Page 21 of Sinners Atone
My eyes drop to his lips. I don’t want to miss a single syllable of his answer.
“He’s my brother.”
My ears ring.
Ink, scar,green.
I’m not religious, but in this moment, I thank God.
I thank God he’s alive.
And then I thank God I didn’t tell him my secret.
Because I didn’t know there was another Visconti brother.
But I do know that man.
He’s alive.
Relief crashes over me in a wave. I’m swimming in it—drowning in it—until Rafe tilts my chin and pulls me up for air.
“Has your lemonade been spiked?” he asks, amused.
It feels like it. “I didn’t know you had another brother,” I murmur.
“Really?” He sounds surprised. “You’ve never met Gabe?”
My mouth opens, then closes again.
Even in the throb of confusion, I know I don’t tell lies. Even those in the lightest shade of white get stuck in the base of my throat, and I have a hard time choking them out. But the truth is now stuck there too, because if Rafe doesn’t know we’ve met, it means Gabriel hasn’t told him either.
Which means he doesn’t know about that night.
I shake my head.
Rafe laughs in disbelief and lets go of my chin. “Yeah, well, Gabe keeps himself to himself.”
You know, perhaps we’re not talking about the same person. Maybe he’s talking about another man, one I haven’t spotted yet, who happens to have a similar name. Maybe someone over at the bar or surrounded by that group of girls in the corner. A man who fits the Visconti mold, with a sharp suit and an air of importance like the rest of them.
Perhaps there’s not a man in the shadows. It’s just the darkness playing tricks on me.
Anticipation grips my neck as I slowly look over my shoulder. I find the strobe light and track its path over stilettos, discarded penis straws, and pools of spilled liquor.
It inches up the wall.
Ink.
Scar.
A green gaze clashing with mine.
In a short, sharp breath, he’s gone again, reclaimed by the shadow.
Rafe’s eyes warm my cheek. “He’s not as scary as he looks, I promise.”
My body is throbbing, and I swallow thickly. “Does he live on the coast?”
“Sometimes.”
