Page 66 of Deathless & Divided

Damian passed Dino a questioning stare.

“Whatever,” Dino said. “She’s your responsibility. Keep her out of trouble and—”

“I do just fine on my own, thank you,” Lily cut in fiercely. “And I am not his child to be tended.”

“Again, I don’t have the time,” Dino replied, not even gracing Lily with his attention. “Damian, I will spill blood. You’re aware without me needing to explain it all again.”

Damian nodded. “Yeah, I got it.”

Damian’s apartment was quiet and dark as he closed the door behind Lily but it felt a heck of a lot safer and comforting than her brother’s. Lily dialed Evelina’s cell number and held the phone to her ear, willing her friend to pick up.

Instantly, the call went to voicemail.

“Hey, you’ve reached Eve. Leave me a mess—”

“Goddamn it, stop,” Damian barked.

He grabbed at the phone in Lily’s hand before it went flying across the room and straight into the wall. It snapped into three or four pieces on impact and left a sizeable dent in the paint and plaster.

“Damian!” Lily hissed.

“Stop right now.” Damian leveled a glare on Lily that pinned her in place and took her breath away. “She is not answering because she can’t, Lily.”

“But—”

“Nothing. She can’t.”

Lily hid her trembling hands by tucking them together and folding her arms over her chest. “That was my phone.”

Damian’s stance softened. “I’m sorry. I’ll buy you a new one tomorrow.”

“That’s not the point, Damian.”

“I know.” He sighed and raked his fingers through his hair. The strands fell over his eyes, hiding his feelings from Lily’s scrutiny. “But you can’t do this, okay. Calling her over and over does nothing but hurt you, trust me. When she can, she will see you called. That’s enough for now.”

“I should have stayed.”

“I didn’t give you a choice,” Damian said quietly. “And better you didn’t.”

“But who was there for her?”

“Adriano, her father, and Abriella. Tommas and the rest of my family didn’t leave. The Conti family will be there at the hospital or whatever. We have to stay away and hope the official side of things blows past us.”

“That’s not fair at all.”

Damian’s mouth drew thin. “That’s how it has to go. I’m sorry.”

Lily sighed shakily, wishing she could take the situation in better like Damian was. He didn’t appear to be totally unaffected like Dino, but he was calm. That was more than Lily could say for how she felt inside. Her heart was a thunderstorm out of control and her mind was the hurricane ready to ravage through what was left.

“I should have stayed,” she repeated.

“Hey, hey,” Damian murmured, stepping closer. His hands found her jaw with the lightest touch as he tilted her head up to stare at her with worry creasing his brow. “First thing tomorrow morning I will take you wherever you want to go or to wherever Evelina is. I promise. You can be her shoulder to cry on and believe me, she will absolutely understand why you couldn’t stay at the restaurant. She was probably too upset to know most of what was happening around her, anyway. She’s going to need someone when she wakes up—be that someone when you’re capable and ready.”

Lily sniffled. “Okay.”

“Come on, Lily. Don’t do that.”

“What?”