Serena #2
“They came there with a purpose. It wasn’t to rob you—or if it was, it was an afterthought. I have reason to believe they came to hurt you and Harper.” He said it softly, but it hit like a punch to the gut.
Someone wanted to hurt me and my daughter? As if it wasn’t violating enough to have someone tear apart my studio—the place I’d built not only to put food on the table but to let go and create.
Would I be able to live there and feel safe again? Or work there?
No, we’d have to move. I’d have to find somewhere else, because I knew I’d never be able to go back there and not relive the terror of that night.
“Hey, come back to me.” Enzo’s voice was closer. I blinked, realizing I’d been spiraling, hearing and seeing nothing, my heart racing. “That’s it. Come back to me, ragazza carina.”
A thumb swept over my cheek, and my face was angled up. Concern laced Enzo’s face. For a moment, I held entirely still; my heart slowed as I let the warmth of his proximity and the soothing strokes of his thumb lull me to calm.
“It’s a lot, I know,” he said.
“We can’t go back there,” I whispered. Tears burned the back of my eyes, but I held it together. Now wasn’t the time to cry; that was for later, when I showered. Right then, I needed a plan.
“No. You’ll stay here.” There was a finality to his tone that rubbed me the wrong way.
“Or we can get a hotel room.” I snapped back.
“No.”
“We can’t stay here.” I tried again.
“Said who?” He dropped his hands, and I wanted to stomp my foot and tell him to step back.
“Me. We can’t. It’s—” I tried to think of a reason why we couldn’t stay here. I snapped my fingers. “It’s too far from Harper’s school.”
“We’ll leave earlier, and I’ll drive her. Try again.”
“This is the safest place you can be. Someone wanted to hurt you, and I don’t know why yet. Until I do, this is where you and Harper will stay. No one will get to you here.”
I felt my resolve disappear because he was right. I was aware of what he did. The men prowling outside the window hadn’t escaped me. I didn’t need to see weapons to know they carried them.
This was the safest place for me, and more importantly, for Harper. I had no idea why I was targeted, if it was a fluke or if there was something more sinister going on, and I wouldn’t be taking a chance with Harper’s life.
If someone wanted to get to either of us, they’d have to get through the rows of men guarding us first, and that was a level of safety I could never provide my own.
Even with all the safety and assurance and the knowledge that we really had nowhere else to go, the decision didn’t sit well with me.
Allowing Lorenzo ‘Enzo’ Lombardi, the guy I had a pathetically massive crush on, to step in and help grated against every independent bone in my body.
Harper needs to be safe.
I’d do anything to keep my little girl safe and happy. Enzo must’ve realized he won and smiled once more.
He really needed to stop doing that. It was enough that I had a massive crush on him, and we had limited interaction while it developed. Being in close proximity to him, living with him like this, was only going to make that crush bigger. Make me fall harder than I already was.
I was going to be around him all the time, maybe laughing with him, leaning on him like I had just been. What if I heard him laugh more?
Don’t panic. There might be something he does that gives me the ick and then POOF! No more crush.
I refocused on Enzo, pushing my panicking thoughts to the side.
“It’s a Saturday, cuore mio. Take the day to relax. Think of everything you need, and let me know. I had some of the guys get clothes and toys from your place. It’s packed in luggage in the living room,” he said, and my heart fluttered in my chest.
I didn’t know how to take this level of kindness. Or thoughtfulness. It didn’t occur to me that the only clothes I had were the ones I was wearing.
“Is there a place I can keep my fabrics and mannequins?” I asked as I went to tear off a piece of paper from the notepad stuck to the fridge.
“Yes. I’ll show you where to keep your work tomorrow. For now, take the day to decompress.” He stood, and I followed him. He went down a long hallway and turned into a dark room.
It took a moment for my eyes to adjust to the darkness and realize what kind of room he had taken me to.
“You have a movie theater in your house?” I asked, shocked. The room was big, with four two-seat recliners on two levels of steps. There was a popcorn machine in the corner. Big blankets were on the table on the far side of the room.
“Yeah,” he said nonchalantly as he grabbed a remote and started pressing buttons. The lights dimmed even lower; the screen lit up. “It’s sunny out, but it’s supposed to rain in the next hour or so. While Donovan and Angelo keep Harper occupied, might I suggest you relax and watch a movie?”
“They’re going to occupy Harper how?” I asked because, while they seemed like nice kids from the very little I knew of them, Harper was a lot for a four-year-old to handle.
If they weren’t careful, she’d have them hopping on one foot, saying a superhero catchphrase, while rubbing their stomachs and tapping their heads.
“They have games and whatnot. They know where to find you if they need help, but I’m sure between the two of them, they can handle it.” Despite Enzo’s assurance, I couldn’t help but worry.
I worried my lip because this all felt too good to be true. I didn’t need a white knight, but I couldn't deny the weight that eased off my shoulders at having time to sort through the mess that awaited me.
“Maybe I should check on them,” I said, still unsure if leaving her was the right move.
“Pick out a movie first.” Enzo handed me a tablet with different icons for the room clearly identified. “Then decide what you want to do. If you need time by yourself to work through last night, take it. If you want to cuddle up with your girl, do it.”
He stepped closer until our toes were almost touching. “Do whatever you need to do. Tomorrow we handle everything else.”
He was so close. I wanted to lean into him. Press my forehead to his chest, wrap my arms around him, and just be. What would it be like to have him as mine? To have his quiet, supportive strength all the time?
A soft, hesitant touch of a finger ran down my arm, catching on the tip of my pinkie. I closed my eyes, a small shiver running through me.
“I have to go,” Enzo whispered. “I’ll be back to show you the rest of the house.” There was a glint in his eye that I didn’t know him well enough to read. “And convince you to stay, if I still need to.”
With a lingering look, he left.
With a deep breath, I tried to distract myself by finding a movie.
The Godfather, for research purposes, or something more kid-friendly?
“Mommy, come!” Harper yelled as she launched herself into the room. She grabbed my arm and pulled me out of the room. She chattered so fast that I couldn’t keep up as she dragged me down to the other side of the house.
“Ta-da,” she sang as she threw her hands out and wiggled her fingers. In the biggest living room I’d ever been in was a pillow fort. Big chairs held blankets; there were fairy lights, and a bed of pillows.
There were more pillows on the floor than I owned.
“Wow.” I took another step into the room.
Harper ran and Superman-ed onto the pillows. Rolling onto her back, she put her hands behind her head, crossed her legs, and sighed, “This is the life.”
Twin chuckles sounded behind me. I spun to find two guys carrying more pillows, bags of chips and chocolate, and more lights.
“There is a movie theater down the hall,” I said.
“Nothing beats a pillow fort,” one of them, Donovan, I think, said.