Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 77295 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 386(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77295 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 386(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
Grave moved his hand to my thigh under the table, his large fingers taking up all my flesh.
“Tell me about yourself,” Lorenzo said.
I didn’t know what to say. I doubted Grave wanted his father to know I was a whore.
Grave answered for me. “Elise is a single mother of two. We met at the Underground, where I cut to the front of the line so I could pay for her time. We’ve been enjoying each other’s company ever since.”
I was a bit shocked that he told him the truth, and that made me realize this was a different kind of family. Sometimes brothers were in business together, but the rest of them hid their lives from family members. They pretended to be accountants or financial advisers.
Lorenzo seemed unsurprised by this. “Would you like some wine, Elise?”
“Sure.”
He poured me a glass then filled his. Unperturbed by the information, he treated me like I was still welcome in the house.
Made me wonder if he paid for women too.
“How’s work, son?” he asked before he took a drink.
“The same. There’s a long waiting list that I can never catch up on.”
A waiting list for people who needed organs? Or a waiting list for those who wanted to give organs?
“That’s always a good problem,” Lorenzo said.
That didn’t answer my question.
Conversations sounded from outside the room like Cauldron and Camille had arrived. They walked in a moment later, Cauldron in the lead, dressed similarly, casual in his long-sleeved shirt. Camille was in a dress like I was, with long sleeves and stockings underneath.
Lorenzo rose to greet his son.
I could see the tension between them, the long stare between their eyes.
Lorenzo extended his hand to shake Cauldron’s.
Cauldron didn’t take it.
I felt uncomfortable just watching it, but I had to admit, I was on Cauldron’s side.
Camille allowed Lorenzo to kiss her on the cheek.
Then Cauldron looked at Grave.
Grave gave him a nod.
He nodded back.
That was it.
When I looked at Camille, she was staring straight at me, her eyes flicking all over the place to take in my appearance. There was no smile. No warmth. Nothing. She was just as cold as Cauldron.
Grave didn’t look at her, and she didn’t acknowledge his presence.
This was going to be an interesting dinner.
Staff served our dinner and refilled our wine while the men talked. Cauldron never spoke to Camille, and every time he spoke a word to his father, it was with barely suppressed rage.
Honestly, I felt out of place there. I wasn’t sure why Grave had wanted me to join him.
Camille kept her eyes on her food, playing with it for a while before taking a bite, as if she wanted to make it last because she had nothing else to do.
Whenever Grave wasn’t eating, his arm was over the back of my chair or his hand was in my lap. He showed the same kind of affection as if we were alone together.
“This is nice,” Lorenzo said. “Having my boys together again. We haven’t done this since—”
“Christmas ten years ago, three weeks before that gold digger tried to kill me.” Cauldron’s words slashed through the room like a sharp butcher knife, slicing everything in its path. “Let’s not forget why everything changed, Lorenzo.”
My heart literally stopped beating.
Grave had no reaction, as if he’d heard it all before.
I just couldn’t believe Cauldron referred to him as Lorenzo.
Lorenzo had no reaction, as if he was unsurprised by his son’s outburst. “We can’t move on unless you let the past go.”
“Let the past go, huh?” Cauldron took a big drink.
Camille put her hand on his wrist, and he immediately took a breath, like simply her touch soothed him.
Grave’s eyes flicked to Camille and stayed there.
“We made a deal, Cauldron,” Lorenzo said. “And you aren’t holding up your end.”
Cauldron looked pissed off all over again. “You didn’t hold up your end of the deal as a husband or a father. You’ve got a lot of nerve saying that to me, asshole.”
“Cauldron.” Grave’s eyes were on his brother again, commanding the room. “We’ve all had shit to get over. You just gotta do it and move on.”
Cauldron held his gaze, an entire conversation passing between them.
The silence stretched to a full minute.
Cauldron grabbed his glass, raised it slightly like making a toast, and then took a drink. “Salut.”
It was a quiet drive home. We sat in the back seat together, separated by the unoccupied middle seat. His elbow was propped on the armrest, and he looked out the window with such focus he seemed to be reading words on an invisible page.
We arrived at his apartment and entered the parlor. His butler had a spread of food and drinks awaiting our arrival, which was strange because Grave never seemed to eat anything left out. Made me wonder if the display was just for me.
I followed him to the bedroom. “I’ve got to say…that was quite the family affair.”