He sighs dramatically. “You deny me joy.”
“I preserve my estate.”
“Same thing.”
Despite myself, I smile.
Across the sanctuary, Mia looks over, and for one brief moment, her eyes meet mine.
Her smile fades just enough to become something softer. Something uncertain.
Something that makes the noise around me seem to fall away.
Then someone calls her name, and she turns back to her work.
Stefano chuckles beside me.
“Oh, yes,” he murmurs. “Very much in trouble.”
This time, I don’t bother denying it.
“I’m going to ask Bones if a goat can balance on his big head.”
Sighing, I rub at my temples.
“You’ve been here a month, and that man has already threatened to kill you five times. You’ve been hanging out with Skip too much.”
“Yeah,” Stefano says with a laugh. “He’s good people.”
“He’s certifiably insane,” I remind him. “And the reason Bones is going to kill you.”
“You wouldn’t let that happen,” he says, already turning toward the goat yoga sign-up table.
He’s right. I wouldn’t.
I care for Bones the same way I care for the rest of the Shadows. They’re family. Brothers in every way that matters.
But if it ever came down to it, I would choose Stefano’s side every time.
Still…
If my brother pushes hard enough and Bones lashes out with his fists, I may let him land one.
Maybe two.
For educational purposes, of course.
“Idiota,” I mutter.
Stefano glances back with a grin. “I heard that.”
“You were meant to.”
***
I wave as the guards and parents drive off with the children who came to the event.
We’ve been here all day, and every one of them looks sun-worn, sugar-filled, and happy.
