Page 94 of A Taste Of Darkness

Dahlia held Viola in her arms, rocking her so she wouldn’t wake up.

“You sure you want to do this?” Arlo asked, uncertainty in his voice.

I nodded. “You can stay here, Arlo. You don’t have to risk your life for me.”

Arlo looked at his wife, pressed a kiss to her lips, then stood up from the chair and walked over to me. “You need someone on your side. And let’s face it, I’m a dead man walking. They know you’re alive, they know I’ve been helping you hide. It’s a miracle I’m not already dead. I bet they’re just waiting for the right moment to strike. The only way I won’t die is if you return and take over.”

My cousin risked his life for me so I could have a couple of years as a free man. He sacrificed years he could’ve been living with his wife to keep me safe. The least I could do was return the favor, giving up everything for him.

“I think it’s better if I went alone,” I admitted. “If I go alone, it shows that I come in peace. If I bring an army… well.”

“Matteo thought the same,” Arlo told me. “I sent you everything he thought you should know, right?”

“Yes, thank you.” It wasn’t much, but it helped to know the average time my brothers went to bed.

It was my father I needed to speak to, preferably without my brothers. A parent I could handle, siblings, cousins, and uncles not so much.

“Matteo asked your dad to stay awake for a bit longer, so…”

I looked at the time. It was almost three in the morning. “I know. I have to go.”

“If you don’t call by nine, I’ll let Sterlie know you’ve died.”

“No,” I interjected. “Just tell her that I wouldn’t return, I think that’s less?—”

“Thinking you’ve died will be less painful,” Dahlia said. “You should’ve told her you were leaving.”

Oh, and how I wish I could’ve said goodbye… “If they don’t kill me, I’ll be back to say goodbye.”

Just like Matteo said, he left the backdoor open so I could sneak into the house without waking anyone. To my surprise, he met me at the door as well.

“Your padre is in his office, but he’s tired and furious because I couldn’t tell him why he was supposed to stay up,” Matteo told me as we quietly rushed through the mansion toward my father’s office.

I figured he wouldn’t like that. “Are my brothers still awake?”

“No. I checked all of their rooms, and they’re sleeping.”

That’s at least something. “My sister?”

Matteo snorted a laugh. “Seriously? Adriana can’t afford to stay awake all night. Her husband would kill her if he saw hints of under-eye bags.”

Another thing I was going to change. My sister didn’t deserve to marry a man who’d treat her like… that.

“Does he know?” I asked as we reached the office.

Matteo shrugged. “I don’t think anyone told him.”

“Okay.” I took a deep breath, then lifted my hand and knocked on the door.

47

LUCA’S RETURN

Milo Marucci

“Luca.” Papà’s eyes were wide with shock. I could swear I even saw a tear pool in them. “What… how? You…?”

I stepped inside his office, closing the door behind me.

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