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The clock ticked in my head.
Louder.
Louder.
Telling me I was too late.
Tick.
Tock.
ARIANA DE LUCA
I’d been worried about dealing with Bastian, but I didn’t need to be. He’d been emotionally distant after Vincent had visited me, leaving me to stress over every word Vincent and I had shared.
He knew I was a De Luca.
He knew I was an FBI agent.
Why hadn’t I asked for an extraction? Why was I waiting?
Because you’re wondering if he’s right. If you’re Jupiter, and Bastian is Ganymede.
Ridiculous thoughts.
Especially since I was so unbelievably pissed at Bastian—once again. Tessie’s babysitter had left hours ago, my shift had ended around ten, and I didn’t want to leave Tessie here, even with the staff to watch her.
I’d had Tessie call her parents and brother, but no one picked up.
Tessie pocketed her phone and looked up at me, so adorable and oblivious. “Do boys kiss girls on dates?”
I cleaned the marker from the wall with one of those magic erasers with the buff bald guy on the box. “Sometimes.”
She grabbed a magic eraser from the box and began to tear it into tiny pieces. “I want to go on a date.”
“Maybe when you’re older.”
I plucked what little remained of her eraser from her hands, swiped as many pieces as I could off the ground, and tossed it.
“Carrie left to go on a date. She said he was super cute.”
Carrie was Tessie’s babysitter, and I’d kill her right after I killed Bastian for leaving Tessie here.
“Come on.” I took Tessie’s hand, helped her into her jacket, and gathered all her knick-knacks into her bright pink backpack. “I’ll take you to my place.”
“Where’s Bastian?”
I wish I knew.
Instead, I gave a half-truth.
“I’m sure he’ll call when he’s done. It must be important.”
She shrugged and followed me out the door.
I almost felt like a kidnapper, but there was no way I was leaving her alone in L’Oscurità with no one I trusted to look after her. Plus, it pushed my luck to even be here.
Instead of heading to the subway, I hailed a cab, so Tessie and I could sit in comfort while we headed to my place. I wasn’t even sure if she’d ever taken public transportation here or in California.
