I huff, unsurprised. It took over an hour to trace her back to her apartment building last night.
The whistle of Elio’s breaths crackle through the speaker. “How far out are you? I’d rather do this in person.”
I ignore the rock now lodged in my throat. “I’m pulling down our street now.” Like a chicken afraid of the truth, I add, “I need to get Camille breakfast first, though.”
I can’t explain why I’m acting like a chump who can’t handle the knocks of life. Last night was so fucking good I doubt anything Elio has would stop me from pursuing Lucia. Expect, perhaps, that we’re related. If that’s the hand he’s holding, fingers fucking crossed it’s nothing more than second cousins.
Silence hangs heavily between us. It’s filled with unspoken tension. This isn’t a good sign. Elio is only ever quiet when he’s plotting to ruin someone without drawing his gun from its holster.
After a beat, he finally says, “Fine.” Another period ofsilence makes my chest ache. “But I can only hold on to this information for an hour. Any longer and I’ll have to involve Papa.”
The line goes dead, and the weight on my chest drops to my stomach. Ever since our mother passed, the brothers have handled family business on our own. We didn’t want to burden our father with matters of little importance, so for Elio to include him means whatever he’s found must be significant.
What the fuck have you gotten yourself into, Lucia?
The road curves, and the Caruso family compound rises ahead. With iron gates and a new state-of-the-art security system that captures more than Valentina’s every move, it’s a fortress carved into the hillside.
This is my childhood home and the place I hope my daughter will one day recognize as her own.
I pull up to the gate, and it opens before I reach it. The footmen, hoping to climb the ranks by working closely with the family, always know when a Caruso is returning home.
Inside the grounds, the compound is quiet. It’s too early for the chaos my brothers always bring to these groves. The main house looms ahead, all stones and shadows. It’s a structure designed to intimidate, and it’s done precisely that for thirty-five years.
I park in my usual spot and exit the SUV, gravel crunching under my boots. The air smells of the lemons we use to hide exports far more valuable, and the faintest trace of gun oil from the training yard.
The scents of my home are grounding, but they donothingto dampen the ferocity of the storm brewing in my gut.
I climb the front stairs two at a time before moving through the hallways with muscle memory. My mind is still stuck on the way Lucia looked at me last night when she admitted she wanted me for more than sex.
She didn’t speak those exact words, but actions always speak the loudest.
She should have stayed. Then I could have shown her how much that trust means to me.
When I reach the landing of the floor where Camille’s room is, I push aside thoughts of last night. Everything can wait until Camille is fed and settled.
If only the unease roiling through me didn’t coil tighter with every step.
What did Elio find?
Is Lucia in trouble?
I know she’s hiding something, but is it more than the secrets all women in our industry hide?
Is she protecting someone?
My last thought folds me in half. Lucia is so stubborn she’d drown before confessing she can’t swim, but even with me showing clear signs I want to be there to stop her from sinking, she continues to push me away.
I hate that more than anything.
With the morning light barely seeping through tall windows, the hallway is dark. I pause outside Camille’s door, hand on the knob, and shoulders rigid. I need to gather my bearings, because when I enter her room, the possessiveness and hunger that belongs to Lucia must be left at the door.
Camille didn’t inherit her receptiveness from her mother.
She got all her finer points from me.
When I push the door open, both Valentina and Camille stir. Camille is in a bed far too big for her frame, and Valentina is sleeping in an oversized recliner I’ve napped in many times in the preceding six months.
I mouth,Thank you, to Valentina when she slips out of Camille’s room just as Camille senses my presence. Her lashes flutter, and when her eyes meet mine, her sleepy confusion fades to a welcoming smile.
