Before Andreas can stop me, I hurry out of the jewelry store without looking back. Outside, I walk quickly along the street, taking deep gulps of fresh air and trying to calm my racing heart. The wind is cold, but I don’t care. Anything to feel something other than the suffocating weight of that ring.
I miss Damiano with an ache that feels like someone’s carved him out of my heart. I’ve barely seen him. Dad keeps him busy with meetings and errands, and Mom makes sure I’m occupied whenever Damiano’s home. They’re keeping us apart. Making sure we can’t find a moment alone. And it’s working. We haven’t really talked. Haven’t really touched. They’ve built a wall between us, and I’m on the wrong side, watching him fade into the distance.
I walk for a long time, my feet carrying me through the city streets without direction. The sun has shifted lower in the sky by the time I finally realize hours have passed, and I should go home.
And then I see him.
Andreas.
He’s crossing the street toward a black car. I watch as he approaches it and gets into the passenger seat. Someone issitting in the driver’s seat, and I move surreptitiously closer to get a better look at the man.
I don’t recognize the stranger, but his hand is resting on the steering wheel as he talks to my fiancé.
My blood turns to ice.
There, on the back of his hand, dark against his skin, is a spider tattoo.
The Sokoli marker.
I duck behind a parked car, my heart hammering so hard I can feel it in my throat.
Andreas is meeting with a Sokoli. Our deadly enemies. There is no innocent explanation for this.
My hands shake as I pull out my phone and carefully angle it to capture a photo of them. The quality isn’t great because the car window reflects some of the light, but I can make out Andreas and the man with his spider tattoo clearly. I take three more shots from slightly different angles, just to be sure.
Their conversation looks intense. The Sokoli man is gesturing, animated, and Andreas is leaning in close, nodding. At one point, Andreas pulls out his phone and shows the man something on the screen. Whatever it is makes the Sokoli man smile and nod with satisfaction, and then Andreas is getting out of the car.
My mind is racing as I hurry away.
I need to find Damiano. I need to tell him what I saw.
As I enter the house, I hear voices from Dad’s study. Dad and Damiano, their voices not raised, but tense, like they’re arguing about something.
Tensions are too high. I can’t tell Damiano what I’ve seen. Not yet.
If Damiano knows Andreas is meeting with Sokolis, he’ll confront him, or attack him, and then what? I could start a war we can’t win. I could get Damiano killed. Dad might think I’mlying to get out of the marriage and making up stories to get back to Damiano.
I need more evidence. Something irrefutable that Dad can’t ignore or explain away.
I slip up to my room and lock the door, my hands still shaking. Then I pull out a notebook and make a physical record of my suspicions, in case I need to refer to it later, my handwriting getting shakier as adrenaline courses through me. I finish off by emailing the incriminating photos of Andreas to myself as a backup.
I read over my notes, trying to puzzle this out. What does Andreas gain by working with the Sokolis?
I think about what Adora said, that he’s always wanted to prove himself and have real power. Maybe he thinks the Sokolis are the answer, and he’s betting on them to take over Malus. He wants to be on the winning side when the dust settles.
But I need more proof. Enough that when I expose him, no one will be able to deny it or explain it away.
I’m not the pretty trophy Andreas thinks he’s marrying. I’m a Barone daughter. I’m Damiano’s partner. When the time comes, Andreas Montoni is going to learn what happens when you underestimate Lucy Barone.
14
Damiano
I’m going to kill Andreas Montoni.
The thought pounds through my head with every crate I haul, every shipment I approve for the warehouse. Antonio and Giovanni exchange worried glances, but they don’t say anything. They’re smart enough to recognize murder in a man’s eyes.
Antonio is still recovering from the gunshot wound. His shoulder is bandaged, and he moves carefully, but he insisted on coming back to work because sitting at home drives him crazy.
