Page 145 of Deception

A press of passengers surge through the car suddenly, all on their way back to their seats. Before I can think of anything else to say, Gloria gets tugged from my grip, looking over her shoulder.

“It was nice meeting you!”

Just like that she’s gone.

At the station, I don’t spot her in the throng of bodies, juggling my luggage.

Well. That was nice.

Pressing matters like making the last leg to Paris distract me from any further daydreaming. Another train is out of the question at this point, with all the delays and my completely reinforced fear of trains.

This one was pretty cool, though.

Thoughts of Gloria chase me all the way to New York, where I once again face my potential death at the hands of Domenico Vipera. I suppose if I die here, though, it meets my criteria for a good death.

Dying for family is the only thing worth dying for, in my opinion. Kind of a given, growing up in a crime family.

Dirty word, that. But it fits. We are what we are.

The catch is that the family I swore my blood towasmy blood. Alessandro was always the only man I would follow. The only person I could trust to lead me.

With my council, of course. He’d be lost without me.

Which is why I can rest assured for his well-being with Isabella keeping him occupied and tempering his impulses with wise words. She’s a firecracker. And a lioness, a match for him in every way.

As much as I still don’t like the way she came into his life, the end result is better than I could have expected. She’s his, he’s hers. Something I always wanted for my brother, something I knew he always needed desperately.

Something I was pretty sure I’d never have.

It’s not in my nature. I’m too suspicious. I’m too neurotic.

I wouldn’t want to put someone through that; I can barely tolerate it myself. It’s like living with an assistant always checking the itinerary.

I have no chill. Except Gloria, she seemed to like it, kind of.

However, it’s case in point, the absolute spaz that I was around her.

The ride to Domenico’s building takes me through the old neighborhood, near the compound. It feels like months instead of weeks since I was home.

Nostalgia tickles my brain, like fuzzy tingles.

I almost tell the cabbie to take a detour, but thoughts of Alessandro and my brothers lead to Isabella and the baby. No. I need to get this over with, for their sake.

I think it will suit Alessandro, though, getting another chance to raise one of his own, instead of being forced to raise his brothers. Maybe it’ll cool all that anger he’s got locked away, too. He was meant to be a caregiver, but he was yoked with way too much responsibility to take care of that part of himself.

Another key difference between us. I’ve always kept myself to myself. I know who I am and reconciled with that trainwreck a long time ago.

Which is why I never even considered having kids.

They always said I was an old soul. Well, when you have twin baby brothers trying to kill each other constantly, you get tired of playing around really quick. It never suited me to goof off that way, anyway.

I need mental stimulation. That’s why I went to college four times. Never finished any of it. Just took the classes I liked and moved on.

“$42.50. You need me to wait?”

“No. I don’t know if I’ll be coming back.”

“Jeezus. No need for dramatics.”

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