Page 34 of Renata Vitali (The Five Syndicates)
I slipped a ring over the henna to cover it up. Though it looked ridiculous, I added rings on all of my fingers because I didn’t want to explain the henna.
Angelo cornered me when I left my bedroom to meet Damian in his room.
I eyed Damian’s door, urging it to open, before flicking an unfazed glare at Angelo. “Yes?”
He rested a hip against the wall and leaned closer to me. “You and my son seem close lately.”
“Hmm…” I examined my nails. “When I last dined with the Romano boss, he had more important things to deal with than who his son chose to spend time with.” Snapping my gaze to him, I smiled. “When was the last time you were invited to dinner with the Romano boss?” I laughed. “… or any syndicate head?”
His beady eyes narrowed, and the way he towered over me could easily be construed as a threat. “Have you heard of my grandfather, Ludovico De Luca?”
Who hadn’t?
Crazy ran in the De Luca family, and it started with a man who’d kill his own child. In a world where loyalty and honor knew no bounds, the De Luca family held no place. Damian’s sanity was nothing short of a miracle.
I measured his unspoken threat. “I know infanticide gets you off, but if not for dignity, try to have some self-preservation in that witless skull of yours. When you run this family to the ground, the only person in this town capable of rebuilding it is in that room behind you.”
“Don’t test me, Vitali. Don’t be stupid.” He leaned into my face, and his rancid breath seeped into my nostrils. “You should fear me.”
I laughed, harsh and in his face. “You’re unworthy of my fear.”
It was true. But when Angelo pushed past me, and my hand connected with Damian’s doorknob, I froze as Angelo’s crazed laughter sent chills through my body. The frequent threats. The back whipping. The unhinged behavior. I shook my head and cleared all the ugliness out of my mind.
Angelo wouldn’t kill his own son if I stayed.
Would he?
You can tell so much about a person by the way they leave you.
Redverse Bailey
“Knight?” I waited a beat as Ren stared into space, her hand raised like she’d been about to open my door. “Princess?” Another beat. “Ren?”
She lifted her head and lowered her hand. “Oh. Sorry. I spaced out.”
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah.” She moved around me and into my room.
I peeked into the hallway, but it was empty, so I closed the door behind us. “I heard my dad talking to you. What was that about?”
“Nothing.” She laughed as she laid on my bed and closed her eyes. “Has he always been a crazy rambler?”
I crawled onto the bed beside her and grabbed her hand. “For as long as I can remember.”
That was an understatement.
She skimmed her eyes across the room while I toyed with the rings on her right hand. She’d been wearing a dozen or so rings for nearly a week now. It was weird, but she didn’t exactly have the style of a runway model. One of my favorite quirks, actually.
“What’s that?” She tipped her chin to the left.
A facedown picture frame sat on the nightstand beside us. I’d knocked it down as soon as I’d seen it. She took her hand from mine, leaned over, and stood the frame upright. Ludovico De Luca stared back at us. Creepy fucker.
I shrugged, and it shifted the mattress. “My dad put it there a few weeks ago, after prom. Probably to fuck with my head. Who knows why he does what he does?” But he’d be gone soon, and that’d be one less thing for us to worry about. I laughed
and leaned over Ren, dwarfing her body as I moved the picture frame facedown again. “I know we’re related, but Ludo was one ugly motherfucker.”
She rested her head on the pillow beneath her and bit her lip. So hot, I felt a jolt straight to my cock. Still hovered above her, I reached a thumb up to part her lips until her teeth no longer dug into them. “What’s up?”
