Chapter 4 - THE WOMAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH
The next morning, I received a call from an unknown number.
I almost ignored it.
Then answered.
“Hello?”
A woman's voice spoke.
“Clare Murphy?”
“Yes?”
“My name is Elena Caruso.”
I sat up.
“Caruso?”
“Dante's sister.”
My stomach tightened.
“Is something wrong?”
She hesitated.
“I need to speak with you.”
“About what?”
“My brother.”
I looked at the clock.
It was barely nine.
I'd slept four hours.
“Can it wait?”
“No.”
Something in her voice made me sit straighter.
“Okay.”
She gave me an address.
A café near Washington Square Park.
“Please come alone.”
Then she hung up.
Elena Caruso was twenty-six, elegant, and visibly nervous.
She wore a plain gray coat and kept glancing toward the entrance.
When I approached, she stood.
“Clare?”
“Yes.”
She smiled faintly.
“Thank you for coming.”
We sat.
She stirred her coffee without drinking it.
Then looked at me.
“My brother likes you.”
I blinked.
“That was direct.”
She almost smiled.
“He doesn't like many people.”
I folded my arms.
“Why are you telling me this?”
Her expression became serious.
“Because the people around him have noticed.”
My stomach tightened.
“What people?”
She looked away.
“Men who believe affection is weakness.”
I swallowed.
“Are you threatening me?”
“No.”
She leaned forward.
“I'm warning you.”
I stared.
“About Dante?”
“About what happens when someone decides they can hurt him through you.”
My heart pounded.
I looked toward the window.
“Then why would he approach me?”
Elena's eyes filled.
“Because I think he's lonely.”
That surprised me.
She continued.
“And because he hasn't been himself since he met you.”
I looked down.
“I'm just a waitress.”
Elena shook her head.
“That's exactly why they're afraid.”
I stared.
“What?”
She swallowed.
“Dante has spent years surrounded by people who want something from him.”
May you like
She looked directly at me.
“You're the first person he's met in a long time who doesn't.”
