When I woke up, I saw the first light of dawn come through the window.
The dove gray walls and oak furniture made me immediately remember where I was.
This was Lorenzo Orlando's home.
"What time is it?" I mumbled still sleepy.
"It's five in the morning," a voice said to me, making me jump in fear.
I looked around and found Lorenzo leaning against the door jamb, staring at me.
As always, he was dressed in black, but this time he had his shirt sleeves rolled up to his elbows.
I jumped when I saw the tattoo on his left arm. It was an eagle, a symbol of the Orlando family, with a snake between its claws, a symbol of the Rinaldi family.
It was the reverse tattoo that all Rinaldi males bore as well as those close to our family.
That symbol reminded me of who I was and why it was wrong and dangerous to be there.
"Where's my friend?" I asked worriedly.
"She fell asleep on the sofa. I suggested a hotel, but she didn't want to leave you alone. She was very agitated and remained standing to watch over you until an hour ago. "
"I'm so sorry ... for everything," I sighed heartbroken and still shaken by what had happened to me the previous evening. I still could not believe that Clark, Lucky's friend, had had the courage to get his hands on my body.
I immediately understood that he was a guy who had no problem flirting and being intrusive beyond all limits, but I naively believed that he had a smidge of education and common sense.
I never expected such behavior!
I looked at Lorenzo in the twilight.
He had saved me.
He had saved a Rinaldi!
If only he knew ...
I was grateful to him and I would have liked to tell him the truth about my identity, but I knew that he would no longer be as kind and tender as he had been thus far.
Only his voice had managed to calm me after the attack and, when he had taken me into his arms, I felt safe, wrapped in his warm embrace, scented with citrus fruits with a Mediterranean hint that reminded me of the sea.
I had let myself be lulled by the smell of the skin of his exposed throat.
It had been the most exciting thing that had happened to me in my life and, if I hadn't been so scared, I would have liked to touch his neck with the tip of my nose, up to the bristly chin and finally his face. I would have liked to touch his lips to experience the sensation of touching a man.
My thoughts made me blush.
I looked down and tried to get out of bed.
My ankle still hurt, but the swelling had gone down and without shoes I could walk with a slight limp.
"You shouldn't get up," Lorenzo exclaimed so close to me that it frightened me again. I hadn't heard him approach me and I didn't expect to find him within a few inches of me.
He grabbed my arm and helped me walk.
I did not like his abrupt ways, but the delicacy with which he held me always made my heartbeat faster.
"I'm better," I reassured him by letting him take me to the living room, where I found Maya sleeping on a large white leather sofa.
"Would you like something to drink?"
'Tea if possible. Usually when I get up in the morning, I always make myself lemon green tea. "
"And what about something to eat?"
"Anything you have, even if I always opt for some dessert. I like sweets."
"What about scrambled eggs with bacon?"
"I'm vegetarian. I prefer a whole-wheat vegan brioche filled with lemon jam with candied ginger. "
"A sophisticated choice."
"I would say green and healthy, but I don't expect anyone to let me have my favorite breakfast. Usually, I prepare these brioches by myself," I answered torn between the irritation I felt every time I had to talk about my food choices and the desire to show that I was a person who cared about health and the environment.
Lorenzo took me to a smaller and more welcoming living room, with a large glass and steel desk and long metal shelves full of books and binders.
He made me sit on a beige chaise longue to allow me to sit with my leg raised because of my aching ankle.
He took a dove-gray armchair with wide armrests, set it down and sat down.
He typed a message on his cell phone and then proceeded to look at me.
"Well, now that you're better, can we talk?" He began, causing me some apprehension. His tone of voice was harsh, and the position of the chair was set in such a way that it would not have been possible for me to get up easily and move away in case of need.
I felt cornered and much more in danger than the previous evening.
"Of course," I whispered cautiously. "What do you want to talk about?"
"About you."
"About me? What do you want to know?"
"For starters, who are you?"
That question shook me up. I had to be incredibly careful because the chance of being discovered was a real possibility.
"My name is Mia. Mia Madison. I'm twenty-three and I'm from Los Angeles, "I replied calmly, trying to curb the anxiety that was closing my throat.
"This Mia Madison?" Lorenzo said, pulling my fake identity card out of his pants pocket.
I stifled a groan at the idea that he had rummaged through my things. Luckily, I hadn't brought my cell phone with me!
I just nodded and his gaze became even darker.
"Mia, I advise you not to lie to me. I have a bad habit of reacting recklessly to lies," hissed Lorenzo, scratching his unkempt beard with a nervous gesture that made me realize I had to be careful what I said. However, I had no other choice.
"I don't know where this is leading to," I tried to understand. I felt on the edge of a ravine, ready to fall into the abyss.
"I'm just trying to figure out why you have a fake ID if Mia Madison is your real name. Or why you wear a wig. "
I gasped in shock. Instinctively, I put my hand to my head and felt the wig had moved, leaving some brown locks of my real hair spill out on my forehead.
I took off my wig and the hair net. It no longer made sense to keep them.
In a moment I felt the bangs on my forehead and my dark hair brushing my shoulders.
"I don't like my hair," I lied to justify myself, but Lorenzo's contracted jaw made me realize that he wasn't believing me at all.
"You don't like the dress either?"
"What?" I asked confused.
"The tag of the dress is spilling out from the neckline," he warned me.
I touched my shoulder. He was right!
"It's a loaner."
"Is this what they call thefts now?"
"It's not like what you're thinking."
"Obviously ... What about your name?"
"My name is Mia Madison," I tried again in the hope that he believed me.
"Maybe I did not say it clear enough. Let's try again for the last time, "he hissed irritably, pulling a gun from the back of his trousers, and placing it on the arm of the armchair next to me. "Who are you?"
