Chapter Twenty-Six #2
In the living room, I look up. Two more flights to Lyndall's room, but neutral space might be better.
"Lyndall. Get your ass down here."
No answer.
I tap my hand against my thigh.
She might be listening to music, but being Lyndall and being home alone, I'm betting she's not going to use headphones.
Lyndall understands threats.
She's smart, industrious. She is a Marino, no matter how you look at it.
She won't block sounds to alert her of someone entering the home.
Lyndall fucking knows I'm here.
"Do not make me get up there, or you'll regret it."
Feet thump loudly on the stairs as she makes her way down.
She stops at the landing, right near where the living room space is. "What?"
I take in the crossed arms, the stance.
But I'm not going to back down, defensive as she is. I'm fucking furious still.
Which I'm not going to show her.
I'm mature.
"What the actual fuck, Lyndall? You not only lied, but you covered up something important."
"So? Lola didn't know what to do, so we were going to go to the doctor, but I haven't made an appointment yet. It's early days."
"This is important shit, Lyndall. Don't you think I deserved to know?"
"I don't know. Do you?"
I stare at her, recoiling a little inside. "I'm your brother."
She looks at her feet. "I know, and I'm sorry, but it wasn't my news to share. I forgot I had it, and since the cleaner came, I threw it out. How was I to know you'd paw through the trash?"
I frown. "I didn't. I opened it to throw something out, and it was staring at me. And you let me think it was yours."
She rolls her eyes. "You didn't even think of Lola!"
"I thought you were knocked up."
"Serves you right."
"Excuse me?"
"I said, it serves you right for thinking I'm sexually active at my age." She puts her hands on her hips.
"You told me you had a boyfriend."
"Whether I have a boyfriend or not isn't the point. I want a career, I want to get into Juilliard, and if, if I was going to have sex, I'd do more than you did." She ticks things off on her fingers. "Be committed, not stalk them, condoms, the pill, you know. Like an adult."
"You—"
"I haven't even had sex, you moron. All I've done is—"
"Nope. No fucking way. I do not need any information, any details. Pristine like a kid should be. In fact, I'll let you hold hands with a guy when you're forty."
She shrugs. "Like you can stop me from doing things I want to do. And in a few years, I'll be eighteen."
"Three."
"Two and a bit, Enzo." She stops. "The violin's important.
And yeah, I have a small crush on one of Dad's men, one he probably killed.
He thought we were having sex, too. What the hell is wrong with the men in this family?
He held me when I was upset, and in my room.
And I tried to kiss him. Once. Maybe twice. That's it."
"Too much. No. And no. I don't need to hear it." And I hate that she just shoved me in the same box as Dad.
"You asked."
"I didn't."
"But, Enzo, you did. By asking me about the test. And let's face it, who has the most likelihood of being pregnant in this house?"
Now I'm getting uncomfortable with the conversation. I shove a hand through my hair and sit. "Shit, kid. Where would she get it from? Women don't seem to just carry them around."
"No. But I can place orders, you know."
Fuck. This isn't going how I wanted it to. In actual fact, I don't want this part of the conversation at all. It seems everything I do, I fuck something up. "I just wish you'd have been open with me."
"And betray her? Also, open like how? Tell you when I have my period, or if I want to hook up with a guy down the road?"
"Don't say hook up and guy. In fact, don't talk about sex." But I know that's unfair. "Sorry...if you ever need to talk, I'll try not to get protective."
"Yeah, well, give you a few moments, and you always calm down. It's why I love you, Enzo."
I rise and hug her. "Love you, too, Lyndall. And I am here for you. If you're really into this guy, I hope you wait until you're a few years older. He's...he's eighteen, and that's a little too old. It's in the realm, but in a few years, who knows."
What I'd like is for her to meet someone outside our world.
"I didn't say I want to marry him or even sleep with him, but boys are limited for me. What I really want is my scholarship if I can get it, if I pass the audition."
But Lyndall's beyond gifted, and it chuffs me enough, this part of the conversation with all the things left unsaid, that I smile.
"Dad probably killed him, Enzo. And he didn't deserve that."
"No, he didn't. Luke's alive."
Lyndall's eyes widen, and she gasps. "Where is he? Can I see him?"
"I thought you said you want to get into your music school."
"You idiot. We're friends. I'm the one who had the crush. I had one on Cade, too. And we're friends. I love Violet. I'm allowed feelings, right? Luke did nothing. Dad jumped to conclusions. It clearly runs in this family."
Clearly, it does.
"Look, he's fine. And he's somewhere safe from Dad."
"He's a good guy. Just talk to him, and you'll see."
"Fine. I'll talk to him."
And then I'll decide if Lyndall can see him or not. It's fine she says he's a good guy, but what if this kid did have designs on her? She's pretty and smart and the daughter of the powerful man he was working for.
Nabbing her is a sure-fire way to the top. Or into an early grave. It's a gamble, I know that.
But I need to see if he's pure when it comes to her before I let her see him.
"Go to bed. I'll let you know—"
"Bed? It's almost four p.m.!"
"Fine. Do whatever you were doing, and I'll call you for dinner."
Her eyes grow big again. "Can we have tacos?"
"Maybe."
She heads off, and I decide to go down and do some work before Lola finishes work.
I need to do something to get my mind off her and the fact I'm not there.
I settle behind my desk when my cell rings.
It's Dad.
"Father?"
"Don't be a little shit," Dad says. Then he pauses. "I've been thinking about what you said, and I'll step back. For now... Give you control."
I'm glad I'm not holding anything because I would fucking drop it.
I don't really want to be a mafia don, but I do like the idea of modernizing, of making it into something of my own.
Somehow, I don't think Dad will let me take complete control, not really, and he'll want it back, but that's okay.
If I can shape it, then maybe, just maybe, when he decides to step down in the end for good, I can take over.
Still, I don't trust him, not fully.
But I can test it a little. There are things Dad would blow up at and come down with an iron fist if I said them and he was in charge. Like...
"I know you sold Luke, Dad."
"That fucking shit."
"He didn't do anything with Lyndall. I believe her."
Dad's silent, then he says, "It's not her I don't trust. It's him. She's a child. A man of eighteen should not be in her room. And certainly not one in my employ. I'm sure he'll be dead soon."
"No, Dad. He won't. And he'll remain alive and well. I organized it, devised it."
Dad is silent again. For a few seconds. Then he says, "You're now in charge."
"For the time being."
Dad neither confirms nor denies.
"Just know you're playing with fire if you let that asshole Luke back near Lyndall."