26. 26 – Domenico
26 – Domenico
I stare out of the window as we pass through the campus gates.
Home.
Months, since I was last here. And I expect to feel out of place, as if everyone here carried on as normal while we were going through hell. As if I no longer fit here at all.
Instead, it looks… neglected.
The shrubbery, the neat bushes and trees that normal line the road in immaculately maintained lines is overgrown and browning, branches brushing against the car as we pass. I don’t see a single person, not a single sign of life anywhere as Gio pulls into the parking lot.
But a heaviness lingers in the air. As if we’re entering a ghost town.
My hand slips down to check my gun as Cat does the same, perched on my lap. I can tell she feels it too, her brown eyes lost in thought and grief as she wipes over her daggers again.
This is not the same place we left. That much is clear as the doors slam behind us and we make our way down the path, toward the Courtyard.
Cat throws her shoulders back and strides ahead, Luc beside her, his jaw tight with anger. Gio and Dante fall into place on either side of them, a half-step behind.
The message sent is not for them. But they’re a sight nonetheless, the four of them striding onto campus together after months of separation.
Only Stefano stays back, silently walking next to me. Dried blood still cakes his skin from the glass as he scrubs at it with his hand.
“Thanks,” I say tightly. He turns to look at me. “For going with her.”
“I meant what I said.” His words are low enough so the others can’t hear. “I’m not leaving her. Unless she tells me to, and probably not even then. A lifetime is a long time to be your enemy, Domenico.”
I know that feeling. All too well. “You’re not my enemy.”
Perhaps he might have been. But there was no lie in Cat’s petrified face when she thought she had lost him.
Cat comes to a stop, turning. “Stefan.”
It’s not a request. He steps forward, Gio shifting to make space between him and Luc.
A message. The five heirs – now capos - of the Cosa Nostra.
United and strong.
“Domenico.”
I jerk my head to Cat. There’s a slight smile on her face as she tilts her head. Dante is already shifting, leaving a space between them on her right as he nods at me.
Ignoring the tightening of my throat, I walk up to them and take the place she offers me.
“So.” Luc turns to face forward, his mouth a tight line. “Let’s see what he’s left us to work with.”