The Vatican - M.E. Clayton Page 0,31
and held the door open to let me pass.
I headed straight for the couch as he went to the kitchen to get us something to drink. That was also his thing. The kid always made refreshments part of the deal.
When he came back into the living room, he handed me a water and took a seat on the opposite end of the couch. He regarded me with that clear gaze of his. “What’s up?”
I ended up telling him everything from the night Geno came over and Dad interrupted up to now. I didn’t mince words, and I didn’t leave out the fights or the nastiness. The nastiness on both my part and Francisco’s as well.
When I was done, he asked, “Who are you most mad at? The adults for arranging it? Us kids for not telling you? Francisco for agreeing to it? Or yourself for not catching it?”
His last question took me aback. “Why would I be mad at myself for not catching it? You guys all kept it a secret.”
He scoffed. “Give me a break, Ria,” he replied. “No one ‘kept’ it a secret from you.” He used finger quotes around the word ‘kept’. “Most of us figured you knew since we knew.”
“How could I know if no one told me?” I retorted.
“No one told us either,” he flung back. “We knew because we paid attention.”
“What are you talking about, Dante?”
“Jesus Christ, Ria,” he chuckled. “Why do you think you were Uncle Luca’s favorite? Why do you think The Holy Trinity included you in things that even Vincent, who is first born out of all of us, wasn’t even privy to? Why do you think you’ve always known more than Angelo, Emilio, and Cira Benetti? What did you think all those perks and privileges were for? It’s obvious to anyone willing to take the time to pay attention that, since you weren’t born a Benetti, and therefore couldn’t rule, they were grooming you for the next best thing. They were grooming you to be Francisco’s wife because what else would you be, Ria?”
I didn’t want his words to be true. I didn’t want to acknowledge that I’d been walking around with blinders all this time because that would imply a certain degree of self-centeredness I never would have considered myself to be.
“Even if all that is true, Dante, he doesn’t love me,” I replied, putting the most serious issue out there in the open.
Dante’s amber eyes bugged out. “Are you kidding me, Ria?” My brows drew down in confusion. “That man has been in love with you damn near his entire life.”
“What?” I practically screeched.
Dante shook his head. “Jesus, girl, you really are killing me here.”
He was wrong. There’s no way Francisco’s been in love with me all these years, and I’d been too blind to see it. Francisco’s always treated me with…polite indifference. Sure, we’d been close and were considers friends, but he never treated me any…more special than he did everyone else. Birthday gifts, Christmas gifts, all those things were always appropriate enough. The only time we’d ever crossed the line was that night at the funhouse, but…at the time, I really believed he’d only done it to help me from losing myself completely to the darkness.
I shook my head. “What are you talking about, Dante?”
“Ria, just…hear me out okay?” I nodded. “Growing up in this family is…unique. There’s the way the girls are raised, and there’s the way the boys are raised. The girls are raised to be independent, brave, intelligent, loyal, and fighters. But you’re also raised to make your safety your number one priority. Guards are not an option for any of you, ever. You girls are raised as equals, except when it comes to your safety.”
“I know all this, Dante.”
“Just bear with me, Ria.” I nodded again. “We’re raised to be all the same things you girls are, except, we’re also raised to understand that your safety is more important than ours. As men, our primary duty is to protect the women of this family, and that’s non-negotiable. If we don’t come home with you girls unharmed, we better not come home at all. You can match us in intelligence, bravery, loyalty, but not in brute strength because it is our job to protect you, not the other way around. That being said, as part of your protective detail, it is our job to be observant. We have to always be aware of our surroundings and yours. And those keen observation skills are