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Salvatore tilted his head slightly, those pale golden eyes honing in on me. “I’ve received word that you’ve had problems with shipments getting stolen from our Florida port. There’s been no call on your part to update me.”
Nico’s jaw flexed slightly.
“I apologize for that, Father.” I kept my voice low in a desperate attempt to keep the emotions brewing within me masked. “I’m afraid I’ve been quite busy with leaving bait for the angels to take.”
“And did they?” The king arched an eyebrow, bringing the cigar back to his lips. “Take the bait, I mean.”
“They did. They’re being handled accordingly.”
My father paused with the cigar centimeters from his face. He shifted his head slightly as his expression shifted into one of annoyance. “Handling it does not condemn their prince's escape from a hotel of your choice, Asher. He’s not being held responsible for his actions. If you do not show that his behavior has consequences, then more of them will join his ranks and rise up against us. We do not hold the dominant ground here, no matter how much of the territory you’ve taken over.”
The desire to take over the conversation pulsed off Nico in waves, yet the demon lord had more self-control over himself than I did lately. He shifted his weight slightly. It was the only movement that attracted my father’s attention. While my father’s expression transitioned into a hint of curiosity, Nico’s remained blank.
Salvatore leaned forward, resting a hand on his knee. “Word has it that Marcillo has sought out an unlikely ally. The Nephilim bastard.”
I gritted my teeth until my jaw ached from the intense pressure. “I am looking into that possibility.”
“How can you when this is someone that doesn’t want to be found?” He released a laugh that was borderline empty. “He has been underground for several centuries, boy. As long as he maintains movements we cannot track, then you have no hope of uncovering where he is currently residing. Marcillo has the upper hand simply because he and the Nephilim share a common enemy — us.”
Nico finally deemed it necessary to break his silence. “The Nephilim will not embrace an alliance with someone who saw him as nothing more than waste at the bottom of the barrel. Marcillo is more likely to turn to the other royal families than him.”
Salvatore snapped his fingers, prompting Sergio to materialize a small ashtray. When the demon held it out to him, he simply tapped the cigar against the edge to drop the excess ash inside. There was a part of me that expected him to respond to Nico’s outburst, except his demeanor was far too calm. “Have you spoken to your little sister as of late?”
It was a sudden change of direction where the subject was concerned. Although there was far too much about his behavior that suggested he wasn’t any less paranoid, everything he did was done with a reason. This random question was no exception. I drew in a slow breath and shook my head. “No, Father, I have not. Calianna hasn’t attempted to reach out to me in quite some time. Not since—”
“Not since you left Italy, yes, I know.” He took a deep puff on the cigar.
Why do you ask questions that you already know the answers to? It was more frustrating than anything else, not that I ran my own corner of the empire any differently. The best way to squeeze answers out of the enemy was to simply come at them with more than they thought that you’d uncover. My thoughts briefly shifted to the partial angel still strung up in Nico’s pit. I’d played the exact same game. How could I expect anything less from the man that had taught me the rules?
Pressing my lips together, I kept my gaze locked on my father. “I was under the impression that Calianna was still living at home with you until the terms could be met about her hand in marriage.”
Salvatore’s expression darkened. “You’ve always played by the rules, my boy. That’s what will make a fine ruler when you take my place one day. Your sister, on the other hand, still needs to come to terms with where her role is in our world. I’ve tried to be patient with her. When she requested to come to America to see an old friend, I granted her a short leave. She was required to return two days ago.”
Chills trickled down my spine as the core reason for my father’s untimely visit finally came to light. Of course it was related to my little sister. She had never been one to fully embrace the role given to her at birth. While my path was destined for ruling over the family empire — and now three vital territories — she had always yearned for something more than the silent role embraced by the women in our world.
To be seen and not heard.
Calianna had rejected that idea from the moment she could comprehend what it meant for her. She had no desire to let Alessandro have her hand in marriage when it meant she would have to play house and keep her husband happy — while birthing him as many children as he demanded. My father might have believed he would wear her down until she finally accepted her fate, but I had known this was coming.
It was only a matter of time. Still, the timing was eerie and I found myself extremely irritable.
Salvatore eased onto the edge of the couch. He tossed his lit cigar into the glass ashtray before he rested all of his weight onto the cane. His fingers curled around the golden lion’s head until its frozen snarl was masked from me. “I have heard things — good things — about you here, my son. You’ve laid a claim on all the vital territories first. Now I need those connections that you’ve made to locate your sister. Calianna must be returned to Italy before word gets out that I cannot control my own daughter. She will shame our family name with this recklessness.”
I dipped my head forward slightly. “It will be done, Father.” Turning my head slightly, I locked gazes with Nico long enough for the demon lord to process my unspoken request. He barely had to shift his head for me to catch his acknowledgment. As soon as he pulled away, tugging out his cell phone while he walked, I returned my attention to Salvatore. “Calianna will be found,” I promised.
“I am pleased to hear that.” Salvatore put most of his weight on the cane as he struggled to rise off of the couch. It took several attempts — as well as Luca rushing over to help him — before he finally got on his feet. He waved the demon away, hissing in Italian.
Luca immediately backed off.
Irritation leaked out across my father’s face as he severed all eye contact. There was a hint of shame that he even needed the aide in the first place. With his nostrils flaring, he shook his head and seemed to brush the thoughts away. “This must be taken care of before the angels trigger a war. Let nothing stop you. Remove every obstacle in your path.”
“Yes, Father.”
Salvatore seemed pleased by my response. He started to turn away when the sound of a chain moving behind Quinn’s closed door caught his attention. His pale eyes swung toward it. I knew from the way his lips thinned that he had finally noticed the slight aroma in the air. “There is something I must also speak to you about in private.”
My stomach twisted into a painful knot. All I needed was that quick glance for me to realize what the next subject matter would be. It was no secret that I would bury my cock in any pussy that deemed itself worthy. I’d owned my fair amount of pets over the years, but he seemed to notice that something had changed.
With the way both of the demons accompanying him were eyeballing me, they seemed to sense it, too.
