Page 30 of Sinful Kingdom

“Daemon won’t rest until they have them back. None of the guys will, I can promise you that.”

“Daemon and Alex… do they… can they feel if something is wrong? You know, like twins on the TV?”

“Sometimes. Alex never once gave up on D when he was gone. He knew he was okay and that he would be back. D feels the same right now.”

“That’s reassuring.”

Sipping my coffee, I soak up Calli’s strength and support. She doesn’t need to say anything. I feel it.

“Did they hurt him?”

She rubs her belly again.

“Yeah. Daemon was already forced to bear the horrors of his past on his body, and they just added to that.”

I stare at her, a few of the things Gianna said to me while I was barely with it coming back to me.

“Their grandad?”

Calli’s eyes widen in surprise. “Alex told you?”

“He mentioned him not being a good person. But it was Gianna who said something about how he treated Stefanos and her boys.”

Fire burns through her eyes, a wave of protectiveness so strong it’s almost intimidating.

“If that man weren’t already worm food, I’d have been the one to make it happen.”

“I think Gianna might have beaten you to it.”

She blinks at me.

“N-no. He had a heart attack.”

“Oh, okay. Fair enough.” I sip my coffee again while Calli gets lost in her own thoughts.

“Do you think… do you think she had something to do with it?”

“I don’t know. I wasn’t exactly in a great place when she was telling me all this. I might be reading too much into things.”

“What else did she say?” Calli asks.

I relay what I can remember.

“She hasn’t told you these things?” I ask.

“Not quite like that, no. But I’ve grown up with Alex and Daemon. I guess she doesn’t feel the need to explain how things went down quite in the same way. I already know they’re two of the strongest, most capable guys in the city. It’s interesting to hear it, though. Stefanos, Alex and D have a strange relationship.”

“Strange?”

“They’ve all suffered at the hands of Stefanos’s father. I guess that mutual pain could have brought them together, but I think Stefanos’s guilt keeps him from making the most of the relationship he could have with his boys.”

“That’s sad,” I say. “My mum died in a car crash when I was younger.”

Calli nods. “Blakely told me. Sounds like things were tough.”

“Yeah, they were. But she’s incredible. I owe her so much.”

Footsteps bring our conversation to a close, and when I look up, Gianna is smiling as she moves toward us with a tray in her hand.

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