I gasp and step back, yanking the curtains closed. My heart is pounding so hard I can hear it in my ears.
“Mina?”
I turn.
Sofia Vici stands in the doorway. She’s in her forties, elegant and beautiful, with dark hair and kind eyes. She was gentle with Leon when we arrived. Maternal and warm in a way that reminded me of my own mother.
She places a stack of clothes onto the chair in the corner of the room. “These are for you from Adora, and I borrowed a fewthings for Leon from my cousin’s daughter. She has a son Leon’s age.”
“Thank you,” I say hoarsely.
When her eyes land on Leon, they are full of sympathy. “How are you and the little one holding up?”
Wordlessly, I point at the window. Sofia frowns and crosses to where I stand, and twitches the curtain aside. Cristiano is still standing there. From this distance, I can see his chest rising and falling sharply, as if breathing is painful.
“So the Lucanias managed to injure him,” Sofia observes. “I doubt that will be enough punishment for Rafiel Lucania, but he’s a fool if he tries this again.”
Her maternal manner has evaporated. Her eyes are suddenly shrewd and knowing.
“Punishment forwhat?I don’t understand what’s happening. Cristiano didn’t leave the house for weeks and weeks, but then suddenly there were four armed men in the garden, and Cristiano killed them. I ran away from him to protect Leon, but now he’s out there. Nowhere’s safe.”
My voice cracks, and I press my fist to my mouth, trying to hold back the sobs.
I wait for her to react. To be horrified. To tell me I did the right thing by running and validate the terror that’s eating me alive.
She just looks at Cristiano for a long moment, then lets the curtain fall. “Was one of the men Silas Cross?”
“Excuse me?” I ask, my voice rising. The name means nothing to me. “I don’t know who the men were. I thought we’d be safe in that house. Cristiano just killed them and didn’t even care.”
“I doubt Cross was involved,” Sofia says, more to herself rather than to me. “This stunt has all the hallmarks of an angry young man. Don Gabriel won’t have sanctioned this.”
Don Gabriel? Another don? Just how many mafia heads are there in Malus?
Sofia turns to face me. Her expression is calm and sympathetic.
But not shocked.
Something cold slides down my spine.
“You’re not surprised by any of this,” I say slowly. “Why aren’t you surprised?”
“Mina, I understand that you’re upset. That must have been a terrible thing for you to see.”
A terrible thing for me tosee. Not a terrible thing tohappen.
“Of course I’m upset! This is not normal.”
She eyes me curiously, as though wondering how much I know about the man I love. “There is little that is normal about our families.”
Ourfamilies. I accepted Adora’s offer thinking it would be safer for Leon, without considering who she is or what kind of man she married.
“What kind of people are you? What kind of family is this?”
“We’re the kind of family who understands that sometimes violence is necessary to protect the people we love.”
“Protect?” I echo. “Cristiano locked me in a wardrobe when I was fourteen because he couldn’t stand the thought of me leaving. He tied me up with his belt. He follows me everywhere. He frightens me again and again, and I keep going back to him. I keep falling in love with him over and over even though I know he’s dangerous.”
I look toward the closed curtains, my whole body shaking.
