Ours: Book 2 In The Winterburg Series Read online

  “What are you wanting to do when you graduate?” he asked, his eyes alight with intrigue.

  “I want to be a therapist,” I answered firmly, having known all my life what I wanted to be. He nodded with approval, as he spoke.

  “Really? What is it about therapy that attracts you?”

  “I think it’s the fact that I could be the only person that someone may see that day. That by simply listening to them, will ease their pain somewhat. I could make a difference to their life.”

  “With that view, you will make a fantastic therapist. Don’t ever give up.”

  Our eyes met and I smiled, glancing away as I felt his eyes linger on me for slightly longer than necessary. I shook off the thought, realising my lack of experience with men made me feel like every one of them had an agenda. I blamed Cal for that, he was suspicious of every male on the planet having a plan to woo me.

  “It was a pleasure to meet you. If you ever need any help at all, just get in touch.”

  He held out a white embossed card, drawing my attention to the platinum wedding ring on his finger. I sighed with relief, mentally kicking myself for assuming he was checking me out. I examined the card and nodded gratefully.

  “I sure will, thank you so much.”

  He hesitated briefly before nodding on the direction of the coffee counter.

  “Your latte is ready,” He chuckled as I whirled around, colliding with a woman in a suit who stared at me haughtily.

  “I’m so sorry-” I began as she glared at me before walking away. My cheeks flamed with embarrassment as I smiled an awkward goodbye to the Professor, making my way out of the coffee shop and onto the busy street. I realised my heart was racing.

  What was wrong with me? I’m not skittish or clumsy normally. I shrugged, sipping my latte in delight as I made my way to my first class.

  Chapter 4 Apologies

  Cal

  “So, what you are saying is there’s a possibility. It’s my girlfriend’s birthday and I’d love to surprise her.”

  The travel agent flushed under my charms as I smiled at her from across the desk.

  “Maybe, but you would need to book it today. There are only two seats left on the flight.”

  I handed her my credit card with a broad smile.

  “I knew you could do it,” I eyed her name badge with interest. “Beth.” She tapped away on her computer, refusing to meet my eyes.

  “I need the names on the passports please.”

  After it was all booked, I slid the envelope into the inside pocket of my jacket, stepping outside into the crisp New York air. I lit a cigarette as I watched the tourists snapping photos of everything- the street signs, the sidewalk and even the damn sky. I noticed a girl watching me with interest from the corner of the street, her long red coat billowing in the wind. I felt my heart slow as my eyes took in her slender frame, her waist length black hair loose around her shoulders.

  It couldn’t be her.

  I released the smoke I held in my mouth slowly as she gazed at me, her hand covering her mouth in shock.

  Fuck.

  Lucia.

  We stood like that for what felt like an eternity as until I noticed a man standing by the side, suited accordingly. He followed her gaze to me as his eyes flickered in recognition. He whispered something in her ear as she nodded blankly, letting him guide her to a waiting limousine by the sidewalk. He closed the door, before making his way towards me.

  Michael Salvatore, youngest brother of Lucia, son of Verno Salvatore. He had the same caramel coloured skin as Lucia, his blue eyes framed by thick dark lashes.

  “I didn’t realise you were back here Leonardo.” I winced at his use of my full name. He grasped my hand in both of his tightly, his dark eyes studying me intently. “You should join us for dinner this evening, so we can extend our gratitude for your help in Winterburg.”

  This wasn’t to be mistaken for an invitation, it was a command, and I recognised it as such.

  “Of course.”

  He nodded as he made his way back to the car, turning back to me briefly before he opened the door.

  “Bring your amante.”

  My eyes met his as he sent me a chilling smile, before climbing into the car. My blood ran cold as it sped away, the dark windows preventing me from seeing the passengers.

  Gretchen cannot be part of their world. Ever.

  My phone buzzed in my pocket as I answered it gruffly.

  “Hey beautiful. It’s so fucking good to hear your voice. What are you doing tonight?” my heart soared as she apologised for having made plans with Nicole, a girl from her class.

  “Baby, I’ve got some business to attend to.”

  She fell silent as she always did at the mention of business, something I’d not mentioned in a while.

  “Is it Verno?” she whispered, the fear evident in her voice.

  “It’s nothing to concern yourself with, my love. Just enjoy your evening with your friend, and if it’s not too late I will call you when I get home. It will be simpler when we live together,” I smiled then, knowing mentioning our living situation would distract her.

  “Cal, I would love to live with you. You said not in New York,” I could almost see her pouting as she sighed.

  “You’ve got what, two years left at school? Then that’s it, we can live anywhere you want. But here, I live in Brooklyn. You know I don’t want you too involved with my work here.”

  I was met with stony silence and I sighed.

  “I’ll call you after. I love you.”

