AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Realizing what I’d said aloud, I snapped my mouth shut, but his dad threw back his head and laughed. “You’re going to fit in just fine with the rest of us crazy bastards,” he said as he moved so he was sitting beside me.
As he got comfortable on the overstuffed chair, I took a moment to glance around. If I didn’t already know this was a panic room, I wouldn’t have been able to tell it apart from a small, casual living room. The chairs were practical yet plush. Round tables sat between the two chairs with lamps on them, a small selection of books stacked underneath.
While I took stock of the decor, it hit me that I couldn’t hear the gunfire any longer. I wanted to believe that was because the shooting had stopped, but rationally, I knew the room was soundproof and that was why I couldn’t hear anything.
When he followed my gaze around the room, Cristiano’s chest swelled with pride. “Nice, isn’t it? Sammy designed all of this. There are a few different ones around the house. A decade or so ago, there was only one.” Emotion clouded his face, his voice lowering as his lids dropped. “Since then, Samara has used her talent to make this place safer.”
Using my shirt to wipe my nose, I tried to settle back. Apparently, we were going to be there for a while, and I needed a distraction so I didn’t throw up, worrying about Vaughn and my friend. “I’ve seen some of the blueprints she’s been working on recently. Sammy has some sick skills.”
“Surprised the hell out of me when she announced she was going to be an architect at such a young age. I thought she would take over her mother’s club or join the family business. Broke my heart when she told me she was going to live in Creswell Springs and marry a fucking Reid.” He grunted at the memory. “She was fifteen at the time, but I didn’t doubt for a minute she was telling the truth. Sammy doesn’t ever say anything she doesn’t mean.”
“Yeah, I’m beginning to understand that some of the things she says might sound like sarcasm, but she is one hundred percent literal.”
He watched me for a long moment, as if trying to figure something out. But I’d seen that expression on someone’s face before. My dad’s. Whenever he was thinking of anything that might cause Ali or me pain, but knew there was nothing he could do to stop it. “Does that scare you off?”
Another snort left me. “Not even a little. I adore her. She’s probably my second best friend in the world. The only thing about her that scares me is that she might hurt her brother.”
Relief filled his lined face. Even with the signs of age, he was a handsome man. I could see so much of Vaughn in him. The angle of his jaw. His cheekbones. There was even something in his eyes that reminded me of the man I loved. That glitter deep in those amber depths that spoke of his obsession. It was comforting.
“Do you have siblings, Abigail?”
“Abi,” I corrected, only a hint of a hiccup remaining from my tears. “I have a younger sister. She’s a pain in the ass, but I love her.”
“I have two sisters who are the bane of my existence, but I’d go to war for them. Scarlett and Victoria are terrors.”
I smiled at the affection in his voice. “At this point, I honestly don’t know if you’re overexaggerating about that or not. I mean, I’ve met your son and daughter, and the gods of crazy have blessed your family. But yeah, I would go to war for Ali. Sammy, too, if she needed me to.”
Just as I would for Hayat or Maddie. Sammy was part of my tribe now. My circle of sisters.
“Are you parents still…” He paused, his eyes going unfocused for a moment.
“Alive? Together?” I supplied, and he nodded. “Yes, to both. They’ve been married for nineteen years, but they started dating when my mom was seventeen.”
“Ah, first loves. Adorable.” He tilted his head, his brown gaze skimming over my face. “You’re very young. What does your father think about you and Christian?”
“Well…” I hesitated, making him grin. “This is all kind of new. My parents don’t actually know about…us.”
Telling my dad wouldn’t be easy. He was overprotective as hell. Sixx and Ali were best friends—and more—but they hadn’t told my dad that. Because we all knew my dad would kill Sixx. A boy only a few months older than my sister, who Dad had known since the day he was born. A boy he knew would die for his youngest daughter. Vaughn’s sudden entrance into my life, on top of the large age gap that separated us, would not go over well. Then there was the whole Vaughn being my college professor plus mafia royalty.
My dad was going to lose his shit.
“What do your parents do for work?” Cristiano quizzed, thankfully taking my mind off the thought of Dad blowing a blood vessel when he found out about my relationship with Vaughn.
“They’re both in the music industry,” I hedged. Some people got weird when I told them who my parents were. Not that I expected Vaughn’s billionaire father to freak out over my celebrity mom and dad, but old habits died hard. “They live in Malibu, but they are both from Virginia.”
“How did you and Christian meet?”
I appreciated him keeping me distracted. However, the pressure in my chest only got worse with each passing minute Vaughn didn’t open the door. But he asked really hard questions. “We bumped into each other at the coffee shop on campus.”
That felt like years ago, but it had only been months. Vaughn consumed me, and I didn’t even want to remember a time before he was in my life.
“Campus?”
“I’m a student at Trinity University,” I explained, but he looked confused. “Back in Creswell Springs?”
“Right, right.” He nodded, but his gaze was unfocused again.
Hoping not to confuse him more than he already was, I switched topics. Instead of waiting for him to ask questions about me, I talked about myself for what felt like hours, pretending like it was just a normal meet-the-parents like other couples experienced. Nothing to stress about but making my boyfriend’s dad like me. I had him laughing at some of my mischievous moments with Hayat. I could never tell her no, but we hadn’t ever done anything truly crazy—at least, nothing that had gotten us arrested. Nothing my parents knew about anyway.
