I finally have the truth.

It’s what I’ve wanted this whole time. To know everything. Then, I would be on an equal playing field. But, now that I know everything, I’m afraid it was a mistake. I’m more terrified than I ever was before.

Arlo was terrified to tell me the truth. He was afraid it would break me. It would make me stop fighting. Or that he was effectively signing my death sentence by telling me all of the family secrets.

His fear made my fear worse.

But it’s easy to forget about all of that when I’m wrapped in his sexy arms, in his bed, and I haven’t dealt with any real pain in weeks. Both of the Carini brothers have done everything to take care of me these last few weeks. And my life has become pleasant, if not enjoyable. I’ve had plenty of food, plenty of company, and plenty of sex.

Enrico hasn’t returned, and I’ve been driven into a false sense of security. But last night changed all of that. I fucked them separately and got all of my questions answered. I can’t go back to just fucking them both. They won’t allow it. They will want me to choose one of them. And, if I don’t, what will happen?

I don’t know. But, whatever happens, going forward, a change is coming. And I’m afraid that change is never good.

I sit up in bed and feel my body ache from being fucked all night. It’s a good kind of soreness but one I’d rather sleep off while curled in Arlo’s arms for the foreseeable future. If I’m asleep, I don’t have to make decisions. Nothing has to change.

But I can’t face Arlo’s questions when he wakes up. So, I force myself to leave his arms and his bed. I get up and go to his closet to find a pair of pants and a T-shirt that smells the least like him that I can. His closet is a perfectly organized array of dark shirts and pants. There isn’t a single color outside of the gray or black family.

I grab a T-shirt and one of only two pairs of sweatpants and put them on before sneaking back out into his bedroom. I look back at him peacefully sleeping in the bed before turning my attention one last time to the painting of me. It’s strange—seeing such a beautiful painting of myself. I look strong, powerful, albeit a little bit sad. It’s how he sees me. I want to be that strong, powerful woman he painted. Maybe that woman has a chance to survive.

I walk out of his bedroom and stop one more time to look at all of his striking paintings that show so many feelings. I would have never thought of him as a painter. Just like I would have never imagined Matteo as a doctor before he stitched up Arlo and took care of me. But, now that I know this is who they are, I want to know more about them. Who are they really, and what have they been hiding about themselves from me and the rest of the world?

Instead of staying around to find answers, I leave Arlo’s safe haven and go back into the real world. Or, at least, the shitty world that I currently exist in. My stomach growls immediately, and I know the answer to where my first stop will be. I don’t have to worry about running into Matteo. Both brothers are night owls and rarely up before noon. The only time I’ve seen either of them up early is when their father is around.

I head to the kitchen where I scramble some eggs and make toast before taking my plate of food to the library. I haven’t spent nearly enough time there, and I want to get a few books to take with me while I hide out in my room for a while until I figure out my next plan. I enter the room and almost drop my plate when I see Gia sitting in the corner of the room.

She glances over at me when I enter, but she doesn’t really look at me. She looks through me.

I haven’t seen her since the first day I came here. She’s kept her distance, and I’ve spent most of my time in one of her brother’s beds.

I don’t know what to do. Should I go talk to her? Should I ignore that she’s here? Turn and walk back out?

I choose to continue on with what I’m doing and ignore that she is here. If she wants to talk to me, she will. Otherwise, I should leave her alone. I don’t want to cause her any more pain than I already have.

I walk over to the mystery section of the library and pick up the first couple of books that look interesting. I take them over to the small chair in the corner to look through while I eat my breakfast. Reading a mystery might help me get some ideas of how to get out of the current mess I’m in or at least keep my mind occupied for a little while.

“You made a mistake,” Gia says.

I look up from the book I was staring at, and I wait for her to say more.

“You shouldn’t have gone after both of them.”

I frown. “I didn’t.”

She laughs. “Of course you did. Don’t think I didn’t watch you. I know everything that happened. I know you were fucking both of them, hoping that one of them would fall in love with you.”

I sigh. I don’t know whether to be nice or mean to her. “It worked. They both fell for me.”

She shakes her head and goes back to staring out the window. But, now that she started, I have to know why she thinks it was a mistake.

“Why was it a mistake?” I ask.

Gia sharply turns her head back to me. “You ruined my life! You know that? I shouldn’t help you. It’s because of you that I’m always locked up in this house. I hardly ever get to go anywhere, and if I do, it has to be with a full security team. I’m a prisoner in my own house. All because Arlo had to save you, and now, I’ve had to live my life, always worrying if Erick or Clive or any of their men are out to get me. Ready to steal me at any second.”

My heart breaks. She’s lived my life for the last seven years almost exactly like I did. The difference is that I ran while she has been hiding. I got kidnapped while she’s still safe—for now.

“I’m sorry,” I say, my voice genuinely sorry for her. I would never wish my predicament on anyone, and it seems that Gia is living the same nightmare that I was. “If I could go back in time and make a different decision, I would. But I can’t. At least you have men who want to protect you. They will do anything to keep you safe. At least your prison is beautiful and with family. At least you haven’t been stolen.”

I wish I knew how to help her, but there is really nothing I can do. And it’s clear she doesn’t think I’m worth saving.

I take my stack of books, and I get up, intending to leave her alone, when she says, “You made a mistake in trying to get them both to go after you. You should have chosen just one. Now, they are both in love with you. Feelings that neither of them has ever experienced before. You can’t have them both. They will fight each other to make you theirs and destroy everyone in the process.”

I suck in a breath, knowing that she’s right—at least, in part. I’m not sure if either brother really loves me or if I’ve just become a new plaything that they don’t want to share anymore. But, whatever their true feelings are, I know that the fight to claim me as theirs is about to get ugly. And I have no idea how to stay out of the crossfire.

“What do I do?”

Her eyes are blank stares. I see an emptiness there that I’ve felt many times before.

“Hide or run.”

I swallow. Neither of those options has worked for me before. If I hide in my room, I’ll eventually have to come out to eat, to survive, and when I do, all of my problems will still be there.

And, if I run…I glance down at the bracelet that Matteo threatened me with the first day I came here.

The story he told me about it was easy for me to believe then when the fear was fresh, but now, I’m not as afraid. I know that Matteo rarely tells me the truth—or at least, the whole truth. He likes to play games with my head. I look down at the thin bracelet that I’m sure holds a tracker, but what else is inside?

I glance up at Gia to ask, but she has turned her attention back to staring outside. I doubt she would know what my bracelet contains anyway. She doesn’t seem to care about anything anymore.

It comes down to if I believe if Matteo was telling me the whole truth or not. I know he lied when he told me the story about the brothers who saved the princess. And I’ve caught him in several fibs. But would he fib about something like this? And is it worth the risk?

I could die if I take it off.

I could die if I stay.

Two choices, just like Matteo always gives me. Either way, it’s my decision. Neither has great odds of me surviving. But one would end much faster than the other.

I drop the books and what’s left of my breakfast, and I head outside into the warm sun that I haven’t seen in days. The sun has just barely started coming up. The Carini brothers aren’t awake. Enrico is gone. And Gia won’t come after me. Now’s my chance. If I can get rid of the tracker, then I can actually escape. I know the direction of town. I can run. I can be free again.

I look down at the bracelet that I forgot was even on my wrist; it’s so lightweight. There is no way there is a bomb inside. Poison maybe, but I doubt poison touching my skin would actually kill me.

I find the fastener and click the latch, surprised that it opens with ease. I watch as the bracelet falls to the ground, and then I run.