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I finally pulled away from the front door. It took everything I had not to smirk as half of the tables immediately emptied with the customers eager to leave the shop. The fact that I wasn’t known for associating with small mom and pop shops like this surely couldn’t mean I was here with a good reason. From the dozen that hightailed it outside, the majority of them were angels.
As much as I enjoyed seeing them flee like ants scrambling for cover, it didn’t appease the rage still swirling within me. I ignored the small fraction that remained and ventured closer to the counter. “A woman just came in. Where did she go?”
None of the three workers could utter a word, which left the blonde to point at the back.
My eyes strayed toward the small doorway with a little sign hanging from a nail beside it. Escape the real world, huh? I pressed my lips together and headed for the little bookstore tagged onto the shop. The amusement did everything it could to break free, but I managed to keep it suppressed until I made it into the back.
I immediately found myself with several walls completely covered with books, from the ceiling to the floor. My eyes flickered toward the colorful signs posted on each column. All it took was one glance for me to realize that most of this bookstore had been dedicated to the romance genre and I couldn’t even begin to imagine what had been printed on those pages. Yet there was a thought that surprised me with the more I peered at them.
Did Quinn ever come by this shop? Would she trail her fingers along the books while her eyes scanned the spines for something of interest?
Of all things to calm that wild rage within me down and finally break that smirk out from the darkness. I made a mental note to question my pet once I got back to the house. Subtle movement in the corner of my eye quickly attracted my attention and the amusement dissolved when I spotted the same hood off in the back corner. I drifted toward the far aisle and narrowed my eyes. “I hope you have a good reason for dragging me all the way out here, Li.”
The tiny thing stiffened. It took far too long before they turned. Calianna’s wide blue eyes swung my way. As soon as our gazes locked, her fair skin took on an ashen shade that wasn’t abnormal to see. “Big brother,” she breathed. “Y-You came.”
I spread my hands. “I didn’t have much of a choice, did I? Father wants you found. He’s quite livid with you.”
She ducked her head, clasping her hands in front of her — well, the best she could with two romance novels clenched tightly against her palm. “I know.” Her voice lowered to a soft whisper. If we weren’t paranormal, then the words simply would have been lost to the abyss. “Thank you for coming…”
“Don’t thank me yet,” I growled. The sudden hot emotion leaking into my tone caused her to flinch. “Father flew out from Italy, Calianna. I am quite busy right now. The last thing I needed was him showing up at my door and demanding that I drop everything I am doing to come find you.”
Calianna’s jaw started to quiver and I could sense the tears weren’t far off. Typical behavior for my little sister. There were three parts of her personality with one I rarely ever saw. She would either succumb to her ever growing sorrow or she would attack everything within range with the same rage we all carried. Tonight, it seemed that I would be graced with the one that seemed convinced the entire world was working against her. “You don’t understand, Asher…”
“I don’t understand?” I ventured down the aisle. Every step I took in her direction caused her weariness to grow tenfold. By the time there were only a few feet between us and I glared down at her, she had her back pressed against the books. “I am growing our empire! How does your little rebellion work in the family’s favor when all you’re doing is distracting me and putting our father at risk?”
She scoffed quietly, keeping her piercing eyes glued to the rough carpet beneath our feet. “Why is it a crime to think about myself for once and not the family? You know what waits for me if I go back home like Father demands, big brother! I’m to be sold off to the Moretti family and bear as many children as Alessandro demands. What kind of life is that for me?”
I reached out to rest my weight on the books stacked beside me. They were packed in here so tightly that I was able to lean forward and they didn’t budge. Gritting my teeth, I brought my face as close as I could manage before she jerked away with a sniffle. “We were both born into roles already laid out by our ancestors. It is not up to us to feel happy with the choices left for us, Calianna.”
My little sister responded with a noise that sounded a little too close to a scoff. Her sudden boldness was simply because she had averted her gaze and refused to sneak a peek at me to judge my reaction. “That’s easy for you to say. You’re going to take over the empire when Father passes. I don’t want to spend the rest of my life acting as a vessel that pops out a baby a year!”
A deep chuckle rumbled from my chest, surprising her so much that her blue eyes flickered up toward me. I pulled away from her as she gaped at me. “What makes you think the Moretti family still wants your hand in marriage? The only thing you’ve proven from your recent stunt is that you might be more trouble than they’re willing to take on.”
The bookstore was flooded with silence as Cailanna mused over my words. I lifted my jaw and waited for her to admit trying to obtain this freedom was too much of a hassle and not worth our father’s rage.
“Did DeMarco retract the offer?” Calianna breathed.
I skidded to a halt. Her choice of words took me by surprise to where I couldn’t do anything more than glance over my shoulder and stare at her. While her eyes had taken on a hopeful look, I was left stumped with rage that was on the verge of breaking free. It took me a moment to recover before the red dots scattered my vision and I whirled around with a hiss. “Have you not heard a word that I’ve said, Li?”
“I have.” She lifted her jaw in defiance — just like the first time that I’d crossed paths with my favorite pet. “No offer means no marriage, Asher. My hand won’t be forced. I can simply live my life as I see fit.”
An amused snort escaping me caused her confidence to waiver. “Is that how you think this works? Do you truly believe that you can stretch Father so thin and wear him down until he caves? The Moretti family receding their offer doesn’t mean you can come to the States and live the life of a spoiled brat. Father will simply toss you into the deepest pit. He’ll toss the key away before he’ll let you shame him.”
I’d done everything I could to contain the rage pulsing from the depths of my own being. I wasn’t fond of the idea of taking it out on my own flesh and blood, especially when the majority of the concern resided with the angels. Finding their missing prince was at the top of my list, not breaking down my little sister.
That didn’t stop her from cowering under the weight of my words, those blue eyes flooding with tears.
Calianna jerked her head with a sniffle. “It sounds like a prison either way. I won’t go back to Italy, Asher. I’ll take my own life before I allow that.”
That admission was enough for my rage to spiral out of control. With her gaze no longer resting on me, I was able to turn away and focus on silencing the snarl clawing its way up my throat. I wasn’t a man of any kind of faith, but it was always looked down on to consider suicide as a way out.
Salvatore had destroyed half of the family home when my mother had decided to take hers. This runaway sister of mine was too young to remember both parts of that story. If he knew that’s how her mind was working now, it would only bring him down on her that much harder.
The Aeternus family name had already been shamed by one suicide. He wasn’t going to risk another.
Which took away the option that I had been gunning to take from the moment she’d called me: wearing her down until she returned to Italy willingly. Although the fire was burning wild within me, I was forced to slap a lid on it and focus on taking deep breaths.
Nothing was working where it came to self-control, not until my thoughts strayed to Quinn. A part of me expected that I would fix on the moments when I’d taken that pussy, driving us both into an abyss of intense pleasure. Yet I found myself reflecting on the moments where Quinn was tackling my father’s little tests with stride.
