go meet with them,” Tobias tells Damian then walks away.
“Elise,” Damian calls out, eyes on me. “Bring my wife some breakfast,” he tells her. “What would you like?” I note the difference in tone when he speaks with me and it makes me think about what Liam said. That Damian feels something for me.
I’m too slow to answer, so Damian arches an eyebrow.
“Doesn’t matter. Fruit and yogurt if you have it.”
He nods to Elise, standing in the corner. She disappears into the kitchen while Damian pours me a cup of coffee. Then he sits down and looks at me.
“Michela and Bennie will be gone for a little while,” he says.
“Gone?”
He nods.
“Where?”
“A camp out West. Something Bennie will enjoy.”
“And Michela will not,” Lucas adds.
Damian gives him an irritated glance, then turns to me. “How are your hands?”
“Fine. Still sore but not too bad. What’s going on?”
“Nothing for you to worry about.”
Lucas snorts.
“What the fuck is your problem?” Damian asks him.
Lucas glances at me, then back to Damian. “You should tell her the truth, that’s my problem. She was out there yesterday.” He pushes back his chair. “I’m going to hear what the soldiers have to say.”
“Tobias will handle it.”
“You trust him over blood.”
“What choice have you given me?”
Lucas wipes his mouth, stands, then drops his napkin on the table.
“Just make sure you’re ready to go. We leave within the hour,” Damian tells him.
Lucas gives me a hard look, then leaves.
“What’s he talking about?” I ask Damian. “And why do I smell smoke?”
Damian turns to me. “We had a security breach yesterday. Two men on the grounds.”
“What?”
“Solarium is gone.”
“Gone? What do you mean gone?”
Elise returns with a heaping bowl of fresh fruit, yogurt, and granola.
“Thank you, Elise. You can clean up later,” Damian tells her, effectively dismissing her. He only continues once she’s disappeared into the kitchen. “They burned it down.”
“Who did and why?”
His jaw tightens, his eyes narrow, and I know he’s distracted. He shifts his gaze to me. “Business,” he says through clenched teeth. “Nothing for you to worry about.”
“Nothing for me to worry about? I was out there. I felt like I was being watched. You think it was the men who set the fire watching me?”
He sips his coffee, licks his lips, and sets the mug down. He’s pissed. I can see it. He looks at my plate. “Eat. I want to leave within the hour and I’m not leaving you here.”
“Tell me, Damian. Tell me what’s going on.”
“I sent a message. Clementi sent one back.”
“I don’t understand. Who is Clementi?” As soon as I say his name, though, I remember. The oldest client of my father’s. One who doesn’t want me around. I still remember his beady little eyes on me.
“Yeah, him,” Damian says, pushing his chair back. “The asshole with the umbrella in his fucking drink.” The look on his face is so dark, I think if he ever looked at me that way, I’d wither. He glances past me toward the front door momentarily. “What was Lucas carrying out there? What did you see?”
It takes me a minute to follow. “You think he helped them?”
“I didn’t say that. I asked what you saw.”
I try to think. “I’m not sure. I just know they were heavy from the way he was carrying them.”
“If he betrayed me…” He trails off, schools his features. “You don’t say a word to him, understand?”
“I wouldn’t.”
“Good.” He checks his watch and pushes his chair back. “Pack a few things.”
I nod just as Tobias and Lucas reenter the house. I can hear them arguing from here.
“Christ,” Damian mutters, walking toward them.
“Damian?”
He stops and turns to me, but I can see he’s impatient.
“Michela.”
Coming back to the table, he lays his hand flat against the wood. I look at it, at his wedding band. I glance at mine.
He leans toward me. “I didn’t punish her, if that’s what you’re going to ask. Didn’t even mention it.”
“Thank you.”
“I sent them away for their own safety.”
“What about your father?”
He grins, then straightens. “That old man will live to bury us all.”
I shudder. “We’re in danger.” As stupid as it sounds, it’s like the idea just dawns on me.
His expression grows darker. “I’ll keep you safe. I won’t let our enemies hurt you.”
Our enemies.
Have I inherited his or have they been there all along and I’ve been oblivious?
I study him. He does the same to me. He cups the back of my head, as I turn my face up to his. When he leans down and kisses