Page 81 of Disarming Caine

“Like Tuesday night at her hotel.” And with the thieves in Napoli who nearly killed her.

Janelle put a hand to her head, rubbing it slowly, then looked me square in the eyes. “Don’t let her out of your sight. However you do it—whether it’s guilt, humor, use her sister or Lucy, keep her in fucking bed all day—I don’t care. Let me do my job and figure out who’s behind this.”

I nodded, unsure how I’d keep Samantha in the apartment for even a day, let alone for how long it would take the police to solve this case. “I’m only in town until Saturday.”

“Sam, I’m leaving!” Janelle hollered down the hall, then turned back to me. “Then I guess I have six days, don’t I?”

Samantha and Lucy appeared in the hallway.

“My shift starts in an hour. I need to get home and clean up before I go in.”

Janelle and I headed for the door, and the other two joined us.

“Thanks, Officer Williams,” said Lucy, tucked tight against Samantha.

“I’m not in a uniform. Call me Janelle.” She leaned down to Lucy’s height, a gentle smile on her face. “I promise I’ll find out who was behind this.”

“Thanks.”

“I’ll check in on your friend at the hospital and let you know how he’s doing.” Janelle straightened, her jaw flexing as she put a hand on Samantha’s shoulder. “And don’t do anything stupid.”

Chapter 27

Samantha

Thenextday,Antonioshifted his SUV into park, across the street from the Ferraro’s office. “This will only take a moment.”

We’d argued that morning and barely spoke on the drive. He’d pressed his luck about me taking the rest of the week off. Maybe people could get away with that when they worked for their father, but not when their boss was counting on them. Let alone when he was their ex-husband.

Hiding inside the condo like a scared little bird was ridiculous. But I’d agreed to one day—for Lucy’s sake—and rescheduled my appointments.

Once I undid my seatbelt, he rested a hand on my arm, stopping me before I grabbed the door handle.

“Bella, please.” He dipped his head, forehead wrinkling.

A gray car moved slowly past us, and my gaze followed it. Claude, today’s security guy, parked two spaces ahead. Someone else had watched the building overnight, then this guy tailed us to the office. Like we were in imminent danger.

Antonio thought he was doing this for me, but he didn’t get it. All he was doing was undermining me. Telling me he didn’t think I was strong or competent. Like he knew better.

He was such a fuckingmansometimes.

I blew out a long breath, scanning his face. The little crinkle at the bridge of his nose. The big, brown puppy dog eyes.

But he’d also taken Lucy in without my asking, drawn me a candlelit bath, and held me until I fell asleep. Made a wonderful breakfast. Was it really that bad he was worried? Christ, I refused to let Lucy come with us, and we were only picking up a single painting for him to work on while I was at the office tomorrow.

The cold began seeping through my pants. “We need to hurry up. Lucy’ll worry if we take too long.”

His face fell—he was hoping to make up from the fight—but he nodded. “Let me get your door.”

My phone buzzed in my bag, and I pulled it out. I flashed Janelle’s name to him before answering, and he turned the car back on to keep it warm, motioning for me to stay.

She cut me off before I could finish saying hello. “Sam, it’s Janelle. How’re you doing?”

“As well as can be expected when you’re under house arrest.” I kept my eyes on Antonio as he crossed the street to his office. Why couldn’t I just let him care? Let him worry about me? Through the big front windows, I could see Sofia at her giant desk, talking with Frank and Dom. “Antonio and I stepped out for a moment to pick up some supplies and—”

“Fuck.” At her word, the prickle crawled up my neck. “Head to the station or to his place, whichever’s closer.”

“Why?”