Page 111 of Captivated

Initials.

Dates.

And then a checkmark, X, or line might be drawn beside the information. It was like he was logging something, and she couldn’t quite figure out what it was.

“Where did you find that?”

Liliana’s head snapped up, and she found Cory Rossi leaning in the arched entryway of the kitchen. Mostly, she liked Joe’s younger brother even though he was the complete opposite of his brother. Cory was loud, and Joe was not. Cory seemed to thrive in having the spotlight, and Liliana had watched Joe move away from attention more than once.

And yet, whenever Cory talked about his brother, it was clear the two cared a lot about each other. He always has my back, Cory had said about Joe.

It reminded Liliana of her and Cella, in some ways.

“Come to annoy me again today?” Liliana asked, going back to flipping through the pages of the journal. “Coffee’s hot, by the way.”

“First, I don’t annoy you. Jesus, you sound just like my brother.”

“Bet you annoy him, too.”

She joked, mostly.

Cory just gave her a wide grin as he passed the island by, and headed for the coffee pot. “Joe would say I absolutely annoy him, but for the record, if I didn’t, he would have nobody to get him out of this house when he isn’t doing a damn job. The man is a hermit—he would happily live alone for the rest of his life, and never need human contact. He even has his groceries delivered.”

Liliana frowned as Cory came to sit on the stool beside her with a cup of black coffee. The mug was swallowed by his large hands, and steam curled upward from the hot, bitter liquid. It kind of amused her that from the corner of someone’s eye, the Rossi brothers looked so similar that they could almost be considered twins.

She could see the difference.

It was obvious to her.

But still …

“So, what, Joe doesn’t have a life is what you’re saying?” Liliana asked.

“Joe has a life,” Cory mumbled, lifting his coffee up for a sip. “He just … prefers for that life to be quiet, we’ll say. He’s always been like that.”

“Huh.”

She wasn’t really surprised. She didn’t think that would be the right word to use. After all, she had gotten the best insights to who Joe really was when it was just them alone, and no one else around. With others, he almost always turned into a statue with a mask of nothing by way of opinion, emotions, or otherwise.

“So that’s where I come in,” Cory said, setting his cup down and smiling. “I get him the hell out of this house, whether he likes it or not, and he goes because I’m the little brother who he feels like someone has to watch out for just in case I blow myself up or some other stupid shit.”

Liliana blinked. “But would you?”

“What?”

“Blow yourself up.”

Cory made a noise in the back of his throat—considering. “I mean, I’ve done some stupid shit. As my father reminds Joe whenever he asks why he has to keep an eye on me, anything is possible when it comes to me. I just need shit at my disposal, a little bit of time on my hands, and some inspiration. Give me all or a combination of any of those things without someone to keep me in line, and people are asking for trouble. Who knows what might happen?”

She smiled a little.

At least he was honest.

“I guess that means you’re the reckless to his serious,” Liliana said.

Cory glanced over at her, and smiled. “You could say that, yeah.”

“How would you say it?”