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Her face lights up. “That’s what you’re hiding? What’s the problem with that? This is great news!”
“It’s… complicated.”
“Life’s complicated,” Lexi says.
“I thought you were against dating? Against happiness? Against relationships?”
She doesn’t take the bait. “That’s for me, Ruby. I’m going to die alone, and I’m fine with that?—”
“I really wish you’d stop saying that.”
“But that doesn’t mean you have to, does it?” she continues, ignoring me. “So, tell me about him. Or her.”
I put my book aside, wringing my hands together. “It’s really hard to explain. I’d have to explain something about college, and I don’t… I can’t…”
Oh, heck. This is bad. I could keep the sadness at bay by locking it away from Lexi. However, my heart starts to hammer when she looks at me with that understanding glint in her mismatched eyes. Tears sting my cheeks.
“Ruby, what is it? What’s wrong?” She sits on the arm of the chair, grabs my shoulder, and leans down, pulling me into a hug. “Talk to me.”
I wanted to keep this from her, but I can’t anymore, not when she is willing me to tell her and being so sympathetic. I tell her everything in fits and starts: Nate taking the photo, reaching out to Luca for help, even seeing Dad meeting a mysterious man at night and his connection to the mafia.
When I finish, almost twenty minutes later, Lexi stares at me with wide, shocked eyes. “He… he… he photographed you?” she whispers. “He blackmailed you?”
I nod. “Yeah. I didn’t know what to do, but Luca saved me.”
“Saved you?” she snaps. “He made sure the photo was deleted. He should’ve caved his head in!”
“He offered to hurt him,” I say quietly, shocked at my sister’s rage. I really shouldn’t be. She’s always been protective.
“So why isn’t he hurt?” Lexi snaps.
Of all the possible responses, this unbridled rage isn’t one I expected. Maybe that was naïve of me. Lexi has always been the best big sister a person could wish for. Yet it’s still freaky seeing her like this, leaning forward with her blue eye blazing like a lightning bolt, her green eye staring with cold aggression.
“I asked him not to,” I mutter. “I didn’t want to cross that line. I just wanted the photo gone.”
“What’s this monster’s second name? You said his first name is Nate, right?”
“Lexi…” Leaning over the small coffee table, I place my hand against hers, but she snatches her hand away, shaking her head, glaring.
“Don’t Lexi me,” she snaps. “He deserves so much worse than what he got. He deserves whatever Luca was going to do to him.”
I swallow, looking at my sister like she’s a different person. I trust her opinion and judgment so much that I’m even starting to rethink my own instinctive fear, the shimmer of terror I felt at the idea of him letting out his dark mafia side. If Lexi is on his side… I can’t let my thoughts go there. I can’t let myself think like that.
“This is the best course of action,” I mutter. “I don’t want Luca to be a ki—” I can’t finish the thought.
Lexi glares at me. “Wake up, kid. He’s already a killer. He’s a mafia prince. He’s second-in-line to the Marino empire. If you’re going to do this, I won’t try to stop you as long as you know what you’re getting yourself involved with and you’re not walking into this blind.”
“I know who he is,” I say quietly. “We’ve talked about it. He says he’s never hurt anybody who didn’t deserve it.”
“I’ve heard the same about the Marinos. Remember I told you they’ve got a code? But you’re a better person than me, kid—more moral. How does it make you feel knowing the man you clearly care about has taken lives?”
Now, it’s my turn to glare at her. “Who says I clearly care about him, Lexi?”
She rolls her eyes. “Don’t play games with me. I’ve never seen you like this before. Even when you were explaining all that sick stuff, your voice got all dreamy when you spoke about Luca. You’ve been waiting for a knight in shining armor your whole life, and here he is.”
“This isn’t fair,” I tell her. “When you talk about relationships, it’s only ever in the worst possible terms. It’s always pessimistic…” I trail off, a familiar sensation teasing me when I say pessimistic, reminding me of Luca. “Now you’re basically telling me to throw myself into his arms.”
“Newsflash. We’re not the same person. If I was in your position, all I’d be able to think about is the arguments Mom and Dad have had. All I’d think about is how it could never work. I’d poison the damn thing with overthinking. I bet you haven’t even thought about Mom and Dad, have you?”
“Not like that,” I murmur. “I’m just worried what they’d say if they knew.”
