“Yes, yes, her study group.She knows I at least want her on the road home by midnight, so don’t let her tell you otherwise.”He shoots his daughter a loving look, and I have to ask myself if I’m imagining this.
Does he not see what’s really going on?
Is it my place to tell him?
Wait a second.Why do I care?“Understood,” I murmur, swallowing back my irritation at being the last to know.And again, as far as they’re concerned, I don’t deserve the heads-up.I am here to serve them.
“I told you,” Giulia whispers, following me back out to the entry hall.Who is she trying to kid?I don’t have it in me to engage her at the moment.There goes my night.I’ll have the pleasure of sitting around, unable to do anything but wait.Is this another little punishment?Reminding me that my time is no longer my own?Where will this end?As I lead the way out to the car, I get the feeling that there is no ending, not until Rocco thinks there should be.
I can’t hide a smirk when Giulia drops her backpack onto the seat before climbing in.The thing is stuffed to the point where I’m surprised she could zip it.She’s making this so obvious, but her parents aren’t paying attention.
Whatever happens to her, it’ll serve her right.The thought of wasting my night waiting on this spoiled kid makes me slam the door before opening my own.Neither of us says a word or acknowledges each other as I pull through the gates, replaced after the explosion a couple of months back.Dante assumed I was the person behind it.He has no imagination and even less respect for my intelligence.
It’s not until we’re on the road that I hear her moving around.At first, I pretend not to notice, turning on the stereo and settling on some jazz that would usually soothe the uneasiness I’m struggling with.I wasn’t raised to be anyone’s servant.Yes, sir.No, sir.Whatever you say, sir.That isn’t me.But I can’t shake the sense of betraying myself, even if it means protecting myself at the same time.
The distinctive sound of a zipper being lowered draws my attention, and I look up into the rearview mirror to find her leaning back, lifting her hips off the seat.“Eyes on the road,” she mutters with a narrow-eyed stare.
“What are you doing?”I ask.
“None of your business,” she snaps.
“I’ll stop the car here and now.”
Her exasperated sigh sets my teeth on edge before she grunts, “I’m changing my clothes, genius.Happy?”I glance away from the road long enough to see the skirt she pulled out of her backpack to put on.
Don’t look.Don’t look.I’m no better than some common pervert, letting her tempt me like this.The girl is barely on the safe side of eighteen, for Christ’s sake.I’m better than this.
And if I glance in the mirror, it’s because I need to see behind me to drive safely.That’s all.
My pulse is going too fast, and I can’t take my eyes from the mirror as she starts to unbutton the cardigan she’s wearing.Really, did she think anybody would believe she’d wear a cardigan in late August?I guess Rocco isn’t as sharp as he used to be, or he’s too lazy to put two and two together.So long as his perfect little angel appears that way on the surface, that’s all he cares about.
She pulls off the cardigan and shoves it into her backpack, and now she’s wearing nothing but a tank top with thin straps that’s cut low enough to let her tits almost spill out.My mouth opens, prepared to remind her where she’s going tonight and how walking around looking like that will bring her nothing but trouble, but something holds me back.For one thing, it’s not my problem.If she wants to parade herself around like that, let her.She’s only going to end up regretting it once some loser gropes her.She wouldn’t be so snide and bitchy then, would she?
My heart skips a beat when she looks up and meets my gaze in the mirror.I have the excuse of being behind the wheel, so there’s nothing wrong with my looking away quickly.I’m trying to drive, not make myself look like less of a hopeless loser with nothing better to do than ogle a barely legal girl.I don’t particularly have a problem with men paying to fuck girls her age—my family has made enough money off of the business, after all.But that’s never been my thing.
“Taking inventory?”she asks in that arch, sarcastic way of hers.Spoiled, bratty little bitch.Always given everything she’s ever wanted.Pampered, indulged.If she’s not careful, she’s in for a big fucking disappointment.There’s a real world out there beyond the stone walls she grew up behind.
“You’ve got nothing I haven’t seen before, little sister.”Yes, that must be why my hands slide a little over the wheel.I always get sweaty palms when I’m bored and disinterested.
“Then why were you looking?”Is she taunting me?It sounds that way.The kid is going to regret it.
“I was looking in the mirror because, surprise, there are cars behind us,” I mutter.“Not everything revolves around you.”
“If you say so.”When I glance her way again, I find her using her phone as a mirror while she applies pink gloss to her lips.Obviously, that’s not enough light for her.She makes the mistake of turning on the car’s interior light, but I immediately turn it off.
“Stop fucking around,” I warn.“Leave the light off.Unless you would rather drive the car.”
“I wish I could.But I’m not allowed,remember?”
“Considering what you plan on doing tonight, you don’t need to be driving anyway,” I mutter.I watch her in the mirror and see the way she gulps, her nostrils flare, and her eyes narrow.“What?You thought you invented the concept of telling your parents you were doing one thing, but really doing another?Everybody thinks they invented some new way to sneak around.”
“I bet you invented a few ways, haven’t you?”she asks with a snicker while continuing with her makeup in the twilight.
“Maybe I have.And I’ve been a lot smarter than you.”
Another snicker before she whispers, “I’m sure you think so.”
“I get that you want to do things your own way.That’s normal.But you’re playing with fire right now,” I warn.Why do I bother?Who cares what happens to her?I was raised with no religion other than the burning desire to put her family in their place.
