Prologue
In which Lucca struggles with his invisible family status.
U2 - Invisible
Lucca…
“What are you doing?”
Konstantin, my roommate, kicked open our door, the way he always does, already pulling his sweaty shirt over his head.
I put my phone down. “Nothing.”
He throws his shirt at the hamper that housekeeping begs us to use for dirty clothes. He misses. How can such a lazy bastard be so gifted in ice hockey and soccer yet never hit the laundry basket? “Aleksandr and I are heading over to the lighthouse later, are you coming?”
The lighthouse.
The moldering stone edifice where our classmates go to get high and if they’re lucky, get laid. It’s always amused me because we can drink on campus, hell - they have a full bar in the dining room - and our suites are vastly more comfortable for fucking. Somehow, the allure of slabs of stone that can land on your head at any moment is too much to resist.
Still. “Maybe.”
“Yeah, hedge your bets,” he says dryly, pulling off his sweats and heading into the bathroom.
Picking up my highly illegal phone again, I read the bullshit in the society column from theBoston Globe.
Dario and Cora Toscano celebrated their marriage with a huge gathering at the home of her parents, Senator Carlton, and Claire Thorne. The lavish party’s guest list included Massachusetts Governor James Conrad, Boston Mayor Meghan Flannery, and several celebrities, including…
There’s column after column of this ass-kissing. Enlarging a picture of my brother and his new bride, I study them together. She’s beautiful, too gorgeous for an asshole like Dario, but they look happy together. Throwing my phone on the bed, I pace, wondering if Cora and Dario got my gift. How did my dear brother explain his “invisible brother?”
Or did he just pretend I don’t exist, the way the rest of my family does?
Fuck them all.
Chapter One
In which Tatiana discovers that nothing good happens at 3:36am.
Oingo Boingo - Dead Man's Party
Tatiana…
“Get up!”
The hand shaking my shoulder nearly knocks me off the bed.
“Miss Tatiana, we must leave now! Get up.”
Opening my eyes and slapping at the arms hauling me from my covers, I wheeze, “What the hell? Stop it!” It’s Lev, his mouth tight and he’s pale.Glancing at my phone, I see that it’s 3:36 a.m.
I’ve seen my bodyguard angry, amused, infuriated, and more over the last ten years, but never afraid. Now, he’s afraid.
“Lev, what is happening? What are you-”
“Listen to me,” he says sharply, precisely. “You are in danger. We need to leavenow.”
Rolling gracelessly out of bed, I shove my hair out of my face. “Let me get dressed. What kind of danger?”
Lev shakes his head. “No time.” Grabbing my arm and yanking me from my room ends that line of questioning and I stumble down the stairs after him. The usual presence of household staff and my father’s soldiers are noticeably absent. It’s only Lev and me.
