Page 91 of The Pretender

He walks in our direction, glancing around. “What are you doing here? How did you…? I have to go to the security office.”

“We’ll handle that,” Nonna says, dragging a grinning Brogan away.

Balt and I stand staring at each other for a few seconds until he says, “How did you know to come here?”

“Nonna figured it out. She saw footprints in the snow and did some math based on a previous conversation you had with her.”

He blanches, nodding slowly. “I’m so sorry, Deo. This is not at all how I thought things would go when we made our plan.”

“No.” I wrap my arms around myself. “Nonna said you can’t go back. They’ll kill you.”

Balt nods solemnly. “A possibility, but they’ll hurt my sister if I don’t show up.”

“Nonna says she can help. I guess it’s up to you if you want her to.”

“You’re not disgusted by me?”

“I’m confused, Balt. Less than an hour ago I found out things about you I couldn’t have imagined, and then you were just gone. Before I could process that, Nonna dropped a bomb on us about our family, and now I’m here. I’m confused, but I don’t want anything bad to happen to you. I know that for sure.”

He takes a step toward me, but I flinch, and he sighs. “I don’t know the right thing to do. I want to stay here with you and prove that I’m worthy, but I would never forgive myself if anything happened to my sister or to you and your family because of me.”

“Can you trust my nonna? I think she knows what she’s talking about.”

Balt looks past me at my waiting family, then back at me. “Do you think you could forgive me?”

Searching his eyes, I replay the last several weeks with him, thinking about what a wonderful person he is. That wasn’t fake. I remember all the intimate and sexy moments and how he listens to me. That wasn’t just pretending. I recall all the work he put in to help my family business thrive. That wasn’t fake either. He cares about me and my family. He wasn’t leaving because he doesn’t care. Just the opposite.

“Forgive you for protecting me?” I step closer, pressing my forehead against his chest. “We’ll figure this out. I think we’re worth it.”

Balt wraps his arms around me and I return the hug. It feels amazing to be in his arms when I thought I’d never see him again.

Nonna appears next to him, tapping his arm. “Come on, you. Let’s go save your life.”

TWENTY-SEVEN

balthazar

Crammedinto the back seat of Brogan’s truck, I’m still a little bit in shock, I think. Not only did I not expect to see Deo again, I definitely didn’t think he and his grandmother would show up right before I boarded a plane.

Deo is next to me, his head bowed slightly and his hands folded in his lap. I want to hold him and tell him how sorry I am that I kept this from him, and how the only thing I want is to stay here with him, but the words sound shallow in my mind.

I have one more secret, and I figure now is as good a time as any to reveal it.

“Um, Deo?”

He glances over at me. “Yeah?”

“My name isn’t actually Balthazar Cassiano. I created that identity to hide from my boss.”

He blinks several times. “What?”

“Balthazar is my great-grandfather’s first name, Americanized. He was Baldassare. Cassiano is my grandmother’s maiden name.”

“Uh-huh. So what is your name?”

“Mike Franco.”

His brow crinkles as he stares at me. “Mike Franco? Yeah, no. That is so bland.”