“Got a smoke, Aldo?”
Wordlessly, Aldo pulls a silver cigarette case out of his jacket pocket, pops it, and offers one to Vito. He lights it and my dad takes a deep puff as he nods a thanks.
“I’ve struck a deal.”
The words come out sounding rough, like he’s having a hard time forcing them over his lips.
Carmine frowns. “What sort of ‘deal’?”
“One that the other Commission families are in complete agreement with, and one that will smooth things over with both the Greeks and the Albanians.”
“Pop,” Carmy growls quietly. “What’s the deal.”
Dad turns his head slowly, leveling a sad, deeply remorseful look at me. “Bianca…”
There’s a knock at the study door. It opens, and Leo pokes his head in.
“They’re here, Don Barone,” he grunts.
Dad nods slowly. “Send them in, Leo.”
Nico frowns. “Send who—”
Instantly, he, Carmine, and Dante spring to their feet, reaching for guns tucked into waistbands and inside jackets as Ares Drakos strides into the room.
“Put them down!” Vito barks with the full authority of his crown. “All of you,” he growls, shooting dark looks at my brothers as Hades Drakos walks into the room behind Ares, followed by Deimos, and then Callie. “They’re our guests here,” Dad mutters, standing.
For a brief second, I almost visibly exhale in relief. When Ares stepped in just now, especially when his siblings began to follow him in, obviously, my thoughts went to one place.
One man.
Kratos.
So far, my…“interactions” with him have been happening in almost a dream state. We meet in the darkness of his crumbling church. He wears a mask, for God’s sake. The point being, what we’ve done and where we’ve met up is in the shadows, away from the light.
Like a dirty little secret.
For a second, I was terrified to think that he was going to be here too, forcing me to confront those dark, dirty parts of my psyche right here in the open, in front of my family. But it seems only his four siblings have—
I freeze as a massive shape fills the doorway. My heart clenches as my eyes lock with his icy blue ones. A small, almost invisible smile curls the corners of his mouth.
Hungrily.
Dangerously.
The man literally has to duck his head a little as he steps through the door into the study. His eyes lock on mine, and even though his face is blank and emotionless, when he tilts his head to the side slightly, I can feel the tingles rippling over my skin.
Mask or not, I know that look.
And it does something to me.
As the room goes quiet and still, I realize something. I see it in the way his siblings interact with him—the way Callie reaches over to him and squeezes his hand. The way Hades good-naturedly pats his shoulder.
They don’t see him the way I do.
And when Kratos smiles downright warmly at something Ares says to him, it really does click for me:
I don’t think his family knows him at all.
Not the way I do. They don’t realize the kind of savagery that lurks under that smiling, friendly-giant surface.
They don’t see the monster, or the beast he is.
But I do.
Ares and my dad meet halfway and shake hands firmly.
“Bianca,” Vito says gently, turning to me.
I clear my throat, looking at Ares, heat creeping up my neck and into my cheeks.
“I…” I swallow. “I’m truly sorry about the car,” I murmur quietly. “I was pressured into it, and I know that’s no excuse, but I—”
“What’s done is done,” Ares says in a cool, even tone. “We appreciate the apology. But our options now are limited. You’ve got the other Commission families to consider. Meanwhile, we’ve got our own allies to think about. Not to mention, what you inadvertently destroyed in that car meant a lot to, frankly, a very crazy Albanian.”
He turns to my dad.
“How are you feeling, Don Barone?”
