“Sounds like there’s a story.”
His eyes twinkle. “There’s always a story, my dear. Would you like to hear it? I’ll give you the short version. If I told you the whole thing, Mass would have to kill you.”
I honestly can’t tell if he’s joking. “Better edit out the bad stuff then.”
“The big picture is this: I met Mass a long time ago. We became friends after a while, or at least as close to friends as men like us would ever be. But we live a hard life, and one day an old enemy of mine attacked and nearly finished me off. He would have too if it weren’t for Mass. I was saved, but I paid a heavy price.” He gestures at himself. “I’m afraid I’m not the man I used to be.” With a flourish, he leans forward and pats the blankets.
Which shows his lack of legs from the knees down.
I try not to stare, but it’s difficult. He seems amused, though.
“I’m really sorry to hear all that. Was your enemy Medved, by any chance? I keep hearing that name.”
“The one and only. Let’s pray Medved remains only a name for you, my dear. Although God doesn’t listen to me often these days. Otherwise, my legs would have regrown and I’d be twenty years younger.”
“Only twenty?”
He barks a laugh, grinning savagely. “I like you.”
“How come you’re here? And in a locked room?”
“The lock is for my own protection. I’m not as mobile as I used to be, and if the people who listen to my orders ever realized how frail I’ve become, they might stop doing what I tell them to do. That would be very bad for everyone. And so all this—” He gestures around him. “This is a secret.”
Something clicks inside my head. A little piece of gossip and news I remember my father talking about back in the day. “You’re a Dragon, aren’t you?”
“Until the day I die.”
“You’re the missing Dragon… the fifth Dragon. The one that never shows his face.”
“And now you see why. I was cursed with terminal ugliness.”
“Mass has been hiding you for years.”
“That’s right. Otherwise, Medved would’ve smoked me out and ended me by now, or I would’ve been usurped in some other coup, or a thousand other ways my current situation could’ve gone wrong. But enough about my misery. I want to hear moreabout you.” He leans forward eagerly. “Tell me about the girl who caught Massimo’s heart.”
I laugh awkwardly, but Elias clearly isn’t kidding. “I don’t think I caught anything of his.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure.”
That makes me uncomfortable, but it also sparks some excitement in my chest. “I’m nothing special. My last name’s Russo. My dad’s in the life. My brothers are too. We lived out on Long Island, and I was going to marry someone else until I ended up here.”
Elias frowns, head tilted to the side. He studies me, eyes squinting again, and I resist the urge to squirm under that attention. “Russo from Long Island? There are probably a dozen Russos out there… but in the life… is your father’s name Francesco?”
“Yes!” I say, sitting up straighter. “You know him?”
“You have brothers. Dominic and Gabriel.”
“I do. How’d you know that?”
“And your mother.” His voice drops to nearly a whisper. “Her name is Margot. But her parents called her Maggie. She hated that. Drove her crazy.”
I’m stunned. I don’t know how he could possibly know all that. My father’s a well-known man in the life, and my brothers both work with him. But my mother isn’t a public figure, and nobody could possibly know what sort of nickname her parents had for her. I didn’t even know that. Unless this man is making it up, he’s much more familiar with her than I could’ve imagined.
“How?” I ask, heart racing suddenly. “Did you know them? Her parents, I mean?”
“Alessandra.” He’s looking at me with pure sadness in his eyes. “Oh, my dear girl. Massimo didn’t tell me. And he clearly didn’t tell you. I should have recognized you the second you walked in, but you caught me off guard, and it’s been so long. You’ve grown up.”
“Who are you? I mean, how do you know who I am?”