  I heard her voice soft in my ear whisper, “I don’t care how late it is. Love you more.”

  I ended the call and stared up at the sky. I was not looking forward to this.

  Four hours later I found myself driving up the long driveway, leading to a mansion set far back, surrounded by trees and water fountains. To the left of the property five black cars were parked in a neat line, as a gardener tended to the flowers beside them. Security was tight here, and I would place my bets that even the gardener was heavily armed. Looks could be deceiving. Having left my gun at the front gate with security I felt exposed, but confident that if needed I could look after myself to an extent. If they wanted me dead, I would be by now, that much was certain. I sighed as I slid out of the truck, reaching into the cab to get my suit jacket from the hanger, knowing appearances mattered with this family. A burly man stood guard at the front door, his eyes boring into me as I walked forward, his hand on his gun.

  “Leonardo Cape. Here to see Michael.”

  He pressed the button on his ear piece and spoke in fluent Italian, not taking his eyes from me once. I heard the words ‘blond punk’ and tried to hide the anger from my face. I knew some Italian, and this dude had just insulted both my appearance and intelligence. He nodded and opened the door for me, the smell of authentic Italian food wafting out, making my empty stomach grumble loudly. It was known you didn’t show to an Italian dinner without a ferocious appetite, and I had made sure I was ravenous. I stood in the grand hallway, my stomach churning at the memories this place held.

  “Leonardo. Where is your amante?”

  Michael walked down the sweeping staircase, his arms opened wide as he greeted me.

  “She sends her apologies. She is a student so had prior commitments,” my mouth ran dry as his eyes narrowed. It was disrespectful for her to not come, I knew that, but until I had no further choice; she remained in her world for as long as possible.

  “That is a shame. I was so looking forward to meeting her.”

  I followed him into the dining hall where a large table was set for dinner, and I counted four places. The room had incredible paintings hanging, worth millions. I nodded at them appreciatively and took a seat opposite Michael as he gazed at me with interest.

  “So, tell me how you came to be back in New York without any prior authorisation.”

  Despite the words being spoken softly I knew the family were not pleased.

  I swal
lowed as I heard the swishing of fabric announce Lucia’s entrance to the room, and I immediately stood. She was as breath-taking as ever, her hair curled to perfection as it sat around her shoulders, her honey deep green eyes meeting mine as I felt the breath leave my body. I had not seen her since that fateful day where she nearly lost her life. I bowed my head as she regarded me coolly.

  “I heard what you did.”

  Her silky voice was as enchanting as ever. I bowed my head as I felt Michaels eyes watching us carefully.

  “I am so sorry I didn’t do it sooner,” I whispered hoarsely, meaning every word. She had been my girlfriend, and she had been on the brink of death after an attack. Her eyes softened as she spoke.

  “I knew you were there. I knew if you could have done something, you would have. It was the only comfort I had, knowing you were there.”

  I felt at a loss for words as I gazed at the floor in shame.

  “I was scared. I was fifteen,” I managed to say as Michaels voice cut through me like a knife.

  “Can you only imagine how scared Lucia was? Also, aged fifteen. Alas, we shall not dwell on such matters now. It has been dealt with, and my father seems to believe you have redeemed yourself, but it would not be fair to say all of us feel the same way.”

  “As you said Michael, it has been dealt with, and my word is final on the matter. Leonardo is our guest, so behave appropriately,” the voice was quiet, the words cloaked in the old Italian accent.

  “Verno.”

  Chapter 5 – Tattered.

  Gretchen.

  Nicole gaped at me as she drained her glass of wine.

  “He gave you his business card?”

  I ran my finger around the rim of my glass, shrugging nonchalantly.

  “You don’t think that is odd? He is our professor,” she stabbed her fork into her pasta, chewing on it thoughtfully. She swallowed quickly when she saw the waiter passing us, flashing him a smile as she asked for another glass of wine. “It’s actually kind of hot. He is super gorgeous. I wish he would have given me his card,” she pointed her fork in my direction as she spoke.

  “He is also married Nicole,” I scolded, shaking my head with disapproval.

  “True. But anyway, it’s not as if you are single, you and Cal are practically married,” she rolled her eyes as she finished off her pasta, quickly picking up the dessert menu.

  “Are you in a rush to get home?” I asked, raising an arched eyebrow at her. Her eyes went wide as her smile gave her away.

  “Is it that obvious? Shit. I am meeting someone at ten,” she mumbled without an ounce of shame.

  The waiter placed a fresh glass of wine down before her as he removed her plate, frowning as he realised I had barely made a dent in mine. I began to eat quicker then, annoyed that she had made plans during ours.

  “So, who are they?” I asked with intrigue. Nicole had an incredibly varied sex life, sleeping with both sexes to satisfy her needs. She was such a warm soul, always smiling and I loved listening to her many tales.

