Page 47 of Reign

Instead of laughing, Camila stills my hand on her hair, her eyes growing serious. Pulling in a lungful of air, she says, “I owe you an apology.”

I’ve pretty much forgiven both her and Cas and have moved on. Things between Camila and I are so much better but they still remain fragile and I’m not yet ready for a deep heart to heart. “You probably do, but honestly, I’d rather just let it go and move on now.”

“I just…” She pauses, closes her eyes and takes a deep breath.

I’ve learned something about closure over the last couple of months, so I don’t stop her when she starts again. I figure she needs to get this out in order to get past it.

“I’ll always love Dominic. He’s irreplaceable, and I would know since I’ve been trying to replace him – unsuccessfully, I might add – for eighteen years.” I see the tears welling in her eyes and selfishly I’m glad we haven’t done her makeup yet. “Shit, I’m bad at this,” she lets out a sad laugh and I take her hand, trying to help her through it. “I’m sorry I was such a bitch to you in Venezuela. That whole situation couldn’t have been easy and I just want you to know, if I’d known what Luis and Irina were up to…well, I’d like to think that I would have tried to stop them. The reality is that I would have done anything to get Dom back but I see now that that would have been a mistake. I can see why he loves you.”

I can’t help but laugh. “That’s theworstapology I’ve ever heard.”

She laughs too. “I know, but I didn’t want to lie in my apology. My point is, you have everything I’ve ever wanted and it’s hard to watch. It’s hard to be around him when he’s around you, but you’ve not been half as hateful to me as I was to you when the roles were reversed. So, thank you, and I’m sorry.”

That’s slightly better.

“Shitty apology accepted. Now let’s give you vixen eyes so Adam loses his shit on the spot.” I change the subject quickly because outpourings of emotion obviously make us both uncomfortable.

Camila cackles, “Vixen eyes? Libby, I’m in my thirties. Vixen eyes aren’t cute after twenty-five…not that you would know.” She winks.

“You’ve never seen the way I do them,” I tell her as I pick up the eyeliner.

Just as I swipe on the finishing touches, my phone pings indicating a text.

Cas: Come down to Joelle’s. Drive. Don’t walk.

“I’ve got to go. You sure you’re okay waiting for Adam by yourself?” I don’t want to insult her but I don’t want to just leave her either.

“I’m fine. Thank you.”

I fasten the GPS bracelet on her wrist before I walk down the hallway to grab my thigh holster and fasten the strap beneath my yellow skirt. The lighter color gives away a little of the outline so I change into a navy-blue skirt and a patterned top. The weight of the pistol on my leg has quickly become a comfort to me and I sometimes wonder if I’ll ever be comfortable without this accessory ever again.

I yell goodbye to Camila, hear her response, and walk down the hallway to the garage and into the bay with the Chevrolet Tahoe. It’s not the kind of luxury one finds in the Rolls Royce Cullinan. Nor is it the speed and raw power of the Ferrari. But I like to be a little more discreet about my superpowers and elite status so it suits me just fine. Plus, I don’t know how to drive stick shift – so the Ferrari is out – and the only other option is a motorcycle, which Icandrive, but would be a little rough in this outfit.

When I pull into Joelle’s driveway, the garage door starts going up as soon as all four tires hit her property. Standing in the garage waving me in is Nikita. He looks just as relaxed as he did the morning Cas caught him lounging in our living room and he admitted to murdering my parents.

“Come inside.” He nods his head toward the door.

As I follow him in, I take in the house around me more closely than the previous times I was here. Joelle’s house is like ours. White stucco with a terra cotta roof. Out back is an open terrace I can see through the massive hallway. Her pool looks dim from the cloud cover still hanging around outside.

The marble in the foyer and the Jerusalem stone staircase are definite upgrades from the house we live in but otherwise the layout feels familiar if not the same. However, darker colors coat her walls and more personal touches fill the space here. Nikita and I enter from the garage; Cas is just inside the door waiting to welcome me. He’s standing next to a wall I’ve never seen. A photo of Nikita and two other men, all grinning and holding up shots, catches my eye first.

I elbow Dominic in the side and nod toward the picture.

“Nikita, who’s that?” he asks, pointing to the frame.

He takes a couple of steps back toward me and smiles fondly at the picture. “That’s Alexei, my cousin. We used to be close before his dad screwed me over.” His smile fades and he turns to look at Dom. “Why do you ask?”

“Your cousin is our gardener.” I answer, recognizing the tattoo on his neck. I’ve never seen his hair because he always has a ballcap on, but his short brown hair is shaved and his eyes look cold as hell in this picture.

Nikita jerks back like I slapped him.

“Of course he isn’t. Why would you think that?”

“Your cousin goes by the name of Adam and was hired by Mateo as the gardener for our property. He’s been there almost every day since we arrived.” I’m picking up speed as I talk, getting more worried for Camila with each passing second.

“You’re sure?”

“If the teeth didn’t give him away, that tattoo definitely does,” Dom answers for me.

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