38
I stared at Cambri’s text thread until my eyes crossed and the words blurred together, gutted by the time stamp of her last message.
No response.
Guilt gnawed at my insides when I realized that I couldn’t remember why I hadn’t reciprocated the sentiment. Maybe I’d meant to and forgot, distracted by Santino and having met Helena and Silas the night before our flight back to Miami—two weeks since I’d heard her voice and ten days since her body was found in the trunk of an abandoned car. Luca, that goddamn bastard. She’d been dead from the beginning. I didn’t know what was worse, never locating her or uncovering her fate and horrific death. I prayed to whichever god would listen that she hadn’t suffered before he put a bullet through her head.
My throat ignited, and the tears I’d shed for my beautiful friend every day since threatened to fall. I’d been drowning in my grief, consumed by guilt. Today was my first day stepping back into Illusion. I hadn’t come with the intention of working, but the walls of Santino’s massive home were suffocating. I needed to breathe.
The time had gone by excruciatingly slowly but also in a blur.
Luca’s death had left me shaken in more ways than one. He covered his tracks well—almost too well. Santino and his men had tracked down Luca’s closest allies and attempted to coerce information from them using extremely creative tactics. But none seemed to have been privy to his plans or else they would have sung before losing vital body parts. The what-ifs were unnerving. Who had he gotten his information from? And had he told them where to find me? With the threat of unknown retaliation, we’d been on high alert and forced to hire extra security, not only for us, but for the club and the girls as well. While things had been quiet, uneasy energy still hung in the air, like the calm before a cataclysmic storm.
Dabbing the corner of my eye where a lone tear had escaped, I sighed at my reflection and swallowed my grief. There would be time to spill more on my pillow later tonight. My dressing room was still my solace at Illusion, dancer or not. I still came here for the peace the space offered when Santino wasn’t in his office.
“Amara!” Two strong knocks accompanied a woman’s voice. She sounded slightly frantic and I hurriedly pulled open the door. “Oh, thank God. I think I’m going to be sick, and Mr. Leone asked me to bring some drinks out to his special guests… Oh! ” She covered her mouth as a gagging noise bubbled up her throat. “I can’t do it. And everyone else is busy. And I—”
“It’s okay. I got it. Where are they?”
“Thank you!” she said, blowing out a breath of relief, immediately regretting exerting the energy as she doubled over and fanned herself. “The drinks are at the bar. And they’re outside in Cabana A.”
“Go home, Amy. I’ll cover your shift today.”
Her smile only lasted a moment before her eyes shot open, and she bolted for the nearest bathroom.
I expected to find Santino in the lounge, but he must have returned to his office. Amy’s order was on the counter—a tray with two drinks and an appetizer.
As I walked across the spacious main floor, I glanced at the empty stage and pole—a place I hadn’t touched for two weeks. There was a strange sense of nostalgia even though I didn’t miss a single moment of being objectified by the men who frequented this club. Pushing the front door open with my hip, I stepped into the South Florida sun and regretted not putting my hair up. The humidity was about to wreak havoc on my curls.
Cabana A.
My sandals tapped against the wooden walkway toward the green awning where two people, presumably a couple, sat with their backs to me as the male applied sunblock to his companion’s beautifully tanned back and shoulders. He’d removed his shirt, revealing a heavily tattooed torso. They resembled the typical Miami couple.
“Hey,” I said as I rounded their table. “I’m sorry it took so long. I’m filling in for…”
The storm.
Glass shattered against my feet.
And like a gut punch, all the air in my body rushed out as I stared into familiar blue eyes. No matter how much time had passed or how much he’d matured, like Derek, I’d never forget his face and that liquid steel gaze surrounded by the darkest lashes.
Kai.
I took off running without thinking as emotions pummeled me from every angle. Maybe I’d just imagined it. He couldn’t be here.
But he’d said her name.
“Athena, stop!”
Again.
His voice was like a blade to the heart. Part of me wanted to turn around and run to him, but it was too painful. Facing Kai meant facing my past and facing her .
And she doesn’t deserve to come back. She was too weak. That’s why she’s dead.
I crashed through the front doors, still sprinting, the world in front me of a blur, until I stumbled out of my sandal and nearly hit the floor. Santino’s arms were suddenly around me, hauling me upright.
His eyes darkened, and his jaw tensed at the sight of my tears. “ Preziosa , who do I need to kill?”
I closed my eyes and languidly shook my head as more spilled over. But there was no time to explain. The double doors split open, and Kai stepped through with the woman beside him.
Instinctively, I clutched Santino’s shirt, and that was all the reaction he needed. Shoving me behind him, he pulled his gun and aimed it at my brother.
“You better talk fast.”
The woman with Kai, his wife, the one from the portrait, stepped between the two men, her own gun drawn and a fierce scowl on her face.
“You better be faster.”
Kai attempted to drag her out of the line of fire, but she refused to back down from the threat. “Amalia, no,” he said, locking her into a bear hug and shielding her from Santino’s aim.
Security surrounded us, the sound of bullets chambering, and the tension hung as thick in the air as the haze of red lights.
“Athena,” Kai said, his voice softened, blue eyes pleading for me to acknowledge him. He extended his hands and stepped forward. “Please, it’s me.”
I hugged my body, keeping myself together… Keeping her back.
Santino looked between us and waved off his men. “ Preziosa , you know him?”
But I didn’t answer. I was lost in a vortex of memories.
“You ever think of leaving this life behind?”
“Someday, blue.”
Breathe .
“Promise me something. If you decide to leave, take us with you.”
“Why? You’d miss me?”
Pain.
“When Kai and Derek find out what you’ve done, they’ll kill you.”
“Who’s going to tell them?”
Dead.
“I’m going to break you.”
“Get on your knees and call me sir.”
Home.
“I promise, Kai bear.”
The dam burst. A sob wrenched from my throat as I ran into his arms and cried. Kai hugged me so tightly I could barely take a breath. But I never wanted him to let go.
“Athena, why did you leave us?” It was the first time I’d ever seen my brother cry. I sobbed harder and buried my face in his shoulder.
“What happened?” he asked.
Dragging in a shuddering breath, I whispered, “Ronan.”
Kai’s muscles tensed, and he set me down, pushing back tear-dampened hair from my face.
“Ronan,” he confirmed with a growl.
I nodded. And he clenched his teeth.
“Are you okay?”
A new flush of tears welled and slid down my cheeks as I shook my head. “No,” I murmured, staring through him now. “He killed her.”
“Who?” he asked, confused. My throat blazed, nearly closing up as I fought to speak, fought to say her name.
My name.
Kai grabbed my shoulders, shaking me slightly. “Who, blue? Who did he kill?”
Our eyes connected. “Athena… Me.”