Darkest Sins - Page 106

A minute later, an audio file arrives. So he didn’t forget my little problem with reading.

06:35 Felix:I’M SLEEPING!!

06:36 Kai:It’s urgent.

06:36 Felix:Are you starved, dehydrated, and dying in some dump again? Because if you’re not, it can FUCKING WAIT.

06:38 Kai:No. I need a priest. I want to get married.

A few minutes pass without a reply, and then:

06:40 Felix:Send me your location and stay put. Is it the Mexicans again? I’ll have Sergei come get you out. When was the last time they drugged you?

06:41 Kai:I’m not high. Find me a priest and have him delivered by the end of the day, or I’m going to gut you real slow the next time I see you.

I send him the address as I return to bed and throw the phone back onto the nightstand.

Nera stirs and lifts her head off her pillow beside me. “What time is it?”

“Almost seven.” I gather her back into my arms, move a strand of dark-blonde hair that’s fallen over her face, and kiss her nose.

“Do you think it was wise to leave Armando in the basement overnight?”

“If you’re worried about the wine that’s down there, don’t be. He can’t drink it with his arms broken.”

“I’m not worried about wine. What if he went into shock and died?”

“He wouldn’t die of a few broken bones. Well, not right away at least. I’ll go question him after breakfast. We need to know if anyone else was involved.”

Nera tightens her hold on me and buries her nose in the crook of my neck. “I can’t wait for the day when Massimo gets out, and we can leave this madhouse behind.”

“But you make a magnificent Donna, cub. I could—”

“I don’t want you to slay my stepbrother, Kai. But, thank you for offering.” She sighs. “I just want all of us—you, me, Lucia, and Zara—away from all of this. A big house. Huge yard. With a bunch of animals for Lucia to play with.”

“And no neighbors anywhere nearby.”

Nera laughs into my neck. “And no neighbors.”

“How long until your stepbrother gets released?”

“Five more months.”

The bedroom door creaks open.

My head snaps up, and I stare in dread at Lucia standing at the threshold, holding her tiger plushie in one hand and a hairbrush in the other. She takes in the sight of me and Nera lying together in bed, her eyes bouncing from me to her mother. And then, she meets my gaze with a bold one of her own.

“Cub?” I whisper. “What should we do?”

“Why do you call Mommy ‘cub’?” Lucia’s tiny voice breaks the silence in the room.

“Um . . . well . . .” I steal a glance at Nera, hoping for help, but she just giggles into her hand. “It’s a nickname.”

“Why do you call her nicky name?”

“Because . . . I love her.”

Lucia wrinkles her nose as if thinking about it.