"I'm Sofia," she says. "I've been asked to take care of your hair."
"What?"
"Signore Volante wants your hair back to its natural color."
Oh, does he now?
Although I'm keen to get rid of the blonde, I don't like Damiano taking the choice away from me.
"And what if that's not what I want?"
"Uh…" Sofia looks stricken and I realize I'll be putting her in a horrible position if I refuse to cooperate. "Signore Volante was quite clear in his instructions."
"In that case, I guess we should get on with it."
Sofia scans the room and gestures to the chair at the dressing table. "We can set up over there. If you'd like to sit, we'll get you back to normal in no time."
As I go to take a seat, I can't help thinking that will never happen. Whatever I thought was normal, it's gone. The question now, is what comes next.
SIX
Damiano
For the entiredrive back to the palazzo, my brother insists he's fine when he's clearly not. His cheeks are pale and a thin sheen of sweat glistens on his brow. As he rests his head against the passenger-side window, I glimpse Olivia in the rearview mirror. Sitting forward in her seat, she stares at Lorenzo, as worried about him as I am.
Today has been a fucking mess.
Matteo and Giulia's wedding was miserable even before we were attacked. When I drove my cousin back to the villa, we discovered Reznov had lent Giulia his plane so she could return to New York without her husband. I barely stopped Matteo from launching himself at Reznov, an act that would have damaged the alliance our family has with the Russian.
"I don't feel so good." Lorenzo's admission startles me. From the earliest age, we learned never to show any weakness.
"We're almost home." Olivia pats his shoulder to reassure him.
"Oh, good. I need to see Lu…cia."
I don't bother telling him the woman he's been chasing won't be at my house. From the slurring of his words, it's obvious Lorenzo isn't thinking clearly. As we drive through the gates onto my property, we go over a bump. Lorenzo groans softly.
When I pull to a stop at the front door, I kill the engine, jump out, and go to help my brother. He's still awake, but his head is lolling about like he can't hold it steady. Reaching across him, I unfasten his seatbelt and drag him out of the car.
"Find Gianni," I tell Olivia. "I'll take Lorenzo to his old room."
I put my arm under Lorenzo's shoulder to hold him up. He's really fucking heavy and he's refusing to cooperate, which makes it harder to maneuver him toward the door. He's a stubborn bastard even when clinging to consciousness.
Tomasz, one of the guards on duty, rushes to help. Together, we get Lorenzo upstairs and into his room, where we drop him on the bed.
"Say nothing about this," I warn Tomasz as I dismiss him. "Not a word."
When Tomasz leaves the room, I step back to give Gianni access as he enters, Olivia close behind. He purses his lips as he looks down at Lorenzo.
"His color's off," Gianni observes. "Has he vomited?"
"No."
"Lost consciousness?"
I look to Olivia, who was with him for some time at the villa before I got there.
"He was okay at the villa," Olivia says, "but he did get shot in the head, so obviously there's that."
