“He must have started using my identification and bank accounts to siphon money from some of the other Toscano accounts.” He’s still staring at the ocean. “When our Consigliere found it years later, it looked like my work.”
I lean in, trying to catch his gaze. “Why didn’t you tell your brothers this? Dante stole from you and left you to take the blame.”
“Because fuck them,” he said viciously, “if they could really believe that I’d do something like that, they don’t know me at all. Fuck them both. They’ve both gotten married since I’ve been gone, Gio has a baby, there are pictures all over the fucking internet of the happy, growing Toscano family and none of them mention me because I’m invisible.”
Putting my arms around him, I rest my head on his back. I don’t know what to do besides hold him, so I do. After a while, he puts his hands over mine and we watch the waves beat futilely against the indifferent face of the cliffs.
Chapter Sixteen
In which there is girl talk.
Tatiana…
“What are the five primary weak points we look for when infiltrating an organization?”
Professor Campbell is one of my favorites here. She’s younger than most of the other educators and doesn’t seem to have the same need to intimidate her students, most likely because her coursework is fun and challenging. But today, I can’t pay attention. There’s a dull ache between my legs that doesn’t seem to lessen, though I’m trying to subtly shift position every few minutes.
Meiying nudges me. “What’s wrong with you? You’re wiggling around like someone stuck a weasel down your pants.”
The image makes me want to laugh, but I smother the impulse. “Just tired,” I lied. That ache feels good in a way I can’t explain, it’s lingering proof that Lucca and I had an incredible night together. The sex was everything I could have hoped for, and the fact that he was willing to trust me with something as intimate and painful as his family’s cruelty means so much to me.
That reminds me that I need to talk tomyfamily. Roman and Ilia both knew about yesterday’s test in Zimmerman’s class, I should let them know how well it went. Calling Lev was the first thing I did when I got back to my suite yesterday, and he was exuberant at my news in a way that was almost non-Russian.
The day before…
“I’m so proud of you,” Lev said warmly, “how’s your hand now?”
“Not broken,” I told him happily, “that’s all I care about.”
“Nobody likes a dirty fighter,” he agreed, “but it was the right move for the moment and you know those skills will come in handy in the real world, too.”
“Why do you think my mother wouldn’t let me take self-defense lessons from you?” I asked. I’d swallowed down the anger and resentment at the time, but those few hours when Lev taught me to protect myself helped pull me out of the misery after what had happened to me.
“I don’t know,” he said, choosing his words carefully. Even now, Lev was so cautious about what he said about my parents. “Maybe… maybe the lessons made your ordeal too real for her. The realization that your child can be hurt is terrifying, I’m sure.”
“So, her denial was more important than teaching me how to protect myself?” I blurted. I was shocked at my bitter tone.
Lev was silent for a moment. “The point is, you’re learning now, and you’re doing beautifully. Is the Toscano kid as annoying as he was at the start?”
I feel guilty because there is no way in hell that I can tell my bodyguard that I’ve been doing all kinds of naughty things with Lucca and very much wanted to do more. So, I lie. “It’s fine. I know he’s looking forward to being done with me. He was a good teacher, though.”
“Excellent,” he said, “even thePakhancan’t complain about your unsupervised association with him since he’s helped you keep your place at the Academy. Have you spoken to him yet?”
Oh, good. More guilt. “No, I called you first,” I admitted, “but I will call Roman, I promise.”
“Thank you,” he said with relief. “He worries about you. They both do.”
“I’m certainly learning enough in the Spies division to know that we had a catastrophic intelligence breach,” I ventured, “what do they know so far?”
The weariness in his voice tells me that he’s been as relentless in searching for clues as my brothers have. “Multiple threats from different directions,” he said, “they’re constantly shoring up our defenses from one attack after another.”
“There has to be something I can do,” I said, “it’s so frustrating to be sitting here when everyone I love is in danger.”
“There is something…” he allowed. “I’m sure your brothers wouldn’t want you to put yourself in danger. But the families of some of the students there are likely involved. Is there anyone who’s aggressive toward you? Seems to hate you for no reason?”
My first thought is Mateo, though I suspect he’s just an equal-opportunity asshole. As for everyone else, it feels like the standard indifference. “I’ll keep an eye out. I haven’t had a chance to get to know anyone outside of my circle while I’ve been training so much.”
“This is a good time to put those spy skills to use, then,” he encouraged. “Just be careful.”
