. So, I never bothered to bring it up. The one time I dared ask her about him, she looked as though she wanted to cry.

"We share the same father, Reyna. What she didn't tell you was that he went to see her one night just to tell her goodbye. They shared a moment and ended the night together and few weeks later, she found out she was pregnant. Only this time, she didn't try to tell him or anyone else out of fear that she would never see you again. So, she said she was pregnant by someone else, someone she has no memory of because it was a drunken night. In reality, it was Francesco Rubino, our father," he explained.

A gasp climbed out of my throat as I stared at him.

"So, I had a father?" I asked.

"You did. He was a great man. I will be more than happy to tell you more about him as long as you promise to do the same for our mother," he said.

I nodded with a smile. "Of course."

There was a long awkward silence after that. Both of us just looked everywhere but at each other.

After a few very long seconds, I cleared my throat. "I heard you were married."

"Oh, yes. Natalia," he said. "You will meet her soon."

Again, there was silence. I began to bite the inside of my lip as I turned to face the white wall.

"And you're with Saint?" he asked.

I could feel all the blood rushing to my cheeks. "Well, I, um, well, I don't know. I, um, wouldn't say we're together, but um..."

He chuckled.

"I've always admired you, you know? When I heard about what you did, and my second in command was all panicking because he thought we were gonna get arrested, I sat back in my chair, and I thought... 'man, that person there is a genius.' You got balls, kid. I don't know you know well, but you've certainly made me proud and I'm sure our father would say the same," Alessandro said.

I opened my mouth to speak but nothing would come out. All I could do was watch as he buried his hands into his pocket and walk away.

***

REYNA

The days went by in a blur. I spent most of my time with mama. Every moment she spent laid up in the hospital, I was beside her. I even got to see some of the women and girls from the brothels come in and get checked out. I only watched from afar and held back my gasp when I saw the young girl I had met during my horrifying stay there, Leila. Thankfully, to help keep our story covered up, she didn't see me, but I had a clear view of her.

Leila was covered up in a hospital gown, her hair was actually clean, and there was a brightness in her eyes I couldn't see under the darkness of the room we were in. It was comforting to see her alive, and well, and free.

I tucked back into my mother's room where they were already beginning to place her into a wheelchair so she could be discharged. I smiled as I followed the nurse out of the room and down the hall until we were out of the hospital. Alessandro was waiting outside in a large truck. The moment he saw us, he stepped out of the car and helped the nurse get my mother into the truck.

Alessandro wanted to spend more time with our mother, so we agreed that she could stay with him for a while. There, he already hired the best nurses the city had to offer in order to keep her in the best shape as possible. He could do more for her with the money he had than I could, and I knew how badly she wanted to be with him... there was no place in my heart to disagree.

"Bye, Mama!" I exclaimed, leaning down and planting a kiss on her cheek.

She smiled at my kiss. "Bye, Reyna! Alessandro said he's hosting a dinner later on this week, so I'll see you later," she said. Later. There was that word again. "And hopefully I'll get to actually meet Saint this time, too."

I nodded my head, stepping back so I could close the door. The moment the door was shut, Alessandro started up the car. He gave me a curt nod just before backing up and pulling out of the parking lot.

Just as they left, Saint pulled up in his vehicle right in front of me. His arm was resting over the passenger seat while his other hand was occupied with the steering wheel. Sunglasses were perched on the bridge of his nose, and the sun was dancing off the whites of his teeth as he smirked at me.

I opened the passenger door and slid right into the seat. Saint's aroma quickly filled my nostrils as I reached over to put on my seatbelt.

"Good morning!" I chirped.

Saint didn't respond. He only took off out of the parking lot.

It had been a few days since I last saw him. His beard was starting to grow out to a light chisel. I found myself wanting to run my fingers around his jaw just so I could get a feel.

Clearing my throat, I took my phone out of my pocket and began to send a text to my mother. Adriano had given me a phone of my own to use. He mentioned that Saint wanted me to have it, and as long as I was able to change a few things so the government couldn't monitor my every move, I would no longer have to change out for a burner phone. I never really had an actual smartphone-call me old fashioned, but I never really had a need for it. Now, there were so many people in my life I needed to communicate with-it was essential.

"Thank you for the phone," I said, raising it up so he could see it.

