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“Exactly,” he says, leaning on the desk next to me and crossing his booted feet. “That’s why I went to Italy.”
I scowl. “That was not an excuse for what you did, but what happened when you got there?”
“I went to see Sofia.”
“And?”
“And she was just as eager to talk to me as I was her. She’s always thought their disappearances were related. She has a whole room devoted to the mystery of our disappearance, as well as her mother’s. The walls are covered in photos, charts, and names.”
“All of which could have been about us, the Stradivari family, not her mother.”
“Yeah. I know. I felt the same.”
“And yet you didn’t leave?” I hold up a hand. “I know the answer. No. You didn’t. Where’s Sofia’s father? Didn’t he work as a designer for Dad?”
“He did. Pietro is still alive. He claims to be as baffled as anyone as to what happened. He says he lives to find his wife, even now, all these years later.”
My brows shoot up. “Claims?’”
“I believed from the moment I connected with him that he knows more than he’s shared which is why I made a point of getting close to him.”
“You mean you got close to Sofia.”
“To both of them,” he corrects. “As for Sofia, I thought she was as in the dark as we were which is another topic altogether. For now, what matters is that Pietro formed a group called the Blue Owls. They hunt treasures.”
I remotely think of Kayden Wilkens, the treasure hunter Blake has been talking to, but right now, I’m just trying to pull facts from my brother’s head. I don’t want to clutter things up. “Like us?” I ask.
“Not quite. They go to greater lengths than we do to acquire the prize and make the kind of money he needs to continue his search. The kind we needed to stay safe and look for Dad.”
“You mean the formula.”
“I mean Dad. We find him, we find the formula.”
“He’s dead.”
“And yet no one can tell me how, when, or where.”
I twist around to face him, hip on the desk. “We’ve talked about this. He would have found us.”
“Unless he was protecting us. Or maybe he tried. What if—” he stands and faces me, holding up his hands, “don’t hit me, but what if he was having an affair with Angelena? What if that’s why Mom left?”
I feel that suggestion like a wrecking ball landing in my gut, stealing my breath. My lashes lower and my head drops forward. “Damn it,” I whisper and when I look at him, I say, “No.”
“I know it’s a painful idea.”
“Why hide then? Mom was afraid for her life.”
“I don’t know, sis, but we need to know. And we need money to even try, which is why I stayed in Italy as long as I did. The Blue Owls needed an extra hand on a few jobs, all of which had big paydays. I wanted to be closer to Pietro and see what he was up to. They feel connected to all of this even indirectly. It worked.”
“Please tell me it wasn’t illegal.”
“I didn’t ask and they didn’t tell. There’s a point here, Aria. I trusted Sofia. I told her we believed the formula was in a Stradivarius and together we started hunting them. We both came to one conclusion: Dad spent time with Kace the week he disappeared. He has three Stradivarius violins.”
“That don’t have the formula inside. I looked.”
“How do you know he doesn’t have more violins? How do you know he didn’t remove the formula? And how is it that he was on my radar, and I show up and he’s right here with you?”
“If Kace had the formula, he wouldn’t need me.”
“Maybe he wants to control you and me. Maybe he only has part of the formula and he thinks you’ll lead him to the rest.”
Anger burns my chest. “He didn’t seek me out. I went to the auction to find you after finding the letter that Sofia left for me to find.”
“Or maybe it wasn’t Sofia at all. Maybe Kace set you up with that letter. Where is it?”
“At home, where I live with Kace,” I say, leaving out the part where I gave it to Blake. I can get it back and Blake’s involvement will freak him out.
His eyes flash red hot. “He’s using you. Kace is using you.”
“Thank you,” I say, feeling the cut of his words. “I mean, of course, he couldn’t love me.” I push off the desk and hug myself. “Why would the great Kace August fall for someone like me? He must want something, right?”
“Damn it, Aria, that’s not what I mean. You’re beautiful and sweet and everything good in this fucked up world.”
“But he couldn’t love me?” I challenge.
“We are not like the rest of the world.”
“Neither is he, which is why he understands me.”
“I loved Sofia, Aria. I trusted her. I thought she understood me, too. “
“You trusted her? How long did it take you trust her with our life secrets?”
“This started way before you know. Months ago.”
“How many months?”
“Eight.”
“Eight?! She didn’t start calling the store eight months ago.”
“I know. Bottom line, she betrayed me.”
“I am not you, and Kace is not Sofia, nor are we hiding in the shadows.”
“I fucking noticed the minute you walked in the door with him.”
Not about to feed the Kace-bashing, I circle right back to Gio. “How did Sofia betray you?”
His hands go to his hips and he cuts his stare.
“Gio?”
His lips press together and his gaze shifts back to mine. “I found out she was fucking a guy named Lorenzo, one of the Blue Owls.”
“Fucking him or fucking you?”
“Both, Aria.” There is a flicker of pain in his eyes that he quickly banks. “They were plotting to secure the formula and kill us.”
I draw a deep breath, but it does nothing to calm me. I’m not shocked. Mom told us to hide for a reason but hearing a death threat spoken is as real as it gets. “And you actually think Dad’s alive?”
“I don’t know what the hell I think except this: we can trust only each other.”
“Where is Sofia now?”
“I went after her and Lorenzo and I meant to kill them. They got away and disappeared but I knew they were headed here and I followed.”
My head is spinning. “Kill them? Is that what this is becoming, Gio? Is that what you’re becoming?” I don’t give him time to reply. “We need to talk to Kace.” I try to move, fully intending to get us help but I don’t make it to the door.
He catches my arm. “Where the fuck are you going?”
“To get help.”
“From Kace?”
“Yes. From Kace.”
“We are the help, Aria. I fucked up. We are not fucking up again.”
“I’m the careful one, Gio. I did my due diligence. I trust Kace. I trust Walker Security, who Kace hired to help us.”
“I don’t like how that sounds. If he hired someone, he hired them to help him find the formula.”
I jerk my arm from his. “I thought you said he already has it? Make up your mind.”
“Aria—”
“I trust him, Gio.”
“I don’t.”
“No? Well, Kace told me a secret, the kind that would ruin him. He told me I could tell you to earn your trust.”
“Well then.” His hands go to his hips. “I’m all ears.”
I know my brother and there is something in his eyes right now that I don’t like. “I’m not telling you.”
“He told you to tell me.”
“It’s his story to tell. And you know what?” I poke his chest. “I have the dirt. I can use it. Trust me. And trust him. At least talk to him.”
“I’m not talking to him.”
“Yes, you are. Yes, you are.”
“I’m not.”
