Well, too fucking late for that.
“Because here I am, sneaking around in the dark, contemplating murder in their own godsdamn palazzo,” I muttered, inching down a corridor that reeked strongly enough of death, my eyes watered.
“Sneaking around and plotting murder while trespassing on Dominico territory is usually a good way to get yourself executed,” a deep male voice behind me warned.
I turned, smoothly disappearing my blade up into my lacy sleeve, facing the very last person I’d expected to see tonight.
Gabriel Dominico tipped his head to the side, his ice-blue gaze picking me down to the bone as he scanned me head to toe, frowning at my bare feet before pinching his lips together, looking like a disapproving aunt.
No, scratch that.
Like an unbelievably handsome, spoiled Roman god carved from a perfect block of marble by a sculptor having the best day of his life.
Or the dark prince of an enchanted castle, with his sharp, shadowy jawline and piercing blue eyes.
“Cat got your tongue,piccola, or are you simply working out a convincing lie?”
“I’m trying to figure out why the Don’s son is skulking around a dark hallway in the middle of the night.”
“Funny, that was the exact question I was about to ask you.”
“Well, I asked first.” One sniff told me this was not my trespasser, but he, most certainly, had a hand in killing my father. My fingers brushed the hilt of my hidden weapon, debating if this was my best and only chance to have my revenge.
There was nobody around. I could gut him, leave him here, and be home within moments. I even had an alibi. Two hundred vampires would swear I was on our island, mourning Enzo like a good daughter.
Gabriel looked fast, but I was fast, too.
And this fucking family owed me.
They owed me their blood. He owed me afather.
And I was going to collect.
“Staringat me with all that death in your eyes,”—Gabriel's lips quirked—“seems you didn’t come here to request an official meeting with the Don to negotiate anew contract.” The darkness in the hallway deepened, the air turning frosty as his magic slid over me like ice.
“I came… I followed someone here. A trespasser.”
“You’re the DiRavello girl?” The intensity of the recognition sparking in those eyes had me shivering. “Tonight was your father’s Nightfire, was it not? And you came here to… what? Accuse our family of killing him?”
Recognition turned to something else. Something ugly. He barked out a laugh.
“A sheltered, spoiled princess with a death wish. Go home,piccola. The Dominicos had nothing to do with Enzo’s death. We have bigger problems on our plates.”
Bigger problems than my father’s murder? Little girl?This fucker.
“Don’t pretend you know anything about me.” My fangs dropped down as I measured the distance between my knife and his throat.
Totally doable.
“And you were pretty quick with that denial,”—I cocked my eyebrow—“almost like you had an alibi prepared. If I wasn’t such a sheltered princess, I’d call that suspicious.”
Gabriel didn’t know he’d stolen my entire future by killing Enzo, and not just because he’d deprived me of my father, my only living parent, my role model ever since I was born.
Enzo had trained me to take over the family business.
Me, not Luca.
But now, because of ancient, bullshit vampire law, my brother would inherit the DiRavello holdings. Leaving me open for all sorts of fun things, like arranged marriages and forced alliances, or even worse, fading into the background and becoming completely unnecessary.
