and the church and Dominic’s right here. They killed a bunch of people right here. The Cove isn’t any safer than anywhere else.” That probably wasn’t true, and it surely wasn’t advancing her point, but at least it made her father’s jaw twitch.
He said nothing.
“Are you calling Elisa home, too?” she asked into the tense silence.
After a massive amount of familial drama in which Mamma and Elisa had, stunningly, come out on top, Lia’s older sister had transferred from Brown to Stanford. The events of that summer when Papa had been shot and the whole town attacked had sent Elisa into a tailspin, and she’d run away from home, basically. She wanted as much distance as possible from the Cove. Mamma had fought for her and won.
Of course, she was pre-med, so maybe that was a big enough ambition to warrant her freedom.
Papa slanted a narrow look at Mamma. Lia wasn’t sure what it meant, unless he, too, was remembering that ugly scene and how he’d relented.
Mamma answered Lia’s question. “Elisa has a much smaller life than you do, Lia. It’s easier to keep her safe because she’s already careful.”
“Because she’s afraid of her own shadow, you mean.”
“Honey, try to understand.” Mamma set her hand on Lia’s knee. “We want you to be safe. When things calm down, we can think it over again, but for right now, just come home for a bit.”
Papa had stiffened at the suggestion that they might reconsider, but he didn’t interrupt again.
Lia had always tried to be the good daughter, the one who didn’t cause a fuss. Not like fragile Elisa, not like combative Carina, not like sullen Ren, the Dark Prince. Just Lia, who got good grades and was nice to people and did what she was told. Just Lia, who rolled with the punches and didn’t lay all her troubles on the middle of the dining room table. Just Lia, who never got called to the principal’s office or the nurse’s office or the counselor’s office. Just Lia.
She hadn’t gotten a lot of attention while her drama-queen siblings had sucked it all up. That had hurt sometimes. Sometimes, she’d felt a little invisible.
Right now, with the full spotlight of parental attention on her, she realized how lucky she’d been.
“I’m almost twenty, Papa. I’m an adult. You can’t make me stay home.”
His smile was tense and humorless. In it, Lia caught a glimpse of the ruthless don, and her breath stopped.
“No,” her papa said quietly. “But I can make it very difficult for you to go anywhere else.”
Mamma stood up abruptly. “That’s enough. Lia, honey, go on upstairs. We’ll talk more about this later, but right now, I think we all need a break.”
Her knees shaking and her heart pounding, Lia stood and tried to walk smoothly to the door. The feeling was a bit like stage fright, and she knew how to hide that, so she hoped she appeared calm to her parents.
“Lia,” her father said as she put her hand on the door handle.
She stopped but didn’t turn back to him.
“I love you, gattina.”
“I love you, too, Papa.” Wondering how much either of them had meant those words in this moment, she opened the door and walked out.
She made it all the way to her room before she lost control. Catching sight of her dollhouse and all the dreams it held, she threw herself onto her bed and wept.
~ 5 ~
Nick sat in his chair and stared at the door through which his daughter had left. Beverly had taken her seat again at his side, and now she sat with her arms crossed, her attention fixed on the low table before them.
God, she was so beautiful. So many years they’d been together, yet he always had that thought when he looked on her. She was different from when they’d met—they both were—but she was meeting age gracefully, not trying to avoid it or resist it. Welcoming it instead. Her once-auburn hair was heavily grey, and her body had softened, but God, she was still so beautiful. She had always been the light in his darkness, and that remained as true as ever.
Even when her perfect face was creased and tight.
She was furious, he knew. She’d been furious for nearly a week. Furious and frantic.
The naked truth? His wife had been furious and frantic since the night the Bondaruks had attacked their town. The night he’d taken two bullets and been weakened more than anyone but they two knew. The night he’d