15. Giovanni
FIFTEEN
GIOVANNI
T he moment I stepped into my office, my phone rang in my back pocket. I didn’t need to look at the caller ID to know who it was. I suspected Kingston and Louisa learned of my change of heart the moment I deviated from the plan.
I let it ring and ring before finally answering the call.
“Louisa,” I greeted her.
“What the fuck, Giovanni? We agreed you’d bring her here.” Her voice, so similar to Liana’s, sliced like a knife through the room.
“She doesn’t want to see you.”
Not exactly a lie, although it was slightly twisted, since I had no intention of taking her to Louisa and Kingston even if she did. After eight years, I finally had her in my grasp.
“Impossible.” Disbelief had her voice cracking.
“Possible. She’s a different person.”
“She’s my sister. I’m different too, but I still need her. She’s a part of me.”
My gaze settled over the horizon as static filled the line. I didn’t understand twin bonds, but I knew not to dismiss Louisa’s feelings.
“How long has it been since you’ve seen her, Louisa?”
“More than eight years.” The anguish in her voice was palpable. “But?—”
“I warned you she’d be different.” There was still that badass bitch boss I saw in Liana eight years ago. It was undeniable that she was a strong woman, but just as Kian said, she’d gone through hell with Santiago and Perez. No human would come back from it sane.
“Will she talk to us over the phone?” Kingston’s voice came through, cool and collected, and I guessed that Louisa was too shaken to carry on.
“I don’t think so,” I lied. Did I feel guilty? No, not really. I’d bind Liana to me before introducing her to the world. Until then, let them believe she was dead. There were too many people out there who’d want nothing more than to sink their teeth into her. For her Volkov name, for the Volkov empire, or for revenge.
“Where was she?” Kingston asked.
“Venezuela.”
“The finger…” he grated, trailing off. “Did she say why she sent it to me?”
“We’re not exactly having heart-to-heart moments,” I grumbled. “Although, you should know, she has… had… a daughter. A protégé.”
“Maybe we can bond through Lara,” Louisa chimed in.
“Well, her child belongs to Emory DiLustro and Killian Brennan Cullen.” I let the words sink in. “When I got to Liana, she’d kidnapped Emory, and a doctor was in the midst of operating on the woman.”
I heard their collective gasp and wondered how much more I should reveal. Would they have her best interests at heart? Put her first?
“You have to keep her protected.” Well, that eased my concerns. Point to Louisa. “The kingpins will come after her and—” Her voice broke, and if I was a better man, I would have told her I planned on marrying her sister in order to do exactly that. But I wasn’t. They would learn it in their own time. “Why… what was she thinking?”
“She didn’t kidnap the girl.” I could offer her some reassurance; I wasn’t a total monster. “Gio DiLustro dumped the infant, some deal went awry between him and Santiago. Liana took the child under her wing and probably saved her in the process.”
“But she had Emory DiLustro kidnapped,” Kingston pointed out. “They won’t forgive that easily.”
The world probably wouldn’t be too quick to forgive or forget Liana’s hand in human trafficking and Marabella deals, but I didn’t think it wise to mention it. The less people who knew about Liana’s involvement, the better.
“Maybe you can approach them,” I suggested. “With being cousins and whatnot. You can assure them that Liana was devastated and desperate to save Amara. Surely they could sympathize and appreciate the lengths Liana would go.”
“Jesus, and here we thought Liana was a victim of human trafficking.”
“She was still a victim,” I countered, clenching my fists. “She did what she thought was best. She survived.”
“Thank you, Giovanni,” Louisa chimed in, her voice still shaky. “I can’t imagine many people will see it that way, but you’re right. She did what she had to in order to survive.”
“And now, we’ll see to it that she does,” I said firmly.