With that, he pivots on his heel, nods at my guard, and walks out the door.
I take a steadying breath, ignoring the clamor of my pulse. I catch Lorenzo’s attention. “Wait outside. Clear all security from the house. Lock down the elevators. Keep the exterior of the penthouse under guard, but I don’t want anyone stepping foot inside until I say.”
Lorenzo nods, muttering into his security mic as he steps out into the private vestibule. I press in the key-code that slides the lock into place.
I wait, silently cursing my brother, as I allow my men to vacate their posts in the penthouse. I watch from the security panel near the door as all my men file out, locking various doors behind them.
Once I’m sure the three-floor apartment is empty, I turn to face my wife.
31
REM
“What is that?” Lena asks the question before I’ve even returned to the kitchen. She’s staring at me down the length of the long entrance hallway. The envelope Ari shoved at me lays forgotten on the ground.
“Fuck. I’m so sorry. Ari?—”
“No.” Her hair billows out as she shakes her head.
I want to drag my fingers through the sex-tousled strands, to wrap it around my fist and hold tight as I kiss us into needy silence. God, I want one more minute before the fallout from Ari’s visit hits. One minute I don’t have.
“Not your brother,” she says. “We’ll get to him in a second. What isthat? The tattoo on your back.”
“It’s the Cerreti mark.”
“I want to see it.” Her voice shakes, but her expression is fierce. “Come closer.”
“Piccolina.Not now. You can inspect it as much as you want later. We can’t?—”
“Shut up, Rem. Just come here and fucking show me.”
Confused, and not wanting to piss her off anymore, I do asLena asks and present my back so she can inspect the intricate ink. Goosebumps jump across my skin when she traces the serpent that uncoils from my tailbone to my shoulder blades.
One nail digs deep when she reaches the snake’s head. “Is iteatingsomeone?”
“No. Not eating. Giving birth to. It’s called thebiscione—the divine serpent giving birth to a child.”
“Nope. Definitely eating.” Lena sucks in a sharp breath. “How have I never seen that tattoo on you before? I keep thinking—all the times we’ve been together and naked, I’ve never seen your exposed back. You’ve always been in front of me, above me, behind me…” Her voice thickens, trails off.
Goosebumps explode to full-body shivers when Lena cuts the path back down the serpent, the trail of her finger twisting and turning as she descends to the hollow at the base of my spine. “It’s really fucking creepy.”
“Creepy and really old. It’s the historic symbol of Milan, and part of the crest that Aldo’s family has used for centuries.”
I can tell by her touch that Lena’s attention has shifted to the small lines that arch up on both sides of the tattoo. Black tick marks climb out and up to partially frame thebiscione. Each one has a meaning. Each year I add more.
“What are these little black lines that start at the snake’s tail?” She touches either side of my lower spine.
My answer will only make this fucked up day worse, not better. “Let’s talk about this later.”
“No, Rem. Let’s talk about this now.” Lena scrapes her nails across my skin. An electric shock to my system. An elemental connection that’s abruptly severed when she breaks contact and steps away.
I turn. Lena’s fists are at her sides, her entire frame trembling. “Enough fucking secrets, Rem. Tell me what they are.”
“They’re kill marks.”
Lena flinches. “Meaning?”
“Meaning exactly what you think.” I’m frustrated, and more afraid than I want to admit. I slap a palm against my chest, right over my heart. “You’ve always known what I am,piccola. I’ve never hidden that from you. I’m a brutal man. A killer, exactly as my brother said. I kill to protect my family. That is how we survive. That is how we will continue to survive, against our enemies, against everyone who wants us dead. And that is how I will keep you alive, no matter what. I am a brutal man, Lena, but I’m not a monster.”
