Chapter 30
30
I’m leaving Brew Bliss after my shift when my mom calls me.
“Pippa, honey,” she says as I climb into the passenger seat of Julian’s Mercedes. “Are you busy?”
“Nope,” I reply. “Just getting off work.”
“Come meet me. I have a surprise.”
“Where?” I adjust the air vents in front of me because even though New York is in a heat wave, Julian keeps it like a freezer in here. Even a snowman would freeze to death.
She squeals out an address, her voice radiating with a happiness I haven’t heard from her in years. I recite it out loud to Julian.
Instead of pulling onto the street, he snatches his phone from the cupholder. “Let me okay this with Damien.”
I drop my purse on the floor. “Damien isn’t my boss, nor am I on house arrest.” I smack the center console. “Now, let’s go.”
He shoots me a yeah, sure expression and holds the phone to his ear.
I bend down to collect my phone from my bag while Julian waits for Damien to answer .
“Hey, Damien, Pippa?—”
Just as Julian starts talking, I hit Damien’s name on my screen.
Julian pauses, snapping his attention to me. “Are you seriously calling him right now?”
He pulls the phone from his ear. My guess is, Damien just ended their call because seconds later, Damien answers mine.
“My mom wants me to meet her somewhere,” I explain through the speaker.
“Where?” he snaps.
Julian pulls up the address on the car’s GPS, and I repeat it to Damien.
“It’s only a fifteen-minute drive,” I add to further get my way.
“Fine,” Damien says with plenty of annoyance. “But you call me when you leave, Julian stays with you at all times, and if it’s anything shady, you leave right away.”
“Yes, Dad.” I blow out a dramatic breath. “Geesh.”
Julian shakes his head.
“I’ll punish you for that attitude later,” Damien says. “Be good.”
He ends the call, and I toss my phone back into my bag while staring at Julian in satisfaction. “See, that’s how it’s done.”
Julian shifts the car into drive and pulls away from the curb. “What you did earns no bragging rights. My brother is obsessed with you. You could ask him to buy you a goddamn goat, and he’d ask you to choose your favorite color. And probably make me take it on fucking walks.”
“A goat walker.” I make myself comfortable in the seat. “That’s a job I’d sign up for.”
“If only we could sign up for jobs.” He clicks the turn signal. “I definitely wouldn’t have chosen this one .”
From his tone and the glance he sends in my direction, I’m positive he isn’t referring to working at the casino … or his criminal employer .
He’s referring to the job of watching me.
In Julian’s eyes, chauffeuring me around is a bigger inconvenience than actual murder.
“I’d consider this”—I pause to motion between us—“the easiest part of your job. All you have to do is drive me around and provide snacks.”
“Like some goddamn soccer mom.”
“You want me to sign you up for the bake sale as well?”
“At this point, I’d rather make cupcakes than tote you around.”
I gasp, faking deep offense. “I like to believe I’m a good time. Your brother surely thinks I am.”
He flips me off.
“Look at all the things I’ve introduced you to?—”
“Headaches,” he interrupts.
“I was thinking more along the lines of Game of Thrones , foods, hanging out with me and the girls.”
“Thank you for reminding me that I need to have a discussion with Damien and make it clear I’m not a babysitter for you and your girls .”
“Oh, come on. We both know you love watching Genesis.”
He flinches at her name. “Mute yourself, or I’m kicking you out on the curb. You can walk to your destination.” He glances at the GPS. “It’s only a five-minute walk. It’ll give you some fresh air.”
“I think it’s cute.”
He slams his foot on the brakes, and I throw my hands in front of me so my head doesn’t collide with the glove compartment.
From what I’ve learned, Julian doesn’t have many triggers.
His family is one.
And it seems Genesis is on that list.
“It’s not cute,” he grits out, working his jaw and turning up the air. “She’s my deceased sister’s best friend. I watch over her and Darcy because it’s what my sister would’ve wanted. But that’s it. Now, change the subject, or you’re going home. You can pout there.”
“Someone sure woke up on the wrong side of the bed,” I grumble, massaging my wrist.
“I haven’t slept in thirty hours.”
“Ah, so someone is sleep-deprived . That makes me cranky too.”
“I’m killing my fucking brother.”
The GPS informs us we’ve arrived at our destination. I spot my mom and Lanie standing in front of a building as Julian parks. The storefront they’re looking at has a Space Available sign in the window.
There’s a sudden urge to put the air-conditioning on me again when I see Cernach approaching them. My body burns in hatred as I step out of the car and slam the door.
I briefly hear Julian say, “Oh shit,” while he joins me outside.
We cross the street, and my mother’s face brightens under the sun when she notices me.
“Look, Pippa!” She points toward the window they’ve been staring at. “This is where we’re opening my new studio.”
I want to vomit.
A trickle of guilt drips inside me for my lack of enthusiasm. Unfortunately, I can’t fake joy over something that’ll ruin her in the end.
It’s so easy to put the pieces together.
Cernach’s presence.
My mom needing money and a new dance studio.
There are only two sources she can get money—a bank or Cernach.
Considering my father ruined her credit and put her upside down in debt, the first is out of the question. Which brings us to my calculated uncle who’d kill the entire human species if it meant getting what he wanted .
