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She leaned forward. “Youareinsane. Youdidsomething. Several somethings but most recently, you kidnapped me. So, yes, Gabriel’s probably going to kill you for that.”
“Gabriel’s not my problem. I can handle him.”
Lilly leaned on her palm and studied me from across the table. “You know, I honestly think you could, but if Gabriel’s not your problem... then who...” she snapped to attention. “Dante? You thinkDanteis coming to kill you? Dante’s a stockbroker, Sebastian. What could you possibly have done to make him that angry? Other than kidnapping me, which he probably doesn’t know about yet, whathaveyou done?”
Clearly, baby sister was kept in the dark, but given Dante’s line of work, I wasn’t surprised. Lilly had no idea her oldest brother was much more than a “stockbroker.” But I was sure about one thing: it wasn’t my job to tell her.
“Exactly. Now you see my dilemma.”
“I don’tseeanything because you’re not telling me everything.”
“Of course, I’m not. But for now, this is what you need to know. First things first. We need your mother to not worry about you. This is how we accomplish that.”
“And then?”
“We talk about then... later.”
She heaved a sigh. Later, I’d find out why she was so accommodating; why she wasn’t still trying to murder me with mass market statuary.
I pulled my phone out, found Gabriel’s number in my contacts, and set the phone on the table between us. Lilly was nervous. She tried to hide it by squaring her shoulders and tossing her hair, but that was her tell. Her body tensed; her spine straightened.
Our eyes met and held. She needed confidence. She needed strength. I gave her what I had to give.
He answered after the first ring.
“St. Valentine.”
Ice. Cold.
Lilly bit her lip. I covered her hand with mine. “Good evening, Gabriel. I have someone here who wants to say ‘hello.’”
“Lilly?”
I had to admire the bit of brotherly concern that crept into his voice.
“Hi, Gabriel.” Lilly tried to sound nonchalant and carefree. I wasn’t convinced, so I’m sure Gabriel wasn’t either. I traced a circle on the top of her hand and held her gaze.
“Are you okay?” Gabriel asked slowly.
“I’m fine. I just wanted to tell you that. Myself. I wanted to let you know... my text was pretty vague. I’m just... hanging out with Sebastian for a few days. I needed a break and...” Her nervousness made her stumble over her words, and she looked at me for help.
I squeezed her hand. “And she couldn’t say no when I showed up at her door with my tail between my legs.”
Gabriel was quiet. Lilly’s eyes widened as she shrugged, not knowing what to say next.
No, Gabriel wasn’t duped for a moment, but Lilly’s call was enough to not restart our dormant war.
“What about your shop?”
“It will be there when I get back. I won’t be gone long... just a few days. We’re ahead of schedule.”
“I see.” The frost returned to Gabriel’s voice. “I’ll let Ma know you’re fine. Your text was sudden. She was worried.”
“There’s no reason for her to worry,” Lilly added softly.
“Mrs. Calegari shouldn’t worry.” I couldn’t help it. I had to push Gabriel’s buttons. “Lilly’s in good hands.”
Lilly rolled her eyes.
