I run my fingers through my damp hair and then drop my arm with an exhale. “I want her. It’s really that simple. But she is off-limits to everyone, including me, and not only because she’s young. Me being with her would complicate things and cause tension within my family, and I’m not willing to do that to them, no matter how—”
After cutting myself off to avoid revealing my darker thoughts about Violetta, I clear my throat and continue. “I will honor my promise and watch over her, but other than that our relationship will be strictly professional, if not platonic.”
Satisfied with my response, I pin him with my gaze and cross my arms. “What about you?”
Benito thrums his fingers on the arm of the couch for a moment before answering me. “Believe it or not, boss, I’m not trying to sex her up.”
I grind my molars at this, not wanting to hear anyone even insinuate they’re fucking Violetta, but I asked and I need to let him tell me. “I don’t believe you,” I say.
“Look, she’s fucking beautiful and her body is banging—”
I’ve taken a menacing step toward him before it fully registers.
Only when Benito stops talking and his demeanor shifts to defensive, do I lock down my anger. He eyes me in suspicion and I nod at him to indicate I’ve gotten a hold of myself.
“She’s attractive,” he says slowly, his gaze dipping to my clenched fists, “but I’m not into her like that. Seriously, she reminds me of my little sister. It’s the way she tells you to ‘go fuck yourself’ with only her facial expressions.” He huffs out a laugh and shakes his head. “I admire that shit. I’m going to protect her, so you don’t have to worry about that.”
I incline my head in acknowledgment. And gratitude.
Benito gets to his feet, walks up to me, and slaps my shoulder in a gesture of camaraderie. However, he doesn’t let go. He grips me with enough strength to get my attention but not directly challenge me.
“And when I say I’ll protect her, that means from you too, boss.”
I’m of two minds: whether to grab his fingers and break them or simply accept the thinly veiled threat. But he releases me before I can decide and takes a step back.
“Someone came by ten minutes ago,” he says. “Breakfast should be ready now and I was just about to notify you and Violet. Now I’m thinking you will want to do the honors. Should I call it a morning wake up call or morning wood?”
His mocking tone and shit-eating grin have me balling my fists again. “If you’d like to leave this country breathing and not in a bodybag, you’ll shut your fucking mouth.”
“Okay,” he says, elongating the word. “I’ve never seen you like this, and especially not over a woman, which is why I can’t resist the temptation. And that means I’ll be visiting Father Diego today to clear my conscience, seeing as I’m about to be murdered relatively soon.”
“Benito, watch over her until she wakes on her own. Then make sure she gets something to eat and actually consumes it. And lastly, shut the fuck up.”
His laughter follows me out the door.
Tristano
“Would you take a walk with me?”
I stare into the gray of my mother’s eyes in hopes of seeing something other than determination within them. But the flicker of remorse I’m searching for isn’t there. Something heavier and more devastating than disappointment slams into my chest, temporarily compressing my lungs. It passes quickly because I shove it down into the deepest part of my psyche, where the wounds from my ten year old persona dwell, and the sensation disappears.
“Yes,” I answer.
Aida’s lips tilt up, but it’s not a smile exactly. She’s a master at deception and it’s best I don’t forget, or else she’ll manipulate me by yanking on our bond as mother and firstborn. I wouldn’t put it past her to choke me with the fucking thing.
We meander over the massive plot of land that spreads a far distance from the mansion and all the while I wait.
Wait for her to reveal what she wants.
Wait for her to say something having to do with the past.
Wait for her to apologize.
I’m better off waiting for Violetta to turn thirty.
My thoughts continuously return to Violetta, despite me dragging them back to my current predicament. I think about whether or not she’s eaten and if she slept enough. I wonder if she’s excited it’s her birthday.
I know I am.