“No.” I violently shake my head as Cernach stands next to her, looking smug. “Don’t do this. Don’t you fall into his trap.”
If Julian wasn’t next to me, I’d be more careful with my words.
But thankfully, his protection allows me to speak more freely.
My mom backs up a step at my lack of excitement. “Are you not happy for me? This is life-changing.”
“Unless he gives you the business, no strings attached, the only way it’ll change your life is, he’ll control you again,” I argue.
“We need the income.” She whips her arm toward the building. “This is it.”
It’s like her ears are broken.
Like my words are flying straight over her head into traffic.
“No, this is a leash he’s attaching to you.”
I peer at Lanie, standing there in a summer dress and Chucks, looking not only confused but scared shitless too. I’m uncertain if the fear is of Cernach hurting me or that she fears him. She hasn’t been around my uncle much.
“Leash?” Cernach huffs out. “I’m helping my dear sister. What kind of brother would I be if I didn’t?”
I’m almost expecting him to pat her on the head like a good little dog.
I’ve never wanted to punch a righteous smirk off someone’s face so bad.
If my mom believes him, she doesn’t need to open a new studio. She needs to walk her ass straight to the hospital and have them check her for has lost her mind syndrome.
Cernach scoots closer to her, mirroring Julian with me.
Oh, give me a break .
My mother straightens her back, composing herself. “Now that your father is gone, I need money to support us.”
“There are plenty of jobs in the city,” I bite out .
For years, she’s told me horror stories of Cernach.
I didn’t get princess bedtime stories. I got tales of my mother’s trauma.
Warnings of how women are treated in that life.
I experienced my mother’s emotional wounds because she had no one else to pour them out to. And now, she’s suddenly okay with his behavior?
“This also helps you,” she quickly adds. “You don’t have to work at the coffee shop anymore. You can teach here.”
Cernach rolls his eyes, growing impatient with me. “I took care of her problem. Show some gratitude.”
“No, you gave me more problems,” I fire back, noticing people are staring.
She can’t run the studio alone, even if Cernach funds it. I’ll have to help her. Her arthritis makes it difficult to teach classes. It’s not that I mind doing it since I’ve been by her side for years, but I refuse to do it with Cernach as a partner.
Cernach scrubs his hands together. “The contracts have already been signed. The studio is your mother’s.” He levels his eyes on me. “Now, I think we should plan your wedding.”
“Wedding?” Lanie gasps, green eyes widening. “You’re getting married?”
I ball my hands into fists, and Julian steps closer to me. “I’m not marrying anyone.”
“Oh, come on,” Cernach draws out mockingly. “What’s the big deal? You’re already living with Damien. Why not marry him and help your family out in the process?”
I love Damien, and under any other circumstances, I’d love to marry him, but never with Cernach involved. Cernach tarnishes everything he touches, and I’ll be damned if I let him in any way.
“You stay the hell away from me.” I don’t wait for him to reply or for my mother to say another word before spinning on my heel and storming toward the car .
As I settle myself in the passenger seat, a hard truth hits me.
There’s only one way I can get Cernach to leave me alone.
It’s ending what he wants.
I call Damien as soon as Julian swerves onto the road and hits the first red light. My hands are too shaky to hold the phone or search my purse for my AirPods, so I put the call on speaker.
“What’s wrong?” he immediately asks when he hears the shakiness in my voice.
“Cernach—he’s getting my mother right where he wants her,” I reply. “Getting me right where he wants me.”
Make no mistake, he’ll use my mother as a tool of manipulation.
At this point, I’m about to ask if he wants to marry a Lombardi if he’s so desperate for an arrangement between them.
“Fuck,” Damien hisses. “Have Julian bring you to the casino.”
Julian makes a U-turn, causing a car to blare its horn, and drives in the opposite direction.
Damien is waiting for us when Julian reaches the casino’s back entrance. A few men are standing guard, sipping water and talking among each other. I jump out of the car and run straight into his arms.
“We’ll get this figured out,” he says, soothingly running his hand over my back and veering me inside the casino.
We head straight toward his office and don’t say a word until he shuts the door behind him. Somewhere along our walk, Julian cut a right into another room.
I collapse on the sofa as Damien kneels on the floor at my feet. He listens intently as I replay what happened with Cernach and my mother. I add some expletives and rub my forehead, and a few tears slip down my cheeks.
Damien is quiet for a moment before saying, “I’ll open a studio for you then. That’ll fix our Cernach problem.”
I go completely still. “You’ll what?”
“Open a studio for you.”
A mild whoosh of vertigo strikes me. Damien rises to his feet and strolls toward his desk. In his eyes, the problem is solved.
In mine, it isn’t.
I flick at the hair tie around my wrist. “As much as I appreciate your offer, it’d put me in the same position as her. I wouldn’t own the studio, and you could easily take it away from me.” I shoot him a no offense stare.
It’s not that I don’t trust Damien. I can’t see him pulling a Cernach power move, but anything can happen. I’ve seen people turn on each other for less.
He sits in his chair, snatches a pen, and clicks it open and closed while reclining in his chair. “I’ll put it in your name. The studio will be all yours.”
I sniffle. “You’d really do that for me?”
“I’ll do anything for you.”