Page 66 of And Twice as Twisted
The room remained quiet, each of us staring at the ghost of the woman Sienna left in her wake. She might have been out of sight, but her statement remained. Haunting us as surely as a fallen soldier haunted the battlefield.
“Handle thisshit,” Lucky hissed at his father. “You’re destroying this family. We can’t afford a war from both the west and the south. Not if you want any of us to survive it.”
The patriarch looked at me, then back to his son, but I had nothing to say. Whatever bones Mario Agostino had buried long ago were resurfacing and worse than that, his decisions were rash. He’d lost control over his family and soon his city.
“And this?” Lucky motioned to the spot where Sienna had stood moments ago. “I hope I don’t regret approving of it.” He sighed before turning on his heel and following his sister’s shadow.
And I wasn’t far behind them.
Chapter 22
SIENNA AGOSTINO
Ihad to be dreaming.
I rolled over and the scent of Apollo surrounded me. I stretched my limbs, wincing at the delicious pain that overcame my muscles and clenched my thighs. Our little escapade in the rose bushes was his way of apologizing. Then the time in the shower and once again against the bathroom counter were my punishments.
But I was certain there was much more to come. I didn’t care.
I love youheld no meaning. Not anymore. I wasn’t so naïve as to believe happily ever after existed after all this time. Not for us. I didn’t need those words. Those lies. They were immaterial when it came to a real relationship between two people. I didn’t want a romanticized love story. I wanted real. I wanted the raw emotions. The agony and the pain.
Apollo and I weren’t going to ride off into the sunset on some white horse. I was going to yell, curse, and push his buttons just because I could. And when he had enough, he’d punish my body and I’d enjoy every delectable second of it.
No, I didn’t need the words. Ineededthe actions. And his more recent ones told me everything I needed to know. His heart beat constant and strong under my palm. It beat for me and hisson. I knew nothing about us was going to be easy, but that’s what made life worth living. As long as he stopped fighting this thing between us.
I showered quickly, lost in my own thoughts of what today would bring. Octavia was coming home. All because of Nikolai’s dedication to his nephew and Alexei’s dedication to me. Then there was Persephone. She was some sort of avenging angel. The sort this fucked-up world needed and she’d kept her promise to me. However, something told me she knew more than she was letting on…
I straightened my hair and pulled it into a high ponytail. My smokey eyeshadow made my eyes pop and I added two diamond rings to each hand. I chose a strappy pair of blood-red soles with black metallic studs on the toes. My Dolce & Gabbana maroon and black lace bodycon dress fit me like a second skin, but the high slit on the thigh allowed me to move with ease. I slipped on a few mandatory accessories and headed downstairs. I refused to appear anything other than immaculate and posed, while knowing my reputation preceded me.
My heels echoed against the marble foyer as I entered the kitchen.
“Little overdressed, aren’t we?” Alexei looked me up and down, clearly entertained.
“As if there is such a thing, Alexei,” I fired back before bending at the waist and placing a kiss on Sal’s head. He was seated in his highchair as I moved towards the island, stopping when Apollo tugged me to him.
He gripped my face between his palms, dropping a hand to my lower back and pinning me against him. He stroked my cheek and placed a tender kiss on my lips. It was soft yet somehow made my knees weak, threatening to crumble to the floor. I smiled at the feel of his arms around me.
And then he ruined it.
“Go change.” The background noise around us died as everyone waited for my response.
“As if one night would somehow make me listen.” I kissed him once again and made my way to the bacon on the counter. “Honestly, Apollo, it’s like you don’t even know me.” I laughed a little louder than necessary to drive my point home.
I was not. The One. He knew better than that.
“Morning.” Mila walked into the room and Marco stopped moving, his eyes glued to the Russian doll in a silent stare down.
This wasn’t good.
This girl was one toy my brother didn’t need to be playing with. Luckily, his stomach took that moment to turn and he barreled out of the room—no doubt purging his liquid dinner. I looked to Al, who rolled his eyes before glancing at the girl curiously.
Nikolai watched his niece, his face deceptively blank. “Shall we go over the plan once more?” He motioned for us to enter the family room.
A mixture of Russian and Italian enforcers lingered in every corner, all here for one purpose while creating an alliance no one anticipated. Their plan was simple but mine was just that…mine.
The cars would pull up and I’d step out and motion for Octavia. Once she was safely tucked in our SUV, I’d open fire on every motherfucker within range.
“I’m serious, Sienna. Stick to the goddamn plan.” Lucky’s tone held no room for argument and I was in too good of a mood to respond. Or listen.
