you want to join me?” I said to Luis as he hovered in the doorway.
“Aren’t you tired?”
“I haven’t been sleeping well,” I admitted.
“Nightmares?” He looked concerned.
“My demons don’t haunt me in my sleep, Luis.”
They were real.
Circling me like hungry piranhas waiting for their moment to strike.
“I wouldn’t say no to a cocoa.” He came inside and closed the door.
It was late, and I probably should have gone to bed given that I needed to return to classes tomorrow, but there was too much on my mind to switch off.
After making us each a mug of cocoa, sprinkling marshmallows on mine, I went to Luis. He’d made himself comfortable on the end of our couch. “Here you go,” I said, handing him the mug.
“Thank you. Did you enjoy tonight?”
I sat at the opposite end of the couch, curling my body into the soft fabric. “Alessia is a sweetheart and Matteo seems nice. I still haven’t made my mind up about Enzo.”
“He’s hardened. Most guys are in this life.”
“You speak like you have experience?”
“Just because your family decided to walk a different path doesn’t mean we don’t get our hands dirty.” His smile turned grim.
“What does that mean?”
I’d seen my father’s true colors, but was Luis right? Was the entire Capizola empire built on lies and scandal?
“Monsters wear many faces, Arianne. Your father set out to take back La Riva and Romany Square from the Marchetti, but it was never his to take.”
I stared into my cocoa, watching the marshmallows bubble and melt. “Is that why you’re helping me? Because you don’t agree with my father’s ideals? You’re his most trusted security guard.”
Luis twisted his body toward me, letting out a long sigh. “I’m helping you because it’s the right thing to do. Because no child should have to pay for the sins of their forefathers. This fight, the bad blood between the Marchetti and Capizola isn’t yours to bear, Arianne. And what Fascini did to you... I will never forgive myself. It happened on my watch. I want to believe your father didn’t know what Scott would do that night, but he knew something would happen.” His words shook with anger.
“I never had children. My ex-wife and I, we tried. Tried for years. But it wasn’t meant to be. So watching you grow, witnessing the young woman you have become, everything you have endured, I guess it spoke to me. To that part of me never fulfilled. I have served your father for the better part of twenty years, Arianne. But I serve you now. And if that means I serve the Marchetti, then so be it.”
“What will happen if my father finds out?”
A dark shadow passed over his face. “Let’s hope it does not come to that.” He took a sip of his cocoa. “I didn’t want to say anything, but I’m not sure I’ll be able to get any sleep if I don’t. Meeting Nicco tomorrow is a risk, Arianne. One I’m not sure you should be taking yet.”
“I have to go.”
“I know.” He rubbed his jaw. “But if I’m going to protect you, that means being honest with you. And I think it’s a bad idea.”
“You don’t want to take me?”
“I didn’t say that. But there’s a reason Nicco left Verona County. If Mike or Scott find out...”
“They won’t. We’ll make sure they don’t.”
I was going, even if Luis didn’t take me.
I needed to see Nicco, more than I needed my next breath. Every second without him here, I slipped further under the deep waters I’d found myself in.
He gave me a sharp nod. Disapproval glittered in his eyes, but Luis didn’t protest any further. “I’ll make the arrangements. You’ll need a cover story. Something I can feed to your father, something that will keep Scott off your back.”
“I won’t have to worry about Scott. He’ll be at practice with the team, they have a big game coming up. He’ll be distracted with that.”
“That makes things easier.”
“Nora has invited her friend Dan over tomorrow evening, so I’ll make myself scarce in my room studying.” I gave him a pointed look.
“Very well. I’ll get our story straight with the rest of the team.”
“Thank you, for everything. I don’t know what I’d do if it wasn’t for you and Nora.”
“Something tells me you’d survive. You have great strength, Arianne. Never forget that. I know things feel desperate now, that you can’t see a way out, but you always have a choice. It’s just figuring out which battles to fight.”