Page 96 of Captivated

Liliana didn’t ask.

She was a little scared of the answer.

Joe left her side when another knock on the apartment door echoed. She didn’t think to be bothered by whoever was at her place this early, but only because Joe said someone would be coming over. She didn’t turn away from her plate of pancakes on the counter until she heard Joe greet the person waiting.

“Morning, Lucian.”

“Joe. Give me a call when you can.”

“You got it.”

Liliana turned around in just enough time to see Joe’s eyes connect with hers before he disappeared out of her apartment door. And only then did she glance at her father who was closing the door behind him.

“Daddy.”

Lucian smiled. “Morning, sweetheart. A little early for us, isn’t it?”

“That’s what I told him.”

Her father only chuckled.

She couldn’t help but notice how Lucian didn’t question why Joe was at her place, or anything like that. Then again, he never had been the type to do that with his daughters. He let them live their lives, and only stepped in when things were unsafe.

“Joe made you a plate,” she said, waving at the pancakes beside hers.

Lucian crossed the floor, and picked up the plate with an appreciative nod. His gaze darted back toward the door where Joe had left only moments before. “I like him—a little. That’s more than I can say for a lot of other people.”

Liliana grinned, but hid it by taking a bite of her pancake covered in jam. “What are you doing here, anyway? I think I remember hearing you tell Ma once when someone called for you early in the morning that you don’t roll out of bed before eight for less than a hundred grand.”

It was one of her fondest memories, and she had no idea why.

Lucian chewed on a bite, and shot her a sly grin. “That did happen, too. You were probably … maybe, six. And you remember that?”

She shrugged. “I keep hold of the good things, Daddy.”

Because there had been bad things, too.

Scary things.

And those times were blank spaces—memories painted with a black brush, and she couldn’t see through it to remember what happened. A lot of it was because of her brother, and the spirals he had gone through, but she didn’t blame him for that. She just … needed her space now.

“Yes, well,” Lucian said, sighing, “I don’t get out of bed before eight for anything less than a hundred grand, but today is for something priceless. Precious, even, vita mia.”

Liliana glanced up at her father, and knew he was talking about her. “Oh?”

“Mmhmm.” Lucian ticked a finger at her. “Someone told me I was playing a dangerous game, and they were right. I’m going to make it a little safer, now.”

“This is about Rich, isn’t it?”

Her father’s smile was cold, and calculating. Joe hadn’t really answered her question, but gave her something else to fill in the blanks. She wondered if Lucian would answer her, instead.

“From the moment he put his hands on you,” Lucian said, “it was only a matter of time, and it has always been about that bastard. You’ll need to pack a bag. Say, enough for a few days at the very least.”

Liliana glanced up. “What, why?”

“You’re leaving the city today. I need you somewhere safe for a while.”

To where?