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A tear slipped down my cheek, and I wiped it away quickly. I had lacked appreciation for my family when they were alive. If I hadn’t been such a bitch that night, maybe my mother and brother would still be alive.
Or maybe you’d also be dead.
That was what my father said when I tried to talk to him about that night. He didn’t want to hear it. He made it clear he was grateful I was still alive, but the amount of GHB made me an unreliable witness.
When I tried to tell him what I saw, he ignored me. His belief that the deaths of my mother and brother were caused by his enemies ran deep, and he would not consider any other possibilities.
Reaching down into my suitcase, I pulled out a frame. Ivy had been kind enough to supply me with several around the room, but I wouldn’t be needing them.
Sighing, I traced a finger over the faces in the photo. It was the last one we’d all taken together. Now, the only people in it alive were my father and me.
As I sat the frame on the table next to my bed, I repeated the vow that I’d made every night for months.
I would find the men who killed my mother and brother, and I would make them pay.
CHAPTERSIX
Carla Moreno was insanely beautiful. My mother sat us across from one another at the dinner table, and I could not stop my eyes from examining her as she picked at her food.
Her long, blonde hair was pulled back in a low ponytail, which rested on her shoulder. She was dressed in a white lace sundress that made her look a great deal more innocent than I suspected she was, and it showed off her golden skin in a manner that made my pants tight.
“Are you excited for summer?”
My aunt Sasha and mother were carrying the conversation. The two of them had focused their attention on Carla, who was giving them short responses. I was sure that they chalked it up to jetlag.
But I didn’t.
It only took a few minutes of staring to realize that she was uncomfortable, and that she hadn’t eaten anything.
“I’m excited,” Matteo said, as he stuffed food in his face. “I’m fucking sick of school.”
“Language,” my father warned. “We have guests at the table.”
Matteo’s brow rose.
Carla released a small chuckle. “No need to censor yourself on my behalf,” she said. It was the longest sentence she’d spoken during the entire dinner. “I’ve heard worse.”
“Knowing your father, I have no doubt.” My father had been smiling at Carla all evening. I’d never seen him so happy to have someone at his table.
But he was not keeping close attention on her. After all, that was my job. If he had been paying attention, he would have noticed the flicker of irritation in her eyes at the mention of her father.
Interesting, I thought. It was obvious that Carla didn’t want to be here. That might have played to my advantage if I didn’t need Carla to keep herself in line. Our fates were tied together whether she knew it or not.
And I was starting to get the sense that at the first opportunity, Carla would leave New York. Sundress aside, something told me that she wasn’t exactly an innocent little wallflower.
“How did you and my father meet?” she asked as she pushed her food around. “He never told me.”
This time my uncle Dom chuckled. “Is that even a story that you can share?” he asked.
“We met in Mexico,” my father responded, ignoring my uncle.
“Tijuana?” Luca asked. His eyes were alight at the prospect of learning something juicy. When it came to family gossip, Luca and my brother were like dogs with bones. Matteo just liked to know everything, but Luca collected secrets as currency.
“No,” my father said, his eyes flashing at Luca. I hid a smirk behind my glass. Luca and my father were very alike, so I’m sure that he wasn’t going to give my cousin too much. “He was working to bring his business to the states.” He looked over at Carla, giving her a small smile. “He was very dogged in his approach.”
Her expression didn’t change outwardly, but I noticed a small flash of something in her hazel eyes.
“He is that.” She brought her glass to her lips taking a dainty sip. I wondered if anyone else noticed that she hadn’t eaten more than two bites of food. Apparently, steak and scallops weren’t to her liking.
