“Thank you,” I told the nurse, and returned to the private hospital room.

Paige lay with one arm behind her head, the bed inclined all the way up. She stared at the television screen, but whether she really watched it or not I couldn’t tell.

“I heard the news,” I announced.

She sat forward. “About what?”

“That they’ll release you at six tonight.”

“Yeah. It sucks. I’ll be here all day long.”

“It’s standard protocol. At least says the nurse I just talked to.”

“But I have to work tomorrow. I need to go home and make sure I’m ready.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll call Victor and get you the day off.”

“No,” she resolutely replied.

“You’re in the hospital. It’s a viable excuse.”

“I just started this job. I can’t take a day off. And it doesn’t matter that I’m here. I’m not sick anyway. Can you drive me home tonight? Please, Angelo.”

Really. How could I say no?

“I don’t want you to exert yourself.”

“I’ll be okay.”

“Okay. Fine. You should probably rest once you get back to the city. We might not get home till close to nine.”

Her lips pursed. “That’s not that late. As long as I’m home tonight.”

I had to admire her determination.

Still, the idea of taking her back to the city left a bad taste in my mouth. Once back, everything would continue on as planned.

Namely, the arranged marriage.

I held my hands steady so they wouldn’t clench into fists. Paige had already been through enough. To be married off to a man she didn’t even know on top of it all was awful.

There had to be something that could be done.

Yet I couldn’t think of anything.

The mere existence of the arranged marriage meant that it was important. It had some reason for being. Moretti hadn’t just seen the Bianchi twins one day long ago, found them to be his type, and decided he wanted one. Usually deals like this existed to help ensure peace between at least two parties.

“I’m worried about you,” I told her.

“I’ll be fine. Really. And I’ll rest once I get home, I promise.”

It wasn’t the asthma attack that had me concerned.

“There seems to be no convincing you, so fine.”

She nodded, the sadness in the gesture not lost.

When six o’clock rolled around Paige booked it from the hospital, barely looking over her shoulder to make sure I followed.

We climbed into my BMW, my feet dragging the entire way.

I didn’t know what came next, but I was fearful it wouldn’t be good. What if I dropped Paige off at her apartment and never saw her again?

Soon she would be married to another man, and I might be (thanks to my family) barred from even contacting her.

My teeth ground together and I hit the gas pedal a little too much, clunking over a speed bump as we left the hospital’s parking lot.

I couldn’t let such a thing happen.

Packing up at the house took close to no time. I waited for Paige in the main living room, giving her some space before our drive back together.

She entered the doorway, the duffel bag swinging from her hand, her eyes steely and dark in a new way. Her gaze floated past me and over to the fireplace’s mantel.

I bolted up from my seat. It had been stupid to wait for her in the living room, so close to the photo that caused her so much pain.

“You ready?” I asked, rushing forward and extending my arm to her.

She walked past me like I hadn’t spoken, her eyes still fixated on the mantel.

“Paige, you don’t have to look at that.”

“No,” she softly said, her back to me. “It’s fine.”

She stopped in front of the photo and peered up at it. I shoved my hands into my pockets and counted the silent seconds as they crept by.

Slowly, she reached a finger up to graze it across the photo. “This man.”

I gingerly made my way across the room to join her. “Which one?”

“This one.” She pointed at the youngest person in the photo. “He was there the day my parents died. He was one of the men.” Her throat bobbed up and down as she swallowed. “Not one of the ones with guns,” she added in a low voice. “But he was there.”

My stomach flipped. “What? Are you sure?”

She stared me down with such intensity I couldn’t do anything but trust her. “Yes.”

“Wow,” I breathed. “You saw their faces?”

Her eyelashes fluttered and she turned away. Realizing I might be taking things too far with the questioning, I put a hand on her shoulder. “I’m sorry. I should just be quiet.”

“It’s fine. You don’t have to worry about saying the wrong thing. Do you… do you know who that man is?”

“I...”

There was no use lying. Paige didn’t deserve that. “Yes, I do know who he is.”

I half expected her to fly into a rage, to demand I fess up and reveal the man’s identity. Instead she just gazed at me with an unreadable look on her face.

“He’s a friend of the family,” I said.

That part was true.

Well… For the most part.

All in all, it was actually more complicated than that, but I couldn’t find the nerve to go on. Not with Paige looking up with those doe-like eyes.

“They never found out who killed my parents or why. Now I’m guessing it has something to do with their involvement with the mafia...” Her eyes fell to the floor. “Maybe. I don’t know.”

I tried not to sigh too heavily. “I’ll look into it. I’ll ask around, ask my parents.”

Paige’s eyes lifted back up to mine, open and honest. “You really don’t know, do you? Why they were killed?”

“No. I swear I don’t.”

At least I could be completely honest about that.

She nodded. “Okay.”

“Are you ready to go?”

Her shoulders lifted and fell, with a heavy sigh. “Yeah. I need to get back. I hate to leave here though. Even with what happened this morning it’s one of the best places I’ve been in a long time.”

“I hate to go too.” I gazed down at her. She lifted her chin up to meet my eyes. “This weekend didn’t go exactly as I planned.”

Paige smirked. “Yeah, well, at least we’re still alive and kicking, right?”

I ran the side of my hand down her arm. She shivered when our skin touched below her sleeve.

“It’s not fair,” she softly said.

I didn’t have to ask what she was talking about. Her parents. Her arranged marriage. None of it was fair.

There didn’t seem to be anything to say. All I wanted was to keep her there with me, hole up for at least a few more days. Maybe even till Moretti came banging down the down to whisk her away.

Was it the dire and crazy circumstances that had me feeling this way? Or was it just Paige herself? Was she really that alien when compared to all the other women I’d been with?

Yes. She was different. Both in ways easily pointed out and in ways not. She was sweet. Gentle. Open hearted. And she was so much more. Sleeping next to her the last two nights had been beyond easy. It just felt right. It scared me a bit. But, then again, so did the thought of losing her.

There was nothing to say that would change anything, so I kissed her. She shifted under my touch, her warmth wafting up and embracing me. Our lips meshed together, the sweetness turning into hot passion.

All of a sudden, she broke away. “We have to get back.”

I nodded but didn’t move. “Yes.”

Licking the lips I’d just tasted, she pulled out her phone and aimed it at the framed photo.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

“I want to get a picture of this.”

“Are you sure? Doesn’t it upset you?”

“No,” she mused. “I guess that’s weird, but I think it’s because she looks so happy.”

I peered at the small figure that had been Paige’s mother, her grin stretching ear to ear. It was easy to see where the twins got their beauty from.

“I don’t have any photos where she’s smiling like this,” she explained. “I want to keep it so I can remember her this way.”

My throat burned. I barely cracked out an answer. “That’s nice.”

Finished taking the picture, she put the phone away. “I’m ready.”

I followed her out the door, killing most of the lights but making sure to leave the front porch on and set the alarm system.

Maybe I needed to just tell her about what I knew.

No. It won’t do any good.

I needed to wait till I had more information, till I had things figured out. Paige didn’t need any more stress. She needed protection.

And somehow, I quietly nominated myself keep her safe.