Page 39 of Caruso

“Then we find him and kill him; she need never find out.”

Giorgio grins like the maniac he is, and I shake my head slowly.

“No. We owe it to Taylor to be honest with her. If this is going to work, we must start as we mean to go on. There will be no secrets; they destroy, and you know it. Taylor deserves the same rules if she’s becoming one of us.”

Tommaso groans and leans back in his seat, and Giorgio nods, a thoughtful gleam in his eye.

“Tommaso can discover the guy’s whereabouts and what happened to him. If he’s dead, we will soon know about it, and if he’s alive, well, we’ll pay him a visit.”

“It’s settled then.”

They nod, and as we refill our glasses, it’s as if life has taken on a new meaning. We have Taylor now—she’s one of us, and it will be up to me to make certain she stays.

Thirty minutes before landing, I head to the bedroom to rouse Sleeping Beauty, and when I enter the room, I’msurprised to find her sitting straight-backed on the edge of the perfectly made bed.

“Did you even sleep?” I ask as I lean against the wall, and she nods.

“I got an hour. Thank you for the opportunity.”

“What in sleeping, or murdering your stepfather?”

“Both.”

She grins, and my heart jerks inside me because she is so beautiful it almost hurts to look at her.

“How do you feel about what happened?”

“Happy.” She shrugs. “He deserved a bitter, brutal ending because that is exactly how he lived his life.”

“So, now you are free.”

I dance with the devil, testing her response, and she fixes me with a slight shrug. “Am I?”

“Do you want to be?”

“Not right now, but maybe one day, sure, doesn’t everybody want freedom?”

“What is freedom to you?”

Her smile darts straight to my heart, and I check my reaction. I will not become a pussy around this woman, so now is the perfect time to lay down the rules.

“To be free of him. Not to dread the bedroom door opening and wondering if I’ll survive the night. Food available to eat without worrying when my next meal will be. To have a purpose, to be happy and to be safe. That is freedom to me.”

“Not money?” I raise my eyes, and she shakes her head.

“Money can be the chains that bind you. What is freeabout that? Animals exist without worrying about money as long as they have the ability to eat and drink. Have somewhere to call home and to go about their business without the threat of harm. That is freedom, Matteo, and sure money helps with that, but can you honestly say your money has given you freedom?”

“Yes.” I shrug off her words, and yet they hit home. I have never been free, always peering over my shoulder for the next bullet to hit. I am always one step ahead of my enemies; it’s kill or be killed. That isn’t freedom, but I’m not going to admit that to her.

“We’re about to land. Follow me.”

I don’t hang around, no matter how I physically ache to pull her into my arms and hold her there. Keeping her safe—with me—mine.

She follows me to the main cabin, and as she takes her seat, my brother’s eyes bore into her, their interest hidden by a mask of indifference.

Taylor says nothing and merely stares out of the window, only her foot tapping on the floor revealing how uncomfortable she is.

“You’re nervous.” Tommaso snaps, causing us all to stare at him in surprise.