AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Sienna
It was all for nothing as I strode through an airport alongside Dante, Lucia, and Bria. No guards trailed behind us like usual, and somehow, Dante managed to get us through security without once being checked for illegal substances or weapons.
I knew he carried one, though. Healwaysseemed to have a gun at his hip.
“Both of my uncles are really nice,” Bria said, holding my hand as we walked. She went between Dante and Lucia primarily, but every once in a while, she trailed behind with me. “Uncle Gabe is funnier than Uncle Dante, though.”
“Gabriel is not funnier than me,” Dante shot over his shoulder, and Bria chuckled.
“He is,” she promised. “He likes telling funny jokes. Uncle Dante doesn’t know any funny jokes, but he said he’s practicing. Maybe when he’s a little older.”
I refrained from chuckling at the words as we strode into a small boarding area. I had no idea how to broach the topic of my fake passport before someone at the gate checked it. We made it through security, and I’d been clutching it every moment since.
“I’m going to the restroom. Stay here with Lucia and Sienna,” Dante said to Bria, and she nodded excitedly. Lucia didn’t react as she bobbed her head to whatever flooded through her earphones, a single hand resting on Bria’s lap as they sat side by side.
“If you’re meeting Uncle Gabe, it means you really are a part of the family now,” Bria said, giving me hopeful eyes.
“Something like that,” I replied.
“You know, I don’t have a mommy, and I really want one.”
The words took me aback, and I did a double-take as I looked at her. Bria’s light shone through her little eyes, and she genuinely had no idea what she was implying. There was no way she fully understood.
I didn’t know what to say.
“Maybe not, but Lucia is like a mom to you. She takes care of you when you’re here.”
“Lucia works for Uncle Dante. It’s not the same thing. She’s like a babysitter.” Bria shrugged her shoulders. “Can I start callingyou mommy after you meet Uncle Gabe? We’ll be like a real family after you meet him.”
“Honey…” I had no idea what to say. I had to turn her down. I couldn’t allow her to call me mommy when I had every intention of murdering her uncle. “I—I don’t—”
Dante came back over and ruffled her hair. “What are you talking about?” he asked, looking between us suspiciously.
“Meeting Uncle Gabe,” she said, straightening. “So that Sienna can be a real part of the family.”
I only nodded slowly, not bothering to bring up Bria’s proposition. I’d need to find a time to tell her it made me uncomfortable, but how well would that go with a young girl?
“You look pale,” Dante said, looking over my face.
“Flying isn’t scary,” Bria said, tapping my leg as if to comfort me. She had noideamy paleness had nothing to do with the flight. Not now. “I do it all the time. You don’t need to be scared.”
I gave her a slight smile before glancing toward Dante. I could handle the situation with Bria later. For now, I needed to broach the topic of my fake passport and how I wouldnevermake it through the gates of a plane. “I have something to tell you.”
“You have a lot of things you need to tell me. Where do you want to start?”
He had no idea. “You brought up that you didn’t have much luck finding me, and there’s a reason for that.” I took a deep breath,trying to make myself sound as genuine and truthful as possible. “The ex-boyfriend I told you about?”
“I still have questions about him,” Dante told me.
“Nothing about him matters. But I’ve done a lot of work to keep myself distanced from him over the past years. He has dangerous connections, and I made sure not to give him the chance to find me. I went off the grid in every possible way, and it’s the reason your people can’t find me. It’s also the reason,” I said, holding up my passport, “this is fake.”
A slow blink was his only reaction.
I didn’t bother mentioning that his “dangerous connection” was my stepfather. If Dante dug far enough, he’d find that. I couldn’t give him enough time to pursue those findings, though. I couldn’t allow my cover to be blown.
I had to end this, and I had to do it soon.
I’d allowed myself to become too known by Dante. Moreover, he now had the name of someone who could destroy me.
