Esme’s POV
Two days later ~
That was all it had been since we landed in Italy, yet it felt like weeks had passed, like time had thickened and slowed just to torture me.
The house we were staying in was beautiful in a cold, distant way—too clean, too quiet and too guarded. High walls. Locked gates. Men posted outside at all hours. Windows that barely opened.
More or less a cage.
Raid had been everywhere since we arrived. He handled the groceries. The documents. The phone calls. The money. Even my medication, like I couldn’t be trusted to remember my own needs. It was obvious Cole had personally instructed him on every detail, down to what I ate and when Lior slept.
And no matter how many times I asked, no one told me anything.
What was so bad about crossing Damien? What had Cole don
