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He opened the huge door, effortlessly maneuvering my sister through without so much as brushing a lock of her hair against the imposing wooden doorframe.
“Do you live here, too?” I wondered as I followed them inside.
Elio nodded shortly. “This compound has housed the De Sanctis family for decades.”
Family. My brain hitched at that word.
Elio saw my reaction. “Soon, that’ll be you and your sister, too. Family.”
“Yeah, right. You need more than a piece of paper and a gun to the head to be family,” I muttered, going to a lead-paned window and looking out at the dark woods beyond the property.
“La famiglia prima di tutto. The family before all else. Those are words that Renato lives by.”
“Didn’t he kill his own father? That’s the rumor, anyway.” I wrapped my arms around my chest.
Elio shrugged. “There’s more to family than a name. I suggest not getting on his bad side.”
“He has a good side?”
Elio paused on his way to the door and glanced back at me. “The fact that you’re standing here is evidence of that.”
“Meaning?” I crossed my arms, squaring up for a fight with someone I was pretty sure wasn’t allowed to harm me, as opposed to his boss. My emotions were a whirling maelstrom in my chest, and they needed out.
Elio paused for a moment. “Do you want to die?”
His question threw me, and I scoffed. “Does anyone answer yes to that?”
“You’d be surprised. You’ve been given a pardon from the most merciless man I’ve ever known. You should be grateful for it.”
“A pardon? Becoming a broodmare for a monster is a pardon? You’ve got some really fucked up principles.”
He nodded. “Maybe I do, but guess what? You’re living in our world now. You need to adjust your ideas of right and wrong. Good and evil. I’ve known Ren since I was a boy, and he’s always been precise, ruthless, cunning, and cold. This is—” Elio broke off, his deep voice hinting at his own confusion.
“This is what?” I pressed. I couldn’t stand not knowing what he was about to say.
“It’s different. You’re an exception.” Elio seemed as puzzled as I was, as if he couldn’t really believe his own words. His ruthless, infamously merciless boss was breaking his own rules,for me. Elio’s gaze ran over me, looking for what it was exactly that drove his boss to spare me. He was clearly drawing a blank, as he shrugged and turned to the door.
“But why? Why me?” I stepped forward, the words bursting from me. Suddenly, I needed to know the answer to that more than I needed to breathe.
Elio pulled the heavy door open and glanced at me over his shoulder. "Ask him yourself."
* * *
In the morning,I woke at six, as I usually did. Lucy still snored softly beside me. I stared at the elaborately corniced ceiling, taking a second to remember where I was.
Right.
The devil’s castle, in the middle of bumfuck New Jersey.
I need a wife and mother to my children. You’ll be both.
I resisted the urge to turn over and try to sleep again, hiding in dreams. I needed to figure out exactly what the deal was before Lucy woke up and freaked out. My sister usually slept late, and given how she’d missed her usual routine night after night – thanks to Miguel’s murder and her being drugged with something – I’d bet she’d be out for even longer today. \
I got out of bed, dressed quickly, and crept from the room. The door wasn’t locked. Renato was confident in his security. As soon as I stepped outside, I saw why. Two men in black suits stood in the hallway. Their gazes fell on me as soon as I appeared.
“Good morning, Miss Burke. Do you need something?”
I thought for a second. “Coffee.”
