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Her hands tremble as she drops her gaze to the floor, which makes me regret my honesty with her, but if I were in her shoes, I’d want to know the facts, as well.
“I’ll take that as your answer,” she says quietly, her words squeezing my heart.
There’s something about this girl. Something that brings out an empathic side of me. Or maybe it’s just pity. Whatever the fuck it is, I need it to stop. I need to put some space between us to figure out what the hell is going on in my head and how the hell I get it to stop. It’s only been a few fucking hours and my mind is already being messed with when it comes to her.
“C’mon. I’ll show you to your room, and if you’re hungry, I can order you some dinner.”
She snaps her head up. “Excuse me?”
“Which part of that didn’t you understand?” I ask, my face expressionless.
She narrows her eyes and snaps her hands to her hips. “First of all, you’re an asshole, and secondly, I’m not staying here.”
A smirk plays out on my face that I try to hide but fail so miserably at. “My end of the deal I made with your father was to protect you. If Mancini does tell Elena and Giuliana about you tonight, you’re going to need someone looking out for you sooner than I thought. So, you’ll be staying here for the duration.”
She rolls her eyes and opens her mouth to speak but hesitates slightly before doing so. “Is there even any point to arguing with you about this?” She sounds tired, surely from how her life has done a one-eighty in the past few hours.
My response is quick and easy. “No.” I turn back to my brother before she gets her second wind and puts up anotherfight with me. “Enzo, I’m not going to make it to the club tonight. Think you can handle it?”
“Hah, oh yes. Whatever will I do without you, Almighty Teo?”
I ignore him and breeze past Luxtyn before ordering her to follow me down the hall to one of the five master suites I have in this penthouse. Instinctively, I bring her to the one across the hall from mine. The reason which I don’t care to dive into right now.
I open the door, and an automatic light illuminates the open room with its own private bathroom. Luxtyn slowly moves into the space, making it seem even more grand than I previously thought, as her small body stands so out of place in it.
I give her a minute to take in her surroundings before asking, “Are you hungry?”
Turning around to face me, she shakes her head. “No, thanks. I’m pretty exhausted, so I think I’m going to take a nap. Will you wake me when you get the results, please?”
While I don’t like that she’s skipping dinner, I can always order her something when she wakes up later. I give her a small nod before closing the door to give her time to come to terms with her new life. Because even though I’m not the nicest guy on the planet, I can only imagine what she’s going through right now.
The girl’s entire life got turned upside down between finding out her father is in the Mafia to having her hand be forced into a marriage with another asshole in the Mafia. And something tells me it’s not going to get much easier from here.
12
LUXTYN
Igive myself a tour of the room, which is bigger than any of the apartments my mom and I have lived in. It’s complete with a master bath, walk-in shower, Jacuzzi, and walk-in closet.
After nosing around, I finally find the remote that closes the shades. It’s already dark out, but there’s something about being in a fishbowl with floor-to-ceiling windows. I don’t like it, probably because I’ve seenThe Glass Housefar too many times to count. It’s one of my mom’s favorites, and somehow she always convinces me to watch it with her.
I climb onto the bed and lie down, letting my body sink into the cloudlike mattress, exhausted from everything that I’ve learned today. How have I gone my entire life not knowing who my dad is and now I learn he’s in the Mafia?
If it’s true and he is my dad, I can’t say I blame my mom for taking me away from him when she did. If kidnapping and killing people is what these Mafia people do, I want nothing to dowith them.
My mind races as I wonder how long it’ll take for the doctor to get the DNA results back. Even though I can’t seem to shut my brain off, my eyelids still grow heavy, closing on their own as I’m pulled into a deep sleep. I end up in a slumber I had no idea I could have in a moment like this.
13
LUXTYN
“Luxtyn. Hey, Luxtyn.” The voice comes through like it’s far off in the distance, so I ignore it.
“Luxtyn. Hey. Wake up.”
Wait. Where am I?
Cracking my eyes open, my early morning blurry vision attempts to remedy itself as it focuses on a body standing over me. “What the hell?” I bolt straight up and wipe the sleep from my eyes, forcing them to focus on the body again.
