Lorenzo pov
She stared at the money like it was a snake. "You're letting me leave? Alone?" she quirked her eyebrows.
"No guards or locks," I said. I kept my face like a stone. "Just be back by seven. If you aren't, I'll assume you've run, and I'll start looking for you. And you know what happens when I have to go looking."
She didn't wait. She grabbed the money and the phone, and within ten minutes, I heard the front door slam.
"You're really letting her go?" Cemal asked, standing by the window.
"Get the keys to the gray sedan," I said, grabbing my coat. "She thinks she's going for a walk. I want to see where her heart actually lives."
We followed her from three blocks back. She was smart, looking over her shoulder a few times, but she wasn't a pro. She ended up at a small park on the edge of town, sitting on a bench near a fountain.
A few minutes later, a guy in a hoodie sat down next to her. "David."
I watched through the binoculars. I saw her reach out and touch his arm.Then she started talking fast, her face full of an emotion she never showed me. She looked scared, but she looked comfortable with him.
"You want me to pick him up?" Cemal asked, his hand on his holster.
"No," I said. I watched them for an hour. I watched him hold her hand. I watched her look around like she was committing a crime. "Let her have her fun. It makes the lie better."
We watched them talk and he showed her something on his phone. They both took pictures together, it was a beautiful moment but yet I felt like something stabbing me in my chest. "I just meet her," I whispered to myself. I needed, to know why I was so angry David gave her a peg on her cheek.
I needed to understand my own emotions, ever since she had saved me from that prank incident I haven't been able to sleep. The scenario, kept reoccurring every night when I try to sleep, her selflessness bother me so much and I didn't know why. Maybe, because I wasn't use to it or probably because of something else I couldn't say. Immediately we saw her checking her time to leave, we left before her.
When she walked back into the safe house at 6:45, she looked flushed. Her hair was a little messy from the wind, and she was carrying a small shopping bag from a random pharmacy to make it look like she'd been busy.
I was sitting in the armchair in the living room, a glass of whiskey in my good hand. The house was dim.
"You're back," I said.
"I am," she said, her voice a little too high. She didn't look me in the eye. She walked over and set the change from the money on the table. "I went back to my old house. I just... I wanted to see if my things were still there. I needed to feel like my old self for a second."
I took a sip of the whiskey. The burn felt good. I looked at her, the girl who had just spent two hours laughing in another man's arms and I felt a cold, sharp prick of pain. She was lying right to my face, just for that boy.
"Your old house?" I asked, tilting my head.
"Yeah," she said, nodding fast. "It was empty and it made me sad, so I just walked around for a bit. That's all."
I stood up, the pain in my shoulder flaring, but I didn't let it show. I walked over to her until I was standing right in her space. I could smell the fresh air on her clothes, and the faint scent of a man's cologne that wasn't mine.
"I'm glad you had a nice time, Mara," I whispered. I reached out and ran a finger down her cheek. She flinched, but she didn't move away. "I told you I liked you because you were selfish. Lying is a very selfish thing to do. It means you have something you want to keep all for yourself."
"I'm not lying," she said, her breath hitching.
"Of course not," I said. I leaned down and kissed her forehead. It felt like a seal. "Go to bed, Mara. We have a big day tomorrow."
I watched her run up the stairs. She was shivering but thought she had a secret. She didn't realize that in this house, the only secrets that exist are the ones I allow.
"Are you okay with this? Cemal said, patting my shoulders.
"Yes, why shouldn't I be," I shoved him arm away. Then walked passed him.