The sight of that weapon made me panic. I could not move.
It was obvious that Lorenzo wanted to corner me to push me to confess.
There was only one thing that left me amazed. Lorenzo had put the weapon in a place I could have reached, by simply reaching out with my arm. Was it possible he was trying to test me?
I didn't move a muscle.
"Then? Who are you? 'He asked again, without taking the gun.
"I'm a person who wants to maintain her privacy, especially if someone is pointing a weapon at me."
"Take it if you want," he provoked.
"I don't mean to touch a gun! I just want to go home and forget about you and this place. Forever," I said sternly, determined to end that conversation.
"All right, but not before you tell me who you are."
"I don't want to tell you the truth," I confessed. Maybe I could only get away with telling the truth.
"Why?"
"Because I can't, I don't want to, and I don't have to. I can only assure you that my secrets have nothing to do with you. "
"So, you're not an infiltrator or someone trying to get into my house to deceive or damage me?"
"Absolutely not. I swear to you, 'I was frightened by that insinuation.
"So why hide behind a fake name and a wig? Are you afraid of being recognized or are you running away from someone? "
Are you running away from someone?
I thought of my father.
I had been out of my mind crossing the Safe River just to escape my father's suffocating control. Even if only for one night.
However, there was also the whole issue of the importance of not being recognized as a Rinaldi.
"Both," I confessed sadly. Yes, I was sad. Sad for my life without freedom. Sad to be forced to lie. Sad for a future I saw with no way out.
"Are you in trouble?" He understood.
I really wanted to let off steam and tell him everything, but I couldn't.
"It depends on you. Are you going to hold me here against my will? "
"No," he snorted in a surrendered tone. It was obvious that he wanted to say yes.
"Then I'd like to go home."
"Where's your house?"
"I'll tell you when I find it," I murmured all choked up. I still hadn't found a place of my own that made me feel good, free, and protected. "For now, I can only say a thousand times thank you for what you have done for me and ask you to let me go. I promise you I won't bother you anymore. "
"Don't make promises if you're not sure you can keep them."
He was right. I couldn't keep lying to him.
He had saved me, cared for me and kept me safe all night, against the will of Maya who wanted to take me back to her house immediately, without thinking about what her family would have thought had they seen me in those conditions and with a limp.
I was indebted to Lorenzo and in return I was feeding him lies.
I was a horrible person.
"Mia!" Maya's voice came up behind me. She had woken up and was looking for me. 'I called for a taxi. Let's go, Ok?"
"Do you want to have breakfast first?" Lorenzo tried to gain time, still dissatisfied with the information he had on the two of us.
"The taxi is already waiting for us," Maya informed him, coming to help me walk.
"Thanks for everything," I only managed to say to Lorenzo, before finally leaving the Bridge.
I got into the car without taking my eyes off the man who had stopped in the doorway.
He didn't say a word to me. He did not greet me. It was as if the conversation between us had not yet ended and my departure was only a small parenthesis before I went back to him.
I read in his amber and determined gaze a certainty that left me dumbfounded.
I would never go back to him.
Although I would have liked to.
That night had been dangerous, and I had come close to being discovered.
I couldn't risk it.
Not only was my life at stake but also his if he had come to look for me to take revenge.
"In your opinion, are they following us? Sebastian asked me a thousand questions tonight while you slept, 'Maya burst into my thoughts.
"I don't know, but can you explain to me why you called a taxi when we came with your maid's car?"
"To avoid that they could find us through the license plate, but now we absolutely have to go back. I can't leave the car there. "
"What do we do then?"
"I know a place. Sir, take us to the Pub Hero, 'my friend ordered the taxi driver.
"East of the river?" He worried. Apparently taxi drivers were also afraid to cross the Safe River.
"Yup."
I let myself be guided by Maya.
Together we entered the club.
It was just six in the morning, but it was full of workers having coffee before starting work.
"I never came in here, but I know that a guy I took financial law with last year works here. He had a soft spot for me and many times he asked me to go out together, although I always refused. I'm sure he can help us," Maya whispered in my ear, making way through the patrons.
"Seth!" Maya exclaimed, calling back a boy with dreadlocks.
"Maya! What are you doing here? "
"I need your help. My friend and I have been attacked and we don't have the money to take a taxi. Could you take us to the car I left tonight on the other side of the river? "She pleaded.
"I just started my shift."
"Please. We are really desperate! Look, my friend is limping! I can't hold her up anymore and keep on walking. "
"All right," Seth surrendered. "I have a car in the back parking lot. Follow me."
Soon I found myself in the empty back of the establishment, where the employees' cars were parked.
Maya and I sat in the back and, without Seth noticing, we crouched so no one could see us through the windows, as the car slipped onto the main road to return from where we had come.
"If anyone was following us, they'll expect us get out and get into another taxi. Nobody will suspect Seth, so we're safe. "
In a few minutes, the boy took us to Maya's car.
"Now you owe me a favor," Seth said before saying goodbye.
"Anything you want," Maya whispered smoothly, leaning against the open window, and placing a light kiss on the boy's mouth.
We rushed into the vehicle, where the keys and the remote control to the gate of Maya's villa were hidden in the dashboard, with her real license.
When we got home, it was almost seven.
Like the other time, we parked in front of the back door and nobody suspected anything. Not even my father's guard who was still outside waiting for me.
"What are we going to say about my limping?" I asked tense.
"We'll say you slipped on the way out of the shower stall."
"I forgot you have a lie for everything."
"Yeah, and remember that if someone discovered our absence tonight, you have to say we were at my grandfather's cottage in the mountains."
"Ok."