Page 65 of Ruthless Roses
“Or I’ve been standing here for five minutes and you two were having so much fun, you didn’t notice.”
He flashes a grin I find irresistibly sexy. “Or that. Where’s your drink?”
“Baby brain. It must still be on the kitchen counter.” I shake my head and let Salvatore steer me toward the sofa. “I got distracted by this letter. Shonda sorted our mail and it was in my pile. From a family friend.”
Ever the suspicious man he is, Salvatore’s already tensing up. I feel the flex of his muscles from the arm he has around my shoulders. “Letter? From a family friend? What family friend?”
“Not ours. My mother’s. Here.”
As I take my seat, I go digging in my pocket. Salvatore sits beside me and skims through the letter at a quick glance.
He’s even less pleased by the bottom of the page. He’s pissed.
“Thestaffhanded you this?”
“Yes, they sorted our mail. Why do you—where are you going?”
He’s up on his feet, his jaw clenched. “I specifically instructed the security team to go through our mail first. All mail from unknown sources is to be closely reviewed. We don’t know where this came from. If this person is who they say they are.”
“But he had a photo of my mom.”
I produce the photo of her on the boat, almost distracted by sentimental feelings again at the sight of it. Salvatore snatches the photo out of my hands and shoots for the door.
“Jon—”
“I don’t want you touching these,” he snaps, agitation thick in his voice. “What if they put something on these? What if it’s laced with a poisonous substance?”
My insides ripple from unease. I hadn’t even considered the letter could be dangerous… or any of the mail waiting for me.
Since we’ve moved to our home in Westoria, our lives have been peaceful. I’m immersed in my life being Dominic’s mommy and Salvatore’s wife. An occasional practicing attorney. But my mind is far removed from the kind of danger we once lived through.
I’ve gotten comfortable.
Salvatore’s gone for over an hour.
In that time, I take Olive out to potty and feed her and the cats a snack. I bring Dominic upstairs and begin prepping for his bath.
It’s as I’m watching him play in the bubbles that Salvatore appears in the doorway.
Our eyes meet in the mirror. The unease still festers inside me, reminiscent of a baby kick, but without the warm fuzzies and heart-melting effect.
“Phi, I didn’t mean to snap at you,” Salvatore sighs. “I just… I worry. It would be so easy to put something in a letter like that and hurt you and the baby.”
“I should’ve been suspicious like you. I didn’t even think…”
“You opened your mail like a normal person would. Most people don’t open their mail thinking something inside is going to do them harm. But considering my lifestyle and our past—it might be paranoid of me, but I’m taking no more chances.”
I ease back from the side of the tub, turning for a better look at him. “Are you saying you’ve been having security inspect our mail?”
He nods. “They slipped today. Which means heads will roll. Somebody fucked up.”
“Did you have them take a look at the letter? Did they find anything?”
“It was clean.”
“He had a photo of my mom. It looked like apersonalphoto. Where do you think he could’ve gotten it?”
“Who knows? If he’s such a family friend, ask your family. Your aunt or your brother.”