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So direct. I smother a smirk.
“Yes. On your mother’s, as well. She informed me he has been missing for two days. I’m sure he will turn up.” I walk past her, but her small hand touches my forearm, freezing me.
“I know you have your differences, but something is wrong. I can feel it.”
I glance down at her. “Feel it?” I question.
Her cheeks heat up, but she doesn’t shy away. “Angel has never been gone for longer than a few hours. He won’t answer his phone. I’ve checked his room, and nothing is missing. Which means he didn’t run away. Something has happened.”
And since when is this my problem? I’m delighted he’s gone. I work on keeping my face neutral. It isn’t Lulu’s fault her brother is a deadbeat asshole.
“You should take your concerns to your father.” I glance down at her hand still resting on my forearm, and Lulu removes it, finger by finger, before dropping her hands to her side.
“I have spoken to my father, but he has no care for Angel. That’s why I’m asking you, Damon.”
I glance around the hallway before I turn back to Lulu. “Asking me what?”
“I want you to find him for me.” She’s staring right into my eyes.
She is truly my weakness. I can’t deny her. Finding Angel wouldn’t be a major problem for me; his father has already disowned him, and he won’t be coming back, not if the don doesn’t allow it. Even if he did return, he would never exercise the kind of authority I already possess. If nothing else, Angel can always be a distraction and a reminder to Lorenzo of my value.
“For you,bella, I will find Angel.”
Her eyes snap open, and gratitude fills them.
“But make no mistake—this is the last favor I will grant you.” I think I need to say it more for myself than her.
Lulu takes a tiny step away from me. The action is minuscule, but I notice everything about her.
“Grazie, Damon.”
I nod and walk away from her. I would do her this one final grace as a gift.
As for myself… I’ll dream of her while I wreak my revenge on her family. Maybe after I win this war, I will be able to claim my prize.
Lulu.
CHAPTER EIGHT
LULU (FIVE YEARS LATER - Present Day)
Thewaterlapsgentlyat my shoulders and the tops of my breasts as I sit back in the Jacuzzi on our terrace. I’m naked beneath the surface of the water, but it’s dark, and no one’s ever around to see me, so it’s a habit I’ve developed. If Vivi happens to be peering out her window, or if someone strolls out onto the terrace, I can always just stay in the water to avoid giving them an eyeful.
It’s been an exhausting day, one I’m ready to rinse off and be done with. I close my eyes and allow the sounds of the evening to settle softly all around me.
Night birds sing one another to sleep, and the water gurgles its own quiet song. The faint strains of music pulsing from Vivi’s open window upstairs provide accompaniment, and behind the wall of shrubbery, the heating and cooling system hums quietly.
White noise, all of it, and so soothing, especially paired with the faint chill of the spring evening. I could fall asleep if I allowed myself to do so, but I’m still too tense.
I met with the wife of one of Father’s soldiers today. The girl was young, in her early twenties, and the meeting was unsettling. It was like looking into a mirror and seeing myself as I had been several years ago—unsettled and unhappy and wanting more.
So much more.
The soldier’s wife couldn’t understand why her husband wasn’t allowing her to go to college. All she wanted, after all, was to earn a degree and have some opportunity to make a name for herself. It was clear to me that she had no concept of the life she had married into, what it entailed, what it demanded from its men and its women and its children—all of us.
I soothed her as best I could and sent her on her way. And then, I left a note for Damon to speak with her husband. He needed to find a method of encouraging her and making her feel significant in her own right, if la famiglia was going to keep her from pursuing her dream. It wasn’t a perfect solution, but it would help a bit.
My nerve endings perk to life suddenly and send a tickle along my skin, where my hair stands at attention. There’s something different in the atmosphere. Without opening my eyes, I know it is Damon. His presence calls to mine, and I’ve come to understand that I’d recognize him in a crowded room if I were blind and deaf.
