Page 43 of Killer Love

Gio’s face fills my vision as I round the corner. I gasp through my clenched throat.

“Oh, god… I’m sorry…” I say, forcing a laugh as my heart settles again in my chest.

“Did I scare you?” he asks, smiling softly. “My apologies.”

“It’s all right.”

“Is something wrong?”

“No, I…” I glance down the hall in both directions. “This house is awfully quiet...”

“I gave the staff the day off.”

I blink. “Oh. I suppose that would explain it, then…”

He stares at me without blinking, studying my face harder than he ever has before and that little smile of his never wavers.

I take a step back. “Is there a special occasion?”

“You could say that.”

I wait for him to explain more but he says nothing. The silence rings even louder in my ears, louder than the fiercest of alarms and I tremble inside. “Do you know where Lucian is?” I ask.

“He’s fine.”

Never in my life have I ever described Gio as taciturn. His vague, punchy answers do little to calm my nerves. Even his posture terrifies me. He stands thick and erect like a damn wall but structurally unsound. I feel as if I could pull out just one brick and the entire thing would crumble to the floor.

“May I see him?”

“No.”

A surge of motherly instinct fills my gut. “Where is he?”

Gio takes a quick step backward into the study. “Come in,” he says.

I don’t move. “Where is my son?”

“Sofia, come inside.”

A lump swells in my throat. “Where is my son?” I ask again.

His eyes twitch with impatience. “Do not make me tell you again.”

I shiver in my skin, but I do as he says.

The lights are down low. The fireplace is lit. For a moment, I think Gio has planned a bit of half-assed romanticism, but then I spot my sister sitting on an armchair near his desk.

“Rosalie?”

Another flinch travels my spine as the door latches closed behind me. I stare at her tear-stained face and my entire body grows cold.

“I’m sorry, Sofia,” she whispers.

“Oh, I don’t want to hear another apology from your lips, Rosalie,” Gio says. He passes around me and lays a comforting hand on her trembling shoulder. “Not another word…”

I shake my head, refusing to let the worst-case scenario take me over. There must be another reason for all of this, something other than the obvious alternative. Rosalie would never betray me. It’s not possible...

“What’s going on?” I ask, clearing the void from my throat.

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