Page 36 of Sienna Rossi: Beyond Shattered Trust

“Mikhail is leaving it to me. The fucker’s put me in a sticky situation because either way, I’m going to get fucking blasted. Jayce will be pissed at me. Ahren, too.”

“Ahren may not; I think we have to realise I’m not a child anymore. I, like anyone else, can do my part, take the risks that any male would. And please, this is all gender-based, isn’t it? Ahren, I’m sure you love him just as much as you do me, and yet you are ok with him risking it all,” I whisper, leaning forward.

Grandpa Al scoffs. “Who said I love that fucker as much? You’re my favourite from the three of you,” he dismisses me.

I smile. “I don’t believe that you mean even more than Kaden?”

“Yes, that little grinning monster pinches me every damn time he can, or he likes to pick the hair from my arm,” he retorts. I giggle.

“Well, in all fairness, he might just be wanting to help you groom,” I tease. Grandpa Al raises his brows.

“And how is the pinching meant to help?”

I shrug. “A special kind of acupuncture, maybe?”

“All Rossi boys are menaces,” he says with complete conviction.

I smile, watching him as the light reflects off his weathered skin, the lines somehow deeper. The greys in his beard and brows are far more than what they once were, and I suddenly feel an overwhelming surge of emotion. He’s always been there for us, and he still is.

But imagining that one day he won’t be…

I stand up and walk over to him, take a seat on the armrest of his chair, wrap my arms around his broad shoulders and rest my head against his neck. “Thank you, Grandpa, for always being there for us.”

He seems surprised, his arm half raised as he was about to take a puff on his cigarette, his heart rate just a bit faster before he chuckles.

“I haven’t done much, kiddo, but I will always try my best,” he promises gruffly as he gives my arm a gentle squeeze.

I smile. “Grandpa Rafael would be so proud,” I whisper. I know he would.

“When you were up there, did you ever think to find a way to connect to those who have passed…?” he asks quietly. I sit up, and he turns his head to look at me, placing his hand on my knee.

I haven’t really talked about what happened in the Gods’ Realm. No one, but Heaven and Allie, has really asked me or been curious; everyone else prefers not to pry, as if talking about it would upset me. I don’t mind…

“I did, and Helios did try, but Selene was upset with him for taking me, so she refused,” I speak the painful words.

“I see…” He sounds almost regretful. “And the fucker Helios, how did you cope spending so much fucking time with someone you hate?”

“I hated what he did, how he tricked me, how he took advantage of my pain, but I don’t hate him; he’s… the gods are different from us humans. He’s petty and cocky, but unfortunately, he doesn’t understand love. I feel as if he hated that more than the Deimos line, because those of the Deimos line love so deeply that even the gods burn.”

Grandpa Al is silent for a moment, the words lingering between us, only the loud crackling of the fire breaking the silence. Then he scoffs and slaps my knee lightly. “No, we Rossis are better.”

I giggle. “And yet, we Rossi girls think otherwise,” I tease.

“Well, I’d like to see proof of that. If you ask me, all Westwoods are just stubborn fuckers. And yes, even Liam, he’s damn stubborn.”

“And now the pot is calling the kettle black.” I smile softly.

“Yeah, well, it’s in our genes; us Rossis are allowed to be stubborn,” he says.

I laugh in disbelief. “That is not fair!”

“Now you’re showing whose side you’re really on.” He narrows his eyes, but there’s a faint smile on his lips.

“Well, I don’t think we’re two sides. We’re one big family.”

“Well, if you saw them as family, and even better as brothers, we wouldn’t have this issue,” he grumbles.

I slap his shoulder lightly. “Grandpa, you’re being salty,” I pout.