MasukLianna.
We drove to the house in silence. Turned out I didn’t need to give Cassian directions.
He knew the way, and by the time he pulled up in front of the large, two story brick home with the wraparound porch and swing hanging from a branch in the overgrown tree in the front yard, my heart was racing.
Cassian switched off the engine and turned to me. He tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, his thumb resting against my cheek as his mouth moved into a
Lianna"Cassian, no!”I held his face with one hand and pressed my other hand to the place on his side that wouldn’t stop bleeding. I kissed him. Kissed him and kissed him.When I tried to push the hair back from his forehead, I left blood in its place. His blood. God, there was so much of it. Too much.“Don’t die.”He hadn’t promised me that. He’d made me three promises, but he had never promised me he wouldn’t die.I’d never asked him to promise that. I’d never“Don’t die,” I whispered just to him.He was too still, and when my sister touched my shoulder, and I looked up at her through the blur the haze of my tears caused, I sucked in a trembling breath.Her face, the look in her eyes, telling me it was bad.“There’s a helicopter on its way to take him to the hospital,” she whispered, kneeling down beside me, holding me when I turned my attention back to him.They would take him away. They would take him away, and I would never see him again. Why did they do that? Why did they take
CassianLianna and Bianca sat on the couch talking in whispers when I walked in.Lianna at least had the grace to give me a meek smile.“You shouldn’t be here,” I said to her.“She’s my sister, Cassian.”“Why do I feel like I’m hitting a wall at every turn?” I asked.“For once, I’m taking his side, Lianna. This is my business, and I don’t want you involved,” Bianca said, standing.“I’m not letting you face those men alone.”“She’s not alone. I will be there with her,” I said.“Luce, I did this. I brought this on us. I had Dominic kidnap Jacob. I ultimately was responsible for Luke being shot.” She turned to me. “I’m so sorry about Jacob. I just, I wanted to scare Franco. I didn’t even think about Natalie. It was all about sending a message to Franco. Everything. And every t
CassianA hand on both our shoulders. “I’m having someone pick Dominic up and bring him here.”“Where is he?” I asked.“He has a bar he likes to go to.”Roman didn’t expound on that, and I left it alone.“He’s got some explaining to do, that fucking bastard,” Franco said. “Cancel the meeting. I’ll deal with my son myself. You deal with the DeMarco cunt, and Pagani will deal with his son.” He rose to his feet. “I’m fucking tired. You called me here for this bullshit?”“Sit down,” I spoke quietly, not rising but remaining where I sat, feeling more in control than I ever had in my life. I knew what I wanted, what I needed to do. It would all truly end tonight.“Be careful, son,” he said, but he lowered himself back down into his chair.“We are dealing with this publicly. We are forgiving what’s
CassianI wasn't surprised when Dominic didn’t show up.I also wasn’t surprised to find Lianna making her way down the stairs, dressed, clumsily working her crutches.My father and Roman stood in the foyer watching her, my father looking at her with tired eyes rather that the contempt he normally showed. I walked up to her with a look that said I’d deal with her later, but when I tried to take her crutches and carry her down, she refused.“I’m not an invalid. I just need to get used to these. Besides, my ankle can take a little weight.” She flinched as she demonstrated putting a bit of weight on it. “Pigheaded.”I walked the steps with her to make sure she didn’t fall. By the time we got down, Natalie walked into the house with a sleeping Jacob in her arms.“Father, Roman, why don’t you go ahead into the dining room.”They both nodded and left. Everyone was tired.Rainey went to Natalie and took the bag off her shoulder. I had woken her to prepare a room.“Natalie, I’m sorry to keep y
CassianLianna sat silently beside me.“What is it?” I asked after a few minutes.“Effie is Dominic’s daughter Bianca confirmed it.”“I’m not surprised.”“They fell in love, Cassian. They were young and just fell in love. You were right in what you thought. That’s why Papa sent her away, disowning her.He gave her an ultimatum: abort or leave. She left.”I remained silent, understanding a little more of Bianca. I’d pegged her to be a hateful, power hungry bitch. She might well be, but she was also stronger than i gave her credit for.“Dominic was supposed to tell your father, but he never did.”I glanced at Lianna. “I can’t say I’m surprised.”“He let her go all alone.” Lianna looked off into the distance. “He sent her money, though.” She rolled her eyes.“Lianna.” I don’t know why I felt the need to defend Dominic. I wasn’t really; I just needed to explain how things were at our house. How my father was. “My father is a very domineering man. When we were kids, Sergio was the only one
LiannaWhat the hell are you doing here?” I asked, standing and leaning my weight on my crutches. I didn’t feel half as confident as I somehow managed to sound. “How did you get in?”He stood in the light just on the other side of the coffee table looking disheveled, his shirt untucked, his hair messy, his face bruised. He gave me a lopsided grin, and I really looked at him for the first time, the dimple on his right cheek disarming me momentarily. His eyes were a light blue gray, the lashes thick and darker than his blond hair. He was tall, well over six feet, but he had a leaner build than Cassian, although still muscular. Powerful.I returned my gaze to his face, saw his grin widen. The darkness in his eyes reminded me who he was.He tucked the gun into the back of his jeans before reaching into his pocket and taking something out.I cocked my head to the side when he held it out to show me, not understanding right away.







