She shakes her head. “I was on a train.”
I glance at Eva then, catching her watching us with a guarded expression before she quickly looks away.
As the jet engines roar to life and we take off, Mirabella's eyes widen with excitement as she watches the ground get smaller.
"We're flying, Daddy!” she squeals.
Her joy is infectious, even to a man as hardened as me. When the flight attendant brings her a hot chocolate with extra marshmallows, Mirabella's delight is complete.
It doesn’t change my attitude toward Eva.
If anything, it assures me that I’ve done the right thing in hunting them down and bringing Mirabella home.
Three hours later, we land and begin the drive to the compound.
The sun is just rising as we enter the gates.
A sense of relief falls over me.
There’s no safer place for Mirabella than the Dante estate.
It’s a sanctuary that protects us from all who might try to hurt us.
"We're home," I tell Mirabella as her sleepy eyes blink open.
She fell asleep halfway through the flight.
Eva sits silently beside her, gaze fixed out the window. Her posture is rigid, like she's bracing for impact.
She should be.
Coming back means facing Alessandro, who isn’t going to be happy that I brought her back with me.
I escort them inside, instructing two of my men to remain posted at the door.
I lead them upstairs to Mirabella’s room. "Stay here. Get Mirabella settled."
She nods, not meeting my eyes. "Adriano?—"
"Not now." I cut her off. Whatever excuse or explanation she wants to offer can wait. I've got bigger problems to deal with first.
I head downstairs and find Alessandro in his office, hunched over paperwork like our father used to be. The resemblance is uncanny sometimes.
I suppose if Alessandro ever marries, his son will grow up and do the same. I’m humored by that thought.
I can’t imagine Alessandro ever marrying, at least not for love. I suppose he’d do it for duty.
It’s thinking like that that nearly had him marrying our sister, Valentina, off to Maksim.
I clear my throat. “They’re back. Eva and Mirabella.”
Alessandro's pen pauses mid-signature. "I told you I didn't want her in this house."
"I know."
"Yet here she is."
"Here she is," I confirm, pouring myself a drink from his sideboard without asking. I knock it back in one swallow, letting the burn steady me. "Think of her as Mirabella's nanny if it makes you feel better."
