Page 60 of Cruelest Contract
I remember the sound of the greenhouse glass cracking into a million shards when it was crushed by a tractor and how the colorful ruins of my mother’s flowers were scattered in pieces beneath the shattered glass.
“The Grimaldis took our side in that war,” I say to Cecilia. “And years later we repaid that debt by helping to track down every single participant in the wedding massacre that killed your parents.”
Her eyes are red and now her chin trembles. “I didn’t know that. My grandfather would never answer questions. They’re really all dead?”
“Every single one of them,” I say.
A lone tear slips down her cheek. On impulse, I brush her tear away with my thumb. Normally, my patience for tears is nonexistent. Of all the ways to react to a situation, tears are the most fucking useless.
Cecilia’s tears hit different. The twisting crunch deep inside my chest is back.
“Hey, now.” Tye, who can be sensitive when he wants to be, gently pats her shoulder.
Out in the brush, a pack of coyotes talk to each other in a shrill series of yelps.
Cecilia takes a calming breath and sniffs. “You said your father never visits her grave.”
She’s got a good memory. I barely recall telling her this.
“He doesn’t,” I confirm. “He has his reasons.”
Once in a while I’ll walk beyond the hill to my mother’s grave. So does Tye. Fort goes more frequently. But no one visits as often as Getty. He always leaves flowers, even in the winter. The funny thing is that he’ll never admit this but I know it’s him.
“Can we fucking go now?” Getty snaps. “I wasn’t planning on spending the night here.”
The ride back to the ranch is subdued with little talking. Cecilia is yawning by the time we pull through the gates.
Sonny Vitale is standing in front of the house beside two of his soldiers and I give him a signal that we need to have a chat. I’m not expecting any trouble from tonight’s excursion but it won’t hurt if law enforcement receives a friendly visit. Sonny, despite being a ruthless Mafia Capo, is also one charismatic son of a bitch.
Before I talk to anyone, I need to get Cecilia safely escorted up to her room. My brothers, all of them still shirtless and bloody, take off in separate directions.
Cecilia gives me a sleepy smile when I help her out of the truck. Sonny is hovering nearby and I throw him a look so he’ll back off for a minute. He neutralizes the nighttime security alarm and wordlessly opens the front door for us.
My hand stays on Cecilia’s back on the silent walk up to her room. That cat of hers runs down the stairs and disappears. Cecilia calls out to the animal and is ignored. She looks disappointed.
“I know you didn’t want to go out tonight,” she says as we approach her door. “So thanks for indulging me anyway.”
“I hope you had a good time.”
“It was interesting.” She rubs at her head and frowns. “How much whiskey does it take to make a hangover?”
“In your case, probably about three ounces. Take it easy in the morning. I’ll leave word with the kitchen to send up some ginger tea and toast for breakfast.”
“You really do think of everything.” Her hand is on the doorknob now and she raises those vulnerable brown eyes to my face.
I can’t shake that fleeting taste of holding her in my arms. If we hadn’t been interrupted, I doubt my willpower would have survived.
“What were you planning for tonight if we hadn’t gone out?” she asks.
“What makes you think I had a plan at all?”
“I think you always have a plan, Julian.”
She’s not wrong. Another score for her powers of perception.
Leaning against the wall, I compose an honest answer.
“I thought I’d show you the library. It’s on the first floor, the eastern wing of the house. We own a lot of antique volumes from my grandfather’s collection but the room doesn’t get used much now. After that, I figured we might make a fire in the old stone pit out back where the boys and I used to camp out as kids. Fort is getting good with his guitar and Getty has a decent voice if you can twist his arm into using it. We could have spent more time looking up at the night sky and searching for those constellations you like so much.”
