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“He doesn’t mind getting his hands dirty, if that’s what you’re implying,” he said. “And I’m not his servant, if that’salsowhat you’re implying.”
“I’m not questioning your loyalty to Aiden.”
“You’re not probing for weaknesses?” His lips tilted up slightly, but he still didn’t open his eyes. “I’d expect no less, Selena.”
“Tell me something about yourself.”
I expected a quick, pat answer.
“Let’s see. I went into foster care when I was three, so I don’t remember anything before that but I assume it was not great.” His tone was light. “With my sister. She’s my only real family.”
“What’s her name?”
“Bianca.”
“Older or younger.”
“Older.”
“You seem like a younger child.”
“And you’re an only?” he asked.
“Yeah,” I admitted. When my parents were killed, there was no one else for me. “You can tell?”
“You’ve got that vibe. The intense independence.”
I shrugged. I assumed my independence was due to having everyone I loved ripped away before I reached kindergarten, and listening to them die. But I wasn’t going to tell Dominic. I didn’t talk about them with anyone. “Tell me about Bianca.”
“She started running away from foster care when she was twelve. When she was fifteen, she tried to sneak out of the house, and I insisted I was going to go with her.” Dominic shook his head. “I was such a dumbass, I thought I was going to protect her.”
I could picture Dominic as an earnest kid, trying to take care of his sister.
“Anyway,” he said, clearing his throat. “I just made things worse for her. It was hard for her, having someone else to look after. But I tried. Gavin hired me when I was fifteen, and he paid for her rehab.”
“He did?”
“He’s not always a monster, Selena.”
Everyone I killed was a monster.
“I lost my family when I was four,” I told him, surprised to hear the words come out of my mouth. I usually didn’t talk about them. All the Belladonnas knew the basics of my story, and I wasn’t going to tell any of my targets or the people I encountered on my way toward those deaths. “I think I’m lucky, I have more early childhood memories than most people, so I remember a little bit about them. But I also remember… losing them.”
I regretted the words as I finished saying them. I didn’t want him to press me for more information.
“I think even if you didn’t remember, your body would,” he said. “I’ve been reading about how we hold all our trauma even if we don’t remember it. So maybe it’s better to know and to work through it.”
“Have you done that with your trauma?”
“Not a chance,” he answered, which surprised a laugh from me. “But I can give good advice to other people.”
His eyes finally opened and met mine. His deep blue eyes were so intense that they surprised me. “Ready to face Aiden again?”
“Not particularly.”
“I’ll make sure he’s on his best behavior.” There was a dangerous flash in his gaze that made me believe it.
He dressed, and a few minutes later Xander, Dominic and I headed through the house to the dining room.
