Page 44 of Lethal Salvation

Nadia sipped the iced tea and sighed in delight as her eyes closed. “I love this stuff.” Placing it back on the table, she looked at Bás, her head tilted slightly in question. “So, spill it.”

“I have some news.”

She rolled her hand in a hurry-up gesture. “And?”

Bás looked uncomfortable but seemed to pull himself together. “There is no easy way to say this, Duchess, but your mother died yesterday morning.”

She drew in a sharp inhale and reached for his hand without thinking. Gideon took it and gave it a squeeze as the colour drained from her face. God, he hated seeing her so wounded and wished Bás had done this in private rather than at a packed coffee shop.

“How?”

“Italian police say she was hit by a car. She died instantly at the scene.”

Her hand shook in his and he leaned closer to rub her back, wanting more than anything to take away her pain.

“If you need to go take some time off and head to Italy and deal with this, we can handle things here.”

Duchess nodded absently, her mind clearly trying to process the loss of her mother. “Thank you. I might need a few days.”

“Take all the time you need. We can handle things here until you’re ready to come back.”

“I’ll be back for the black-tie event.”

Her eyes moved to him, and he wanted to pull her into his arms, but he knew she didn’t need that right now. She was holding on by a thread and would hate to show her emotions in public.

“Will you manage at the office?”

“Of course. I can get a temp in to cover.”

“Will you come with me?”

The question shocked him so much that he didn’t respond straight away. But his answer would always be yes if she needed him, and that was a revelation too. He’d never put anyone above work or his own personal wants and desires, but he knew for her he’d drop anything and everything.

“I’m sorry, that was silly.”

Nadia stood abruptly and pushed past him before he could react fast enough.

“Nadia, wait.”

He almost caught her as the lift closed, her lip wobbling the last thing he saw before the doors blocked her from sight.

“Give her a minute to process.”

Gideon rounded on Bás. “What the fuck were you thinking telling her here? You could have given her some privacy before landing her with that news.”

“She needed it done in public to help her keep it together. Duchess doesn’t like showing her emotions to anyone. I gave her a reason to keep it together in front of me.”

Fuck, that made sense but he still didn’t like it. “I’m going with her.”

“I was counting on it.”

“You knew she’d ask?”

“Fuck no, but it works out better for us. We’re a little thin on the ground with Snow and Charlie out on maternity leave, Bishop hovering like an overprotective mother hen, and Val avoiding me.”

“Why is Val avoiding you?”

“That’s a long story, and one I’m not sharing with you.”