Chapter 24: Chapter 24

I woke to the vibrations from a phone blaring silently beside my head. I shifted and cuddled into Stefano’s side, feeling his arm tighten around me. His chest rumbled with his chuckle, and a few seconds later, something squeezed my nose.

Annoyance made me swat his hand away as I squinted against the harsh morning light filtering into the room.

Stefano leaned down to place a kiss on my nose and murmured, “Good morning.”

Was it a good morning?

The events of the night before came flooding back into my mind, reminding me of my debauchery and how Jasmine had caught us. I hadn’t been able to meet her eyes as Stefano led me out of the mansion.

I groaned and buried my head in Stefano’s naked chest.

“Is it not a good morning?” he asked, amusement dripping through his voice.

“Don’t talk to me,” I murmured.

My mind was still groggy with sleep, yet Stefano’s behavior last night, and my reaction to it, was slowly coming back to me, but this time, without the emotional turmoil I’d experienced last night. I was much calmer now, and it made me reevaluate why I got angry at him.

The phone continued to interrupt the peace, and just as I reached out to shut it off, Stefano leaned over me to pick it up. It was his phone.

He unglued himself from me, leaning his back against the headboard.

“Che cos’è?” he answered in Italian. “Che problema?”

~Problem?~ Was there a problem?

There was a brief silence as he listened to whoever was on the other end of the phone, his lips tugging into a frown. From his expression, it didn’t seem to be good news.

Italian was close enough to Spanish that I could vaguely deduce what he was saying due to the similarities between the two languages, but I still missed a lot.

Stefano’s eyes narrowed, and it fascinated me to watch as his eyes changed color with his emotions. They were currently darker, and by the tone of his voice, I knew he was angry.

“Che cazzo intendi per dirottato?”

Dirottato? I was unfamiliar with that word. But I understood cazzo: fuck.

Whatever happened, it wasn’t good.

Noticing that I had tuned into his conversation, Stefano placed the phone on speaker and switched to English. “Who was it?”

A man’s voice filtered in as he answered. “We don’t know yet. We’re trying to find the truck, but our tracker was disabled.”

Stefano ran a hand through his hair and sighed. “Has my father been notified?”

“Sì. Mr. Roscotto has instructed that you handle the situation.”

“Send me the location and wait for further instructions.”

“Yes, sir.”

Then the line went dead.

“What is it?” I asked curiously.

Stefano leaned his head back and closed his eyes on a sigh. “Duty calls. A shipment of the red tonic drug that we supply was hijacked last night. The men transporting it were found dead.”

“Who killed them?” I asked.

“They don’t know, but I can take an educated guess.” His wry smile brought their name to the front of my mind, and I said it without thinking.

“Perez.” I frowned, my mind once again brought back to last night’s events and why I was kept from hearing what Anton had to say. If Stefano was willing to tell me about a hijacked truck and the possible link to the Perez family, then what was so secret that I couldn’t know about it last night?

Different possibilities ran through my mind, but I kept returning to the same one again and again.

“Did you find my aunt?”

He shook his head and glanced at me apologetically. “So far, there’s been no leads. I’m sorry.”

I hadn’t noticed how tense I was until he said those words. Anton’s foreshadowing of bad news last night made me think that they might have found a lead on my aunt. I’d already come to terms with the fact that she may not be found alive, but it didn’t make finding out any less nerve-racking.

However, if my aunt wasn’t the reason Stefano kicked me out of that room, then…

“Was last night about the Perez family?”

He stiffened, confirming my thoughts.

“Why does everyone always get so fidgety whenever that name is brought up? What couldn’t I know last night? You told me I can trust you, yet you’re keeping things from me.” I sat up to glare at him.

He frowned. “Catalina, since you’ve been here, when have I lied to you?”

“You’re not lying, but you’re deflecting, which amounts to the same thing: You don’t trust me. Why can’t I know?”

