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"He'll use you against your family."
A bitter laugh breaks from my lips, tears welling in my eyes. I know exactly what kind of monster Brio Cascella is, but I can't let Mattia know that. "You mean the family that never wanted me? Some family."
"Cazzo," he growls, his tone flat. "They didn't know about you."
"Vincent Valentino knew about me. He just didn't care." As soon as he found out my mom was pregnant with me, he fired her. He showed up a few weeks later and wrote her a check to make sure that she stayed gone. He was dead before I was born.
I've heard enough stories about the man to know it wasn't a great loss. But I've always wondered about my brothers. I've spent my whole life reading about them in the papers and seeing them in magazines. Nico is an astrophysicist. Rafe, Gabriel, and Luca run the entire city.
I've always ached to know them, but it wasn't in the cards for me. My mom spent my whole life hiding me in their shadows, ensuring our paths never crossed.
When I was little, I used to pretend that I was a princess and I had to hide so monsters didn't take me away to some scary fairyland. I turned it into a big game.
Eventually, the charm wore off, and I realized that I'm not a princess and this isn't a game. My mom didn't hide me because it was fun. She hid me from their enemies because even if they didn't want me, their enemies would still use me to hurt them.
She should have fled the city with me years ago, but I think she was afraid of what they would do to her if they ever found out she ran with me. So she stayed and kept me hidden instead—chained to a city that would kill me and brothers who didn't know I existed.
"Your brothers didn't know."
I squeeze my eyes closed, blocking him out…mostly because he's right. My mom never told them about me to protect me. And maybe to protect them too.
I thought about meeting Nico once about a year ago. I even showed up on campus where he teaches to do it. But halfway to his office, I saw someone reading the paper. He and Rafe were plastered across the front of it at some big charity event together.
I turned and ran.
I never worked up the nerve to try again.
If she hadn't gotten sick, I'd still be hiding now. But things didn't work out that way. She got sick, and I went running to Rafe for help.
Instead, Brio found me. I was naive enough to let him convince me that he was one of Rafe's men. I willingly walked into his trap, and I've been stuck like a rat in a cage ever since.
Now, if I don't do what he wants me to do, he's going to kill the one person in this world who has always put me first. And the absolute worst part is living with the terror that I'm going to be the reason she dies. Because I can't do what Brio wants. I won't do it.
Mattia Agostino should have left me there. So long as I was there, my mom was safe. I had a chance of finding a different way out of this mess.
It's too late for that now.
It's far, far too late.
But I can't even tell Mattia that. My mom means nothing to him. Neither do I. His loyalty is to my brothers. My mom and I are acceptable casualties. Just like always when men like this make war.
"Why were you with Brio, cara mia?" Mattia asks, his hand drifting down my arm again. "Talk to me. I can help you."
I flick my gaze up to his, searching his expression in the passing lights, not sure what I'm looking for. Some hint of what he wants from me, perhaps. Some hint of who he is or why he looks at me the way he does. I don't know. He's a mystery—a dangerous man loyal to my brothers.
One who makes my blood sing.
He's so damn beautiful. His gaze is soft, but there's steel underneath. Those gray eyes hold secrets I can't begin to fathom…but part of me wants to learn each and every one of them anyway.
His dark hair is shot through with strands of gray that soften him, even though there is nothing soft about him. There's a cold ferocity about him that's captivating. He's deadly and demanding, used to being obeyed without question. He knows how to wield power and command respect without saying a word.
But can I trust him? Should I?
"I don't want your help," I finally mutter, not sure who I'm trying to convince—him or myself.
His only response is a smile. His eyes never leave mine. His gaze is like being trapped in quicksand—the more I struggle, the deeper I sink. It's a mystery how he can be so enthralling and threatening at the same time.
"You'll change your mind, topolina," he murmurs, finally pulling his gaze from mine.
