Chapter 16
Sixteen
ROME
She fell asleep so easily and quickly, as though she could finally let her guard down. Her plump lips part as she breathes deeply in sleep, and she looks so right in my bed. I can’t help but reach out for her and hug her to me, careful of her bruised ribs.
She said she was mugged, and I don’t think she was lying.
Some of the bruises look fresh. But I now know that the more advanced bruises, and possibly the scar on her back, were caused by a man I despise.
It makes me see red, but she nuzzles her little nose against my chest, and some of the tension within me settles.
Even more strangely, despite the question marks that hover over Lulu’s life story and my brothers’ valid concerns, I have no desire to back away from her.
I plant my face in her hair and kiss her head, breathing her in.
You’re not going anywhere, firefly. You’re home.
And her father is going to die.