“Because the information isn’t confirmed yet,” he explained. “You have to understand that knowing everything isn’t always a good thing. I want to protect you, not hurt you. So if I don’t tell you something, just know that whatever it is can be pretty fucking damaging to not just you, but everyone around us as well.”

His words sliced into me harshly, and I couldn’t help but wince at the look in his eyes. I suddenly felt like I was being scolded, and it made me highly uncomfortable. I was starting to realize that I didn’t like it when he was this calm with me.

I grew up having screaming fests with my sister and aunt whenever we were overcome with emotions, so having him speak to me harshly without raising his voice was disconcerting.

“You were the one who broke the rule I made for your safety last night,” he chastised. “You could’ve waited until we were in private, like now, to question me. You showed anger in front of others. Do you understand that?”

I bit my lip, feeling wronged. “I’m sorry for the way I acted, but I didn’t grow up like this. I can’t shut my emotions down like you can.”

“Then you need to learn. That mistake cannot be repeated. You haven’t seen the bad side to this life yet, but do not fool yourself into thinking it’s not there.”

I shook my head to argue, but Stefano powered on.

“You gave our enemies an opening last night. By questioning me in public, you revealed a crack in our relationship, effectively stating to those that want to find a weakness, any weakness, in the Roscotto family that they just have to go through you.”

“No, I didn—”

“You told them that our relationship is rocky, meaning they could try to exploit your feelings to turn you against me.”

“You’re being ridiculous,” I huffed. “Why would I ever turn on you because of a simple argument?” I asked in disbelief.

His voice dropped, his tone harsh and unfeeling. “Because that’s life. Emotions are fleeting, and in this world, one moment of anger can lead to absolute betrayal. I don’t have the luxury for petty arguments, Catalina.”

I flinched, his words digging deep into my chest. I couldn’t believe the words that left his mouth, but as I watched him, I saw a concern in his eyes that wasn’t there before.

I fell silent, my mind reeling. I swallowed the lump in my throat and forced myself to ask, “Do you think your love for me is fleeting?”

He froze, and his eyes softened. “You know that’s not what I meant.”

“That’s what you implied, Stefano. Our arguments aren’t petty. They are what makes up this relationship. They are what strengthens us. If you want me to trust you, then you shouldn’t be saying things like that!”

My voice had unintentionally risen at the end, and I quickly wiped away the tears that fell. He grabbed my arm and tugged me into him.

“Don’t cry, please. I’m sorry.”

“You’re just saying sorry to say sorry,” I grumbled in annoyance.

“I’m not.” He placed his chin on my head and rubbed circles on my back to calm me. “I don’t want you to doubt my love for you, Catalina. Emotions aren’t always fickle. I know this, but I’ve also seen firsthand how quickly a wife can turn on her husband.”

“What do you mean?”

“A few years ago, Andrei’s parents had a major fight. In her anger, his mother left their home and found comfort in the arms of another man. This man used her to extract information that harmed our family, and in the end, Andrei lost both his parents.”

I sucked in a sharp breath, not expecting to hear that two people died because of one woman’s mistake.

It made me realize that Stefano never acted on impulse. No, his actions were based on the incidents he had experienced as a Roscotto. He had to learn from his predecessors’ mistakes. That way, he wouldn’t be doomed to repeat them.

I placed a kiss on his chin, my heart weakening as I murmured, “I will never betray your love. No matter how angry I get, I will never betray you, Stefano.”

I grabbed his cheeks between my hands and pulled him down so our foreheads touched. I closed my eyes and enjoyed the vulnerable moment as I promised with all of my heart.

“I am wholly yours. I’ve been yours. From the moment we met.”

He chuckled. “You didn’t even glance at me in that bar.”

I quirked a smile. “But you glanced at me. For all the wrong reasons, but you still glanced at me, and you liked what you saw.”

“I can’t deny that.” He sighed and glanced at his phone. “I need to visit the crime scene.”

I looked up at him. “Where the hijacking happened?”

He nodded, then he pondered for a second before asking, “Do you want to join me?”