He glanced at the phone and then at me. "Qualsiasi cosa per te, Angel."

"Anything for you?" I translated with a raised brow. "I've been learning some of the Italian language and culture. Was I correct?"

He smirked. "Corretto."

I only leaned back in my seat as we rode back to Saint's place in silence. However, it was the kind of silence anyone wanted to get lost in. The one that grabbed you, cherished you, locked away your thoughts, and encouraged you enjoy the present. I found myself wanted to get lost in it forever, hoping that I would never forget moments as they exist.

I turned to look at Saint. Like I've done many times before, I really looked at him. Through his hard exterior that liked to come off as uncaring and selfless, I could feel his need to be warm and gentle with someone. It was clawing to come out and I could see it in his eyes every time I was near.

Every moment that I had ever seen him so open and vulnerable played out in my mind like my favorite movie. It almost made me smile to think about the times when I felt like I was talking to him-the real him. Saint was a complex man, so hard to understand, yet so easy once you know him.

I've always been the one to challenge myself with the most complex games, and I never stopped until I was claiming victory. To me, he was my favorite game and I wasn't going down without a win.

"You're staring. Stop," he said. His car began to slow down as we pulled into the very long drive through.

"No," I responded.

He turned to me with an evil glint in his eye, turning off the car and allowing us to sit there in utter silence as the roar of the engine came to an ending.

"What's going to happen now?" I asked.

He turned to me with his brows scrunched together. It was kind of cute.

"You told me before that you hadn't decided what you wanted to do with me. Now, it seems like time is up because our deal is over. So, what's going to happen to me now that Viktor is dead and my mother is found, and alive, and safe?" I questioned.

He bit down on his bottom lip and I couldn't stop myself from following the movement with my eyes. Saint's face was almost blank and empty of any emotion beside the darkened look in his eye.

"What do you want to do?" he asked me.

I never really gave that much thought. I wondered if I would enjoy getting my mom once she got well and going back to our beach house, but did that mean I would never see Saint again? Would we be safe?

For a moment, I fantasized about my life here-just me and Saint. Truthfully, I didn't know if there was a me and Saint. We had sex a few times, but I wasn't sure if it meant to him what it meant to me.

"What do you want me to do?" I dared.

He stayed silent, probably thinking the same thoughts as me. We knew that there were the right words to say, but we were too frightened to ever take the risk of saying them.

"I'll think about it," he muttered.

Saint opened his car door and stepped out. It was like cold water had been poured down my back as I watched him walk around the car and open the door for me. My glare followed him as he retreated into the house, ruining what could have been a beautiful moment.

I stepped out of the car and shut the door behind me. As I stood there, I got a text from my mother who began to go on and on about Natalia-she liked her.

A smile came across my face as I read her message and began to follow Saint's path into the house where I shut the front door behind me. The cool air conditioning hit me hard along with the harsh smell of bleach.

I glanced up from my phone to see the couches were gone.

"What-" I began to wonder aloud until I saw a medium-sized gift box sprinkled with silver glitter with a beautiful red bow sitting right on top. Under the bow was a note with my name written on it.

I crept toward the box and softly pulled the note from underneath the bow.

"Little Red.

If you want your identity to stay hidden, I'd suggest you come out to dinner with me tonight."

I giggled. I actually giggled. There was a sense of deja vu from the first moment him and I had ever made contact with eachother.

Setting the note down, I looked inside the box to discover a silky black dress with a high slit for the leg and a low slit for the cleavage of my breast. It was beautiful. With the dress, there was a pair of heels gold and black Saint Laurent that must've cost a fortune. At the bottom of the gift box was a game-my favorite game-chess.

I placed everything back inside of the gift box and headed toward my room. When I got there, I noticed my room had been cleaned. The violin was picked up from the floor and neatly placed beside my bed. My bedding had been neatly made, unlike anything I could ever replicate. The curtains were pulled back, allowing the richness of the sun's rays to shine in the room. It even smelled of a clean linen fragrance.

It had been almost a full week that I was last in my room. I could only remember how depression was creeping into my soul, ready to trap me for forever. That was until Saint got a call that completely changed my life, giving me the second chance to be there for my mother.

I placed the gift box down onto my bed and removed everything from it again.

There was a pep in my step as I headed toward the shower, ready to enjoy a night with Saint.