“Why are you both here?”
Vittoria doesn’t look at me, just crosses one long leg over the other. “Because Lucian isn’t.”
That lands harder than I expect.
“He didn’t want you to come for me?”
“No,” she says. “He’s decided you’re better off without him. That letting you go is some grand act of love.” A sharp huff. “Men are idiots when they’re miserable.”
My throat tightens. I stare at the back of Andrew’s seat.
“And you?” I ask. “Why do this? I thought you hated me.”
“Hate is a strong word.” Vittoria’s red upper lip curls over a fang. “I may notlikeyou, but anyone who can meet me blow for blow in a fight has my respect.”
I snort a laugh.
“And because I’m not above disobeying Lucian,” she goes on with a wicked smile. “Actually, I delight in it.”
“And what if I don’t want to go back to VMR? To Lucian?”
“I’m also not above kidnapping,” Vittoria says, which earns her an elbow to the arm by Kayla. To my complete surprise, Vittoria doesn’t even growl at her.
“We want you to come back,” Kayla says with a small smile that’s so her. This time when she finds my hand, I let her hold it. “We all do.”
In the front seat, Andrew nods.
“And Lucian has been more bearable with you around,” Vittoria admits like it pains her.
“Well, he may have his hands full for a while after what I just did,” I say.
Vittoria’s mouth thins. “What do you mean?”
“Imayhave hacked into Sanguine’s system and sent everything, every dirty little secret, over to VMR. Lucian can decide what he wants to do with the information, but I thought he should know that Santiago has been secretly stealing his employees and their secrets long before coming to Tenebris.”
Her brows lift, impressed.
“Well,” she says. “Look at you.”
I glance at Kayla.
“We have a lot to catch up on, don’t we?” she whispers.
“I’d say so.”
Kayla squeezes my hand again, and for the first time since I walked out of VMR, my chest loosens just enough to breathe.
“I’m sorry,” she says. “For not coming back. For not letting you know what happened to me.”
“Do you have any idea how long I looked for you?” My voice shakes despite my effort to keep it steady. “I thought you were dead. I tore my life apart trying to find you.”
Her eyes fill with tears immediately. “I know. And I hate that I did that to you.”
“Then why? Why wouldn’t you tell me you were alive?”
“Because I didn’t want you anywhere near this world. Near them.” Her gaze flicks briefly to Vittoria. “And I wasn’t allowed to reach out. Since Vittoria turning me was a secret, fromeveryone, I couldn’t leave that room. I couldn’t contact anyone in my old life. Not you. Not anyone.”
Vittoria doesn’t deny it, but I catch something else in her words. Her being turned was a secret from everyone. Does she mean Lucian too?