  “He is someone from Tinder. We hook up occasionally,” she let out a dramatic moan as she tapped the menu card in front of her.

  “Triple chocolate chunk brownie with caramel ice cream, you get me for dessert,” she declared and I giggled.

  “Have you really never slept with anyone other than Cal?” she asked for the hundredth time since I had known her.

  “No, I still haven’t,” I teased as she winked at me.

  “You get so much attention, you are fucking hot. I wish he would just let you loose on New York city for a weekend with me. Your pussy would be in tatters.”

  I gaped at her as I looked around us quickly, praying no one had heard her little outburst, tattered pussy didn’t go down too well with spaghetti.

  “I don’t want to be let loose my love. He is fucking perfect, I want to be with him forever,” I said dreamily, gazing into the distance as I remembered the first time he kissed me in the rain, because he knew it was something I had always wanted to do.

  “Urgh, pass me the sick bag,” her heavy New York accent still tickled me.

  “So, what are we doing for your birthday? The big two- oh. We should get a little apartment in the centre for the night, invite some hot guys and girls-”

  I held my hand up to interrupt her.

  “If I do anything, it will involve Cal, so get the idea out of your head of me spreading my legs like the channel tunnel for all and sundry.”

  She stuck her tongue out at me.

  “Ooh, I need to order dessert,” she waved frantically as the waiter held back a sigh, taking her order. I gave him my plate and passed on dessert.

  Later, Nicole hugged me close.

  “Text me when you get home. I hate these streets after dark when you are on your own.”

  I promised her I would and walked towards the subway station, wrapping my coat around me for warmth. I skipped down the stairs, tapping my card against the machine as it let me through, the stench of urine welcoming me to the underbelly of the city. There were a few people milling about as I boarded the train, preferring to stand considering I wasn’t too far away from home. The journey was relatively uneventful, and I hurried up the steps back into the cold air, already dreaming of my warm bed. I heard footsteps behind me, and I froze, certain I hadn’t seen anyone else get off at my stop. I walked close to the streetlights, my eyes peeled for any sign of life. I wasn’t that great at protecting myself, but I had pepper spray at home- much use it was there.

  “Hey, Gretchen, wait up!” called a voice as relief coursed through my veins. I turned to see Josh jogging towards me, pulling his earphones out as he reached me.

  “For fucks sake Josh, you scared me to death. Why are you out running at this hour?” I frowned as he laughed apologetically.

  “Sorry babe. Couldn’t sleep. Nancy still isn’t home,” his voice was small as he caught his breath. Nancy and Josh had been having a “secret” relationship that we all knew about but that none of them would admit. Nancy refused to commit to anyone, despite clearly harbouring feelings for Josh. Josh only had eyes for her and had stopped seeing anyone else, which I think was his downfall. Nancy liked to be kept on her toes and being handed it to her on a plate was not her style. We reached our street as he slung his arm around my shoulder.

  “What the fuck am I going to do Red? I know she wants to be with me. She just won’t shake off these other guys,” I slipped my arm around his waist and sighed. We had all been friends for long enough to feel like family, and I hated seeing him hurting like this.

  “Ah I feel for you, I really do. I don’t even know what to suggest. Have you tried calling her bluff? Like saying you’ll end it if she doesn’t stop seeing other people?”

  He looked down at me with a sad smile on his face.

  “Yeah, I started to, once. She just shot me down, said if I didn’t like it I knew what to do.”

  I frowned then as we reached my house to see someone sitting on the front porch, drinking a bottle of beer. I stopped and stared as Josh stiffened beside me.

  “Who the fuck is that?” he muttered unhappily as we walked closer.

  The figure was male, well-built and handsome in a rugged way. I peered at him and I shrugged at Josh.

  “I don’t know who that is, at all. Was he there when you left?” I hissed and he shrugged, wide eyed.

  “Of course he wasn’t. The door was locked though, and now it’s open.”

  Nancy.

  “Dude. What are you doing?” Josh asked in a low voice as I wrapped my arms around myself suddenly cold.

  “What’s it to you boy? Hey, pretty lady. Come sit with me,” he rasped, rubbing his crotch crudely.

  I stepped back repulsed, as Josh stood in front of me protectively.

  My phone started to vibrate in my pocket, and I saw on the caller ID it was Cal.

  “Cal, I need to call you back. There’s a random guy here and we don’t know who he is.” I bit my lip as I whispered into the
phone.

  “What the fuck?” He spat angrily, “Define we?”

  I heard the fear in his voice and I quickly told him Josh was with me.

  “Pretty much on your own then. Can you go inside? I am on my way, I am almost there,” his voice dripped with sarcasm.