Page 79 of The Silencer

“I really can’t say. I promised.”

I sigh and then pull him into my arms. “Just be safe. And I’m here to keep your secrets.”

“I know, and I’d tell you, but I have a feeling my dad could pry it from you with just a well-placed look.”

“He could not.”

He grins at me and presses a sweet kiss to my cheek. “I know you think you’re strong, but he holds power over you. As you do him.”

I scoff at that. There is no way that I hold anything over Anthony. Nothing at all.

“You’re delusional.”

He grins at me sweetly. “I know I’m not. Anyways, I’ve been wanting to show you something. Want to see?”

He loops his arm through mine and leads me toward the conservatory, and I follow along, my excitement getting the better of me as Angel pulls me behind a dwarf palm tree and pushes a latch on the wall.

“I’m serious. Why didn’t you tell me about these secret doors before? They’re amazing.”

It’s Angel’s turn to arch an eyebrow at me this time. “Because I knew you’d be insufferable. If it wasn’t for Bane, you’d still not know about them. But since the cat is out of the bag…”

He pulls me inside and then the door closes behind us. “These don’t just go into the catacombs, but they also go to different places in the house. So we can sneak around.”

His phone light turns on, and I see the eerie pathway ahead of us.

“It’s over here.”

He pulls me forward and then grins back at me.

“My dad would kill me for showing you this, but I think you need some leverage and I don’t know if he’ll ever show you.”

My eyes widen as he pulls me further along.

Finally we come to a stop in front of a door and he pulls a key card from his pocket and unlocks it.

I hold my breath, unsure what I’ll find here, but then the lights flicker on and I take it all in.

Oh my god.

“What is this?” I breathe, and Angel sighs as he spins in a slow circle.

“It’s my dad’s secret hobby.”

I glance at the black and white pictures hanging on strings and lining the walls. The pictures are old, I can tell—they’re curling at the edges, the equipment coated with dust. Leaning forward, I make out the image of a beautiful woman in each one.

“Is this your mom?”

Angel nods and points to a picture of his mom, heavily pregnant.

“He hasn’t been down here for ages, but I found it when Luca told me about it. They shared her, did you know?”

My eyebrows rise at that. “What?”

“Yeah, Luca was in love with her as well.” He sighs and then flops down on a dusty chair, a puff of particles floating in the air around us.

“I had no idea.”

“Yeah, I guess that it was special between them. I’m not supposed to know, but look.”

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