SeraWhen Olivia, Patrick, and I returned to the mansion, he dropped the wreaths the first chance he got and fled the scene before we could force him to help us decorate. I took no offense and thought it was hilarious.“What a surly teenage boy,” I said, laughing.“Such fragile masculinity for a mafia brute,” she mused. Rubbing her hands together, she glanced around the room. “What should we start dressing up first?”“We should hang the wreaths, of course.”We’d found door hooks in the attic earlier and had hung them up before we left, so it was easy work setting the wreaths on them. Then we wrapped the garland around stair banisters, set fake candles on windowsills, and put window clings of snowmen just above them. We’d bought all sorts of Santas, snowmen, angels, elves, and gingerbread men to sit on every sill, mantel, and side table. Before long, the house was on its way to being Santa’s workshop.Lastly, we wrapped more garland around the tree in the foyer and decorated it with a
SeraIt was midnight by the time Killian came home.I lay tucked in between his silky black sheets, wearing one of his shirts, reading a book about gardening that I’d found in one of the parlors. Sleep tugged at my eyelids, and the words on the page were starting to blur, but I had to stay awake.I had to apologize to him. I couldn’t sleep well knowing our last interaction wasn’t a good one.I kept the door cracked, so when I heard the sounds of entry in the distance, my heart lurched in fear as much as it did happiness. After Briggs, a seed of uncertainty had been placed in my chest. What if it wasn’t Killian, and someone else discovered how to infiltrate the manor?The side table lamp was on beside me, too, filling the room with a warm, soft glow so that when Killian walked in, he wouldn’t have to fumble around in the dark—or freak out when I spoke from the gloom.His hand pushed open the door, and he slipped in, his eyes finding mine as if magnetized. A lightness filled me.“Welcom
SeraI had to be hallucinating somehow.My mother was dead. She died in a horrible car accident fifteen years ago. The woman who stood just a few feet away was surely just a ghost. The light from the hallway behind her almost gave her a glow. Not enough to make her seem like a half-transparent apparition, but imaginations could run wild, and I was able to make her seem like flesh and blood.She was older, her skin less taut, streaks of gray in her dark brown hair.Her eyes were the same, though. They were blue and gentle with love and care, the way she always looked at me, always with an edge of sorrow and pity. Yes, pity, and now I knew why.Because I was a target, and as a child, I’d been blissfully unaware. She had painted that target. But even now as I realized that, I couldn’t be mad. It was only because she wanted to be free. She was only trying to be free of my father’s cage he’d trapped her in, and Leo and I couldn’t fit through the bars, because if we did…We’d all be dead.I
SeraThe young man was another ghost from my past. It was like staring at Leo as a teen— almost a miniature of my late brother, which meant he was an echo of our mother: the same dark brown hair, blue eyes, and a similar face shape.But that was the end of the resemblances. Dustin’s hair was curly, and the blue of his eyes wasn’t as cold and aloof as Leo’s had been. They were curious and hesitant, untouched by the cruelty of the mafia life.Leo had been sucked into it. At fifteen, he’d started to change, and he’d put on an impenetrable armor. He’d become mean and short-tempered as he spent more and more time following our father around. And before I knew it, he was more than just Dad’s shadow.I don’t remember what it was or when exactly, but there was a moment when I was hit with the realization that Leo wasn’t Leo anymore. At some point, he stopped being my brother and was a full-fledged mobster.Dustin was different. That was evident—comfortingly so. And for a moment, I felt a rush
KillianI had no idea how Sera didn’t rip my head off right then and there.Maybe it was because she appreciated my apology just enough to let me off the hook. Or maybe it was just because her family was waiting, and my dashing off could save her worry for later.“I’ll find Joyce,” she offered. “Go ahead. But then,” she added before I could get too far down the hallway, “you’re coming to bed.”Her voice or eyes had no hidden meaning, so she just meant sleep and nothing else. It was a little disappointing but understandable. She just looked so sexy in that nightgown peeking inside her robe.Tommaso and I walked briskly to my office. Its door had been fixed while I was away, but all my shit was still gone. I made a mental note to call Chief Edwards first thing in the morning.My right hand and I took our seats, and I dialed Scott Alphonsi. His voice was the last one I wanted to hear during this ungodly hour when my girl was warming my bed.“What do you want at this goddamn time of night
SeraAfter I found Joyce, thankfully nowhere near Giuliana’s wing, I told her to bring supplies to Mom and Dustin, then headed back to their room.They were in the middle of making the beds with fresh sheets on the massive king-sized bed in one room and a queen in the adjoining chamber. Mom’s bed could easily accommodate three people.“I hope you don’t mind sharing these rooms,” I said as I slid pillowcases over the pillows. “There are other guest suites if this is too close for comfort.”“It’s perfect,” Mom assured me, though we both looked at Dustin to confirm if the teenage boy was comfortable with the arrangement.He shrugged with indifference, and I saw the tiredness in his eyes. Whether he cared or not, he was too exhausted to protest. He smiled briefly when I handed him a pillow, too shy to meet my gaze, but I didn’t mind at all. It was going to take both of us some getting used to the fact that we had a new sibling. It occurred to me: did Dustin know I existed before now? Had
KillianSera entered my office with a barely concealed look of disappointment on her face.She didn’t like me taking her away from her family, even though she wanted to be involved.“Hi, Tommaso,” she greeted before standing in front of my desk with her arms crossed.I wanted to tell her how sexy she looked when she was defiant but refrained to avoid invoking her wrath. Sera needed a clear head to make the decision I was about to offer her.“To pick up where we left off, you’re including me?”I nodded. “This time, yes. But it is at the risk of your own safety, Sera. This is an agreement you must either agree or deny with great imperative. You can’t just agree because you want to be included.”Sera’s expression shifted and she dropped her arms to the side, sensing the gravity of my tone. Uncertainty crept into her tone. “Is it life or death?”I knew she wanted to help, she was part of my family now. But I wouldn’t blame her if she said no. What sane person would want to do something if
SeraEven though my foot hadn’t healed from the cuts from the glass during Briggs’ raid, I ran as fast as I could to Giuliana’s suite on the third floor, Killian, Tommaso, and Olivia hot on my heels. Dustin lingered in the octagon room, unsure what to do. But at least he was okay.Because Giuliana was screaming from the barroom, followed by the shatter of glass and a grunt.“Mom!” I gasped.I ran into the room to see Giuliana cowering behind the bar, a bottle of alcohol in each hand. Mom stood a few feet away, surrounded by the remains of other bottles. Even in the dim lighting, Killian’s mother looked deranged and haggard. When my mother risked turning her head to react to my call, the difference between them was staggering. Caterina Morelli Bianchi was fierce, clear-eyed, and clear-lunged from the lack of nicotine. They may have been the same age, but they had spent their years in completely different worlds.“Your mother helped me pick the wallpaper,” Giuliana had sneered the last