Page 42 of The Shadow King's Brother

“How was it?” I ask, jaw tight as I try to hold myself together, barely holding back the storm inside me.

Why does she always do this? Put herself in harm’s way? Make decisions without telling me?

I should be used to it by now—but I’m not. And it makes my blood simmer.

“Weirdly awkward,” she says, her voice soft, eyes dropping to her hands. “And a tiny bit… nice?”

“Nice, huh?” I arch a brow.

She looks up, meeting my eyes. “I don’t know. It was just… okay, you know? Meeting someone who’s actually family—I’ve missed that.”

“Just stuck with my lot instead?” I smirk. I’m not hurt. I get it.

“Hey.” Her tone shifts. In a heartbeat, she goes from serious to playful, framing my face with her hands. “I love you and your messed-up family. Well—” She pauses, eyes glinting. “I don’t love Vinny, but the rest are great,” she adds with an eye roll.

“Speaking of the devil... I was with Vinny earlier,” I say.

Her smile fades. She straightens beside me, gaze sharp. “And?”

“Mother wants him to meet his new sister…”

My voice drops, flat and bitter. The idea of Vinny—that monster—anywhere near my little sister turns my stomach.

She stops running her fingers through my hair, her eyes widening, and anger flashes in her eyes. “Celeste? You’ve got to be kidding me, Elio, that’s fucked up.”

“I know, Nica. He deserves nothing,” I groan.

“But…?” she asks, her gaze searching mine.

“But if he has information that can protect us… protect you… protect Celeste…” I let the sentence hang in the air, the weight of what I’m willing to do settling between us.

My hand goes to her cheek. But I can feel the tension building beneath her skin, the barely contained rage threatening to explode.

“No,” she hisses and turns her back to me, cutting off the contact.

“You heard him, Nica. Vinny was… scared. I’ve never seen him like that. They’re coming after him, after us,” I say..

“Who is?” she asks, her back still turned, her body rigid.

“Someone… What happened at the building? Maybe it is connected?” I ask, gently taking her arm and carefully turning her around to face me again. “Please, Nica, don’t fight me on this. I’m trying to keep you safe, damn it.” My grip tightens on her arm.

Nica looks down, avoiding my gaze, her expression unreadable. What’s she not telling me? What’s she holding back?

“Maybe…” she stutters, “Maybe you’re right, maybe Vinny is telling the truth, maybe someone is after us. “Finally, her eyes meet mine.

“What happened at Broad today?” I growl. I have an urgent need to protect her; it’s like a raging inferno in my blood. I cup her face, running my thumbs across her cheeks. “What are you not telling me?”

Nica finally breaks down and tells me about a hooded man, an encounter in the garage, and how he seemed to know her. I clench my fists, my jaw tight. Someone touched her and threatened her, and I wasn’t there to protect her. The rage burns inside me like molten lava.

“Did he say something? What did he look like?” I ask, the words clipped.

“He told me to fuck off,” she says, “said that siding with you, with the De Lucas, is wrong.”

“That’s all?”

“Yeah, that’s all.”

I look toward the window, my mind racing. Who the hell was that? And what did he want from her other than scare her away from me?

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