The Russians were too protective over her, and we needed an in, which was why we were watching every move they made. Even though my parents had battled a similar demon years ago, and it left them both bloodied and scarred before they killed it, this new darkness had grown a new head and had morphed into something different when the Russians became a part of it. We needed more intel on what was going on underground before we charged in and rescued the woman who stole my heart with just one look.
If it came down to the second, and it was either be killed or lose my star, then no matter what, I’d come for her.
I’d given her my word in that tomb that I would.
La mia parola è buona come il mio sangue.
My word is as good as my blood.
In my world, and beyond, those words meant something. To spill a droplet of my blood would be the equivalent of bleeding an ancient olive tree dry. My word, and the word of my family, was valuable—if we had the balls to give it, it became an unbreakable bond to whoever we were giving it to. Not something any of us took lightly.
I’d given her my word that night. I’d also given her my coat with my signet ring tucked into a pocket so I could track her. My brother-in-law, Saverio Macchiavello, would one day be myconsiglieri, as most people called them, and my advisor. He’d be my right-hand man, my confidant, when I ruled this pride of lions I was born into. He was also uber smart, and he had a way with electronics. The Fausti Family was rooted in history, but it always found a way to evolve with the times. The meeting place between ancient roots steeped in tradition and new limbs stretching forward created something familiar yet different.
That place was where The Fausti family met Saverio Macchiavello. He’d put a tracker in my ring, and I knew it. Therefore, I knew once I slipped it into the pocket of my coat, as long as no one else took it from her, I’d know where she was—always.
Last time I checked, she was in a room in a castle in France. The place where they held my star in her net and refused to let her go. The only time she moved was either inside of the castle or when they took her to the underground club to dance. Stella didn’t grace the stage of the other places they owned. They kept her in the most prestigious club, in their eyes: Sub Rosa. She was a fatal fantasy come to life, one that patrons paid good money to watch dance. The Nemours and the Russians made her out as if she was a fallen star incarnate.
Years ago, Olivier Nemours had tried to do the same thing to my mamma. She was a vampire, or something that could control one, sent to drain men of their life. With only a look, she could kill. Countless people had fallen for it, and they were still falling for it.
With one look at Stella, I’d fallen for her too, but I didn’t want to use her or have something that no one else did—a fallen star. I wanted to fucking watch her burn in the sky for me when our eyes met. When I touched her. When my love for her made it past flesh and bone. Because we’d burn for each other. There was no doubt in my mind that she’d felt it too.
Whatever it was that existed between us, it came alive that night—sucking in a breath, opening its eyes, aching to be fed by the both of us.
My hand curled around the glass, and I could feel the tension in my veins turn hot. I needed a fucking outlet. I hadn’t felt this unsettled since my parents moved us from Italy to Louisiana and Nemours was able to get to my mamma.
Voices echoed in the towering castle we were staying at in Germany. Every year we went on vacation together around the holidays. My family was big, and I never felt alone because I was always surrounded by people. Until Stella, lonely was never a word in my vocabulary, but without her, I was suddenly feeling it. Feeling it in a place inside of my heart that I never knew existed.
“If there is a puddle with a downed live electrical source in it—he will undoubtedly find it and step in it.”
The answering laughter echoed, and so did the two men’s voices after they passed the room I was in. Donato and Guido, two top soldiers in our world. Both headed our security, Mac and Saverio right behind them, along with Rio’s mentor, Vincenzo. Vincenzo wasn’t one to want to keep to the castle, though. He was in Paris, in the mix with Lev and his men.
Lev was a Russian assassin who, even after all these years, we didn’t know much about. He lived in the shadows, and he only came out to play when there was a reason for him to. One thing was for certain, though. My youngest brother, Maestro, was engaged to a girl who belonged to Lev. She had royal Russian blood, and Maestro agreed to marry her when they were both of age in exchange for information Lev had on the people who had wanted to kill my sister.
Any of us would have volunteered to marry for the sake of our sister. My mind, though, started to go down a different path after I met Stella. I wanted my brother to experience the same rushI felt. I hoped the girl he would marry would be able to do the same for him.
It wasn’t five minutes later when my father and grandfather came to stand beside me, making me the middle of a sandwich. The three of us watched the snow fall together, and it was hard for me not to acknowledge how much the three of us looked alike through the reflection in the glass. The only difference was age.
My father set his hand on my shoulder and squeezed. My grandfather gave me a slow nod. Both men were acknowledging my plight. Both men seemed to know I wasn’t the same man who had left for Paris on Thanksgiving. Something inside of me had fundamentally shifted after that encounter with Stella. I carried the weight of a responsibility I’d never known before. I knew I’d always carry it.
Saverio stopped at the edge of the room, holding some of his equipment. He waited for my grandfather to acknowledge him before he entered and set his things down on the table. My father squeezed my shoulder, and when my grandfather nodded toward the chairs, we all sat.
“Tell me, grandson,” my grandfather said to Saverio in Italian. Two words.Tell me.And our world fell at his feet. Beyond our world, too, if whoever he spoke those two words to valued his life.
Saverio was the most conscious person I knew, outside of my blood. Even my grandfather respected him, especially since he claimed Saverio as family. Luca didn’t bestow the title of “family” upon just anyone. The title had to be earned.
Saverio cleared his throat and met my grandfather’s eyes. “As you know, I tracked Matteo’s signet ring.”
My grandfather’s eyes dropped down just for a second to his hand. I had to hide my grin. I knew he was wondering if Saverio had tracked his too. Saverio was an especially wily motherfuckerwho even smelled like innovation. If he wasn’t wearing cologne, I knew his signature scent would be called “highest of techs.”
“We’re able to track Stella through it, since it was in the jacket he’d given her.” He looked at me. “Smart move.” Then he lifted another small contraption, looking back at Nonno. “I never bothered with sound; we hadn’t had a need for it. But I was able to tap into it.”
“You can hear her.” This from my father.
Saverio nodded. “If she’ll talk. We’ve only heard other people in the house.” He met my eyes, but I was having a hard time concentrating on him.
A lump had formed in my throat. My heart was trying to knock it out of the way.
I’d never heard her voice before.
