Page 74 of The Secrets We Keep

“Then maybe he’s just a paranoid guy.”

“He’s definitely a paranoid guy, but this was different.” She shook her head. “I’m just saying, Nero will get word of the derailment almost instantly. When he does, I imagine I’m going to be suspect number one. I’m not sure how much time I might have to actually get away.”

Luca reached for her hand across the table. “We don’t have to do this. I’ll talk Matteo into something else.”

“If this is what you need, I can do it for you.” She linked her fingers with his and gave his hand a squeeze.

“What I need is you,” Luca said, drawing her into his lap and pressing a kiss to her forehead. “Only you. We don’t need the train to make it believable.”

“Maybe not, but it’ll look better. If we choose one that travels on a day I work from home, that would buy me more time.”

“Then we’ll do that. Whatever you need.” He pressed his cheek against her shoulder and then sat up straight again. “Can you monitor it from anywhere? The shipments?”

“I should be able to. Why?”

“Then I want you safe in Palermo. We’ll set up a meeting with the family, explain everything, and you’ll be safely with us when it goes down.”

She smiled, cupping his face in her hands and kissing him softly. “I should stop underestimating how dedicated you are to keeping me alive.”

He smiled, taking her mouth again and drawing her closer to his chest. “You really should. Now eat up.” He lifted a bite of pasta to her mouth, waiting until she closed her lips around it. “You’ll need all your strength for what I’m about to do to you.”

Chapter Thirty-Two

Luca paced the upstairs hallway, waiting for Matteo to reappear from his bedroom. He’d wanted to broach the subject of Sienna coming to stay with them since he got home from Catania this morning, but Matteo had been on his way out and light on the details about where.

He’d finally gotten back nearly an hour ago, but he’d barely paid attention as Luca climbed the stairs at his side, and then he’d shut himself in his room. Luca would get his way on this. He wouldn’t take no for an answer, but he wanted to at least talk to his brother about it first.

If push came to shove, Luca had no doubt he could take Sienna to stay with Carina and Alexei in Marsala and be just as safe there as they would be in Palermo. But he selfishly wanted her here, in his home, among his people and his things. He hated that he needed Matteo’s blessing to do it.

Movement on the other side of the door caught his attention, and Luca took a step closer. It had taken Matteo a matter of hours when he returned six months ago to move from his childhood bedroom into the owner’s suite. Luca had never felt compelled to snoop among his brother’s private things, but now he wondered how much Matteo had changed to make their parents’ room feel like his own.

The door opened and Matteo stepped out, eyebrows darting up when he noticed Luca standing in the hallway. Luca caught a glimpse of a large, imposing bed covered in dark linens before Matteo shut the door, sealing him out and moving around him down the hallway.

Luca trailed his brother to the stairs and followed him down and back to the study at the end of the long hallway. Matteo hadn’t changed much in this room, save for replacing the ruined painting behind their father’s desk. To Matteo’s credit, not even da Vinci looked good covered in brain matter.

Matteo’s hair was damp from a shower, and he was as dressed down as Luca had ever seen him in navy sweats and a plain white shirt. His feet were bare, and for a second, Luca was struck by a memory of the brother he’d known growing up.

Back then, Matteo had been wholly different. Untouched by the fallout with their father and his time away, he’d had more trust and fewer secrets. Matteo had always dreamed big where the family was concerned.

But now he was far less likely to share those dreams with anyone unless they could give him something he needed. A far cry from the man he’d been before, the man who’d been eager to heal the damage their father had done and forge a stronger generation.

“Why are you following me, Luca?” Matteo demanded, dropping into the chair behind his desk and pressing a button to call a maid.

“Did everything go well off island today?”

Matteo had been spending more and more time on the mainland, but he wouldn’t say what for. Another secret between them.

“I had a very long but productive day. Is that all you wanted? To catch up?”

Luca opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by the maid stepping into the doorway. Giulia bobbed a quick curtsy and waited for Matteo’s instructions.

“I want a glass of red and some of that tortellini, if there’s any left.”

“Carlotta is asleep, Il Signore,” Giulia said of the cook.

Matteo pinned Giulia with a hard stare. “Then wake her.”

Giulia nodded her agreement and mumbled an apology, then looked to Luca to see if he wanted anything. When Luca shook his head, she disappeared from the doorway at lightning speed.

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