Page 34 of The Empress

Mom’s quiet again for a few seconds before she says, “I’ll talk to Giada and Liliana. Maybe they’ll help us.”

“Just don’t do anything dangerous.”

For the next few hours, we keep having the same conversation, over and over, but never manage to come up with a solution.

At some point, I drift off to sleep, and when I jerk awake, the sun is starting to rise.

“Mom?” My voice is hoarse, and I clear my throat. “Are you still there?”

“Yes, sweetheart.”

“Did you sleep at all?” I ask as I sit up.

“No.”

Oh, Mom.

“I wish I could hug you right now,” I whimper as my grim reality grips my heart in a strangling hold.

“I wish that too.”

She sounds exhausted.

“Try to get some sleep. We can’t stay on this call forever.”

“I’ll try to nap for two hours. Keep your phone charged and stay near it. I’ll call the second I wake up.”

“Okay.”

“I love you, Haven.” Her voice grows thick with tears. “You’re all that matters to me.”

“I love you, too, Mommy.”

I end the call quickly, otherwise I’ll beg her to stay on the line with me.

Letting out a sigh, I stand up. Hoping Leo is still asleep, I decide to take a shower.

Not knowing what today will hold for me, I take out a pair of jeans, a T-shirt, and a sweater from my luggage. I’ll wear my sneakers again, that way I’ll be dressed as comfortable as possible.

God, I hope Leo comes to his senses and lets me go.

Chapter 8

LEO

When it’s almost lunch time and it’s clear Haven’s going to hide in her bedroom as much as possible, I head up the stairs.

Knocking on the door, I say, “Come eat something.”

It takes a few seconds before she opens.

My eyes drift over her T-shirt and the words ‘Not friendly. Do not touch.’ printed in bold letters on the gray fabric.

Finding it funny, I let out a chuckle, which has Haven darting past me. When she walks down the hallway, I get a spectacular view of how fucking tight the light blue jeans she’s wearing sit on her.

Cazzo.

My teeth tug at my bottom lip as I shamelessly stare at her sexy ass all the way to the kitchen.