“Afraid I’ll forget how to play?”
“You know you need your violins.”
He squeezes my leg. “And you are one of the only people who truly understand why.”
He’s right. I do. Because it’s not just about his craft. It’s about his sanity. Every moment he’s ever been stressed, he reaches for his violin.
“Maybe it’s for me, too. When you play, I’m where I belong.”
“With me, Aria. You belong with me.”
“I know,” I say, but even as I do, I am remembering the gun in Sofia’s hand. I’m remembering her declaration about me being the way to get to Kace. “They wanted to take me to get to you. They said you’d give them what they want in exchange for me.”
His hand settles on my knee. “And they failed. They won’t get that close to you again.”
The gun isn’t my only memory. Gio saying, “I think he might just love you as well,” now feels like the bullet in that gun. “Was Gio involved?”
His lips thin. “None of us can figure your brother out.”
“We convinced him that you love me. We convinced him you’d do anything for me. And in turn, he told me there weren’t stairs by the bathroom.” My voice lifts. “He convinced me to drink the drink.”
“You think he set us up,” Kace assumes.
I can almost feel a blade cutting my heart, which is why all I can manage to say is, “I don’t want to even speak what I think about Gio right now out loud.”
“There she is,” Savage says appearing behind me, and leaving over the seat, as he adds, “our little turtle dove. How do you feel?”
I twist around to place my back to the wall, and both men in my sights. “Like I’m in an alternate universe where you’re a surgeon and I was punched in the heart by my brother, not literally, of course. And I need to pee.”
Kace’s lips quirk and Savage gives a chuckle. “Sounds like you’re pretty damn peachy to me. I checked your vitals an hour ago. You’re all good. Pee and eat. I can look you over again afterward.” He starts to leave.
“Wait,” I say, and he leans back on the seat as I ask, “Do I need more treatment?”
“Nah. You had two juicy doses of reversal drugs by IV and you’ve been breathing fine for hours.”
“What did they give me?”
“Most likely diazepam,” Savage says. “It’s easy to get and a common favorite of assholes of this variety.”
I blink. “Most likely? We don’t know for sure? Those words together are not comforting.”
“You’re good,” he says. “I hit you with two types of reversal agents and you responded well. We drew blood before we took off. Since that was the middle of the night, we’ll get the results shortly after we land. Eat. You’ll feel better. We have a fridge full in the back.” He winks and disappears.
I focus on Kace. “How do I know I won’t have long term side effects?”
“Savage assures me you’re fine, but he still arranged to have Kayden’s staff doctor look you over in Italy.”
“What if I’m pregnant?” The question pops into my head and out of my mouth before I can stop it.
Kace goes still, his eyes sharp on my face. “Aria, baby,” he says slowly. “Is there something you need to tell me?”
“No.” I grab his arm for emphasis. “No,” I repeat. “But I’m due to start my period any day and what if I don’t? We had sex way before we should have once I started on birth control pills. What if I am and the drugs caused damage to the baby?”
He covers my hands with his. “You’re going down a rabbit hole that leads no place good. You haven’t even missed your period.”
“I should take a test. I know it’s illogical to worry about this right now, but for some reason I am, and I don’t do things randomly. I mean, if I were pregnant and then something happened, I just couldn’t take it. Which is probably why I can’t be a mother. I’d be paranoid and worried all the time.”
“Everyone needs a mother who worries. You’d be a wonderful mother.”
“Oh God,” I murmur, touching his face. “I didn’t mean to take you down memory lane.”
“You didn’t. Not at all. This isn’t about memory lane. I’m simply speaking the truth. And we’ll take a test if you’re worried, but I need you to try to relax.”
“We?” I ask.
“We, baby. We’re in this together. You know that.”
“Yes, well, my father sure made sure of that. He really left a mark on you, hasn’t he?”
“In the best of ways. Go to the bathroom. I’ll grab you some food.” He stands up and offers me his hand.
The minute I press my palm to his, the chill I didn’t even realize I‘d felt until this moment fades—the fear of the unknown, a return to my home country, a new future, the familiar left behind, all dust in the dark night. The uncertainty of when, where, why, and who is no longer a question. Every answer to every question in my life is me with this man.
He pulls me to my feet, and I sway, slightly unsteady. As if he’s trying to prove that yes, he is the answer to every question in my life, Kace reacts instantly. He wraps his arm around my waist and fits me snugly to his body. “You okay?”
He is a perfect contradiction. A man who is both tender and caring, demanding and fierce, damaged but never broken, and most of all, my warrior in a time of need.
“Now I am,” I say softly. “Now, I absolutely am.”
***
The airplane bathroom is a decent size and with my toiletry bag, I wash up, re-do my make-up, and brush my teeth. Somehow I’m lucky enough to find my birth control pills in the bag. Obviously, Blake’s wife knew they were important. I open them and have one hormone pill left. In other words, I should start my period in a few days. I have no idea why pregnancy is on my mind, but then unprotected sex, which is essentially what Kace and I had, has a way of doing that to do a girl. I don’t know what time it is, but it has to be close to morning back home, so I pop it in the back of my mouth and swallow it.
Done. Pill taken.
I’m not pregnant. End of story.
Forcing that silly idea from my head, I quickly change into leggings, a long-sleeved tee, and sneakers. Unbidden, just as I’m about to exit the bathroom, I once again flash back to that hallway in the bar. I squeeze my eyes shut and I see what I didn’t during the attack. Sofia was holding the gun on Gio, her lovely face transformed into ugly anger. She wasn’t going to let me go even if she had to shoot Gio. I don’t know if Gio backed out of the plan they had set or what, but he meant to save me and almost died for his efforts.
Almost.
Where is he now?
I open the bathroom door and rush down the aisle to find Kace, Adrian, and Savage sitting in a lounge area. “Where is Gio?”
Kace stands, his powerful body crowding mine, his hands on my waist as he stares down at me. “Aria—”