Page 63 of Prince of Malice

“Fine,” Gianni relents. “But if you mess up, I don’t want anything to do with it.”

I shrug off my brother’s constant complaints. I’ve dealt with them my entire life, and I’m tired of them. I place my hand on Luca’s back and guide him down the stairs, trying to get us out the door without any more questions.

“I’m not done with you.” Mom speaks in an almost sinister tone. “Why are you both here?”

Her cold gaze freezes us both in place. We were so close, only steps from the door.

“After we escaped, we needed somewhere to lay low, so we came here,” I tell her, not completely lying to her.

“That explains why you’re here, but why you, Luca?” she says zoning in on him.

“Well, basically, umm.” He stumbles over his words for an explanation.

“We were both hurt, so we thought it would be better to stick together,” I answer for him.

“Sticking together with a Valenti.” Gianni scoffs.

Mom scowls at my brother. “Can you give us a minute?”

Gianni rolls his eyes and turns away, pacing away to the next room in a huff.

“Now,” she continues. “Are you both going to stop lying to me?”

Why does she have to be able to read me so well? What the hell can I even say to convince her?

“Dominic, I think we should tell her the truth.”

20

LUCA

Every part of me is shaking, terrified of the pit I’ve just dug myself into and praying that it won’t end up as my grave after this. Dominic stands beside me equally as frozen, still searching for some kind of an answer to my question.

“Dom?” I ask him, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder.

“Tell me what?” Sofia asks, growing even more concerned and impatient.

“Yeah, okay…” Dominic murmurs as he prepares himself to explain.

I can’t believe we thought we would be able to keep this a secret. With how much our secrecy and plans have been falling apartrecently, it’s a miracle we lasted this long. Angelo held our affair over our heads, and it almost ruined everything. I think it’s best that we come out on our own terms and not anybody else's.

“Mom,” Dominic begins with a heavy sigh. “Luca and I, we’re kind of dating…”

He grabs hold of my hand and squeezes it tightly, scrunching up his face as he starts to already flinch against what’s to come next.

“That’s right. We’ve been seeing each other in secret, but it’s about time we tell the truth,” I confess to Sofia.

“I see,” she says, taking everything in with an almost unsettling level of composure. “So you’re the one that let my son go through all of this?”

“No, Mom,” Dominic interjects. “It’s not like that.”

“But it is,” I blurt out. “I put him through dangerous situations countless times, and I’m sorry.”

“Look at what’s happened to him. Do you think sorry can make up for that?” Sofia demands.

“And look at what’s happened to him!” Dominic roars as he shoves me toward her. “He’s been through just as much as me being wrapped up in all of this, if not more.” Dominic steps forward, guiding me alongside him so that we’re both closer to his mother. “Sure, he’s got me into some bad situations, but he’s gotten me out of even more.” He chuckles slightly to himself. “I’ve lost count of all the times Luca’s come charging into the most dangerous of situations just so that he can drag me back out of them.”

Sofia’s hardened exterior starts to crack, the sharp shell beginning to expose the caring motherly figure that I’m more used to waiting beneath it.

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