If the look in his eyes didn’t frighten me, the tone of his voice did.
Lucas stepped closer, and as his body filled my vision, I had the sneaking suspicion that I might have pushed Lucas too far this time.
And now, I was in trouble.
Chapter 20
Nico
Manhattan
I stared at the phone, holding it up to my ear to ensure that the line was indeed dead. That was definitely Leda, my missing sister from whom I hadn’t heard in weeks.
She was alive.
Relief flooded me as I collapsed onto the couch, holding the phone in my hand. Leda was alive and okay, for the most part of it. But something about what she said didn’t make sense. She wanted me to help some faceless name in the Cavazzo Mafia. She hadn’t said why, but I could read between the lines, and what I found pissed me off.
Someone was taking advantage of my baby sister.
“Nico? Are you alright? You look pale.”
I looked up to find Rory staring down at me, her belly protruding under her T-shirt.
Well, my T-shirt. She was raiding my closet more and more these days since she was starting to show. I didn’t mind. She could have it all.
“Leda just called me.”
“Leda?” It was Rory’s turn to go pale. “Are you sure? Is she alright?”
I nodded as she joined me on the couch and slipped into my arm. I pulled her closer.
“I’m sure. She’s alive, that much I know. But I have no idea where she is.” I wasn’t about to put Rory through what I had gone through in Leda’s words.
This must have been our father’s fucking work. He must’ve been trying to exert some power over her from his prison cell.
Revenge against me in the only way he knew how.
I should have killed him with my bare hands.
“Oh,” Rory said, realization dawning in her eyes. “You aren’t telling me everything, are you?”
I smiled. There was nothing I could hide from her. “Now what gave you that impression?”
“Because,” she murmured. “You get a weird look about you when you lie. It’s actually incredibly easy to pick up.”
“Well that’s certainly true. There’s more to the story,” I said slowly. “But I think Leda would rather tell you.”
I didn’t need Rory to worry any more than she had over the past few weeks. There were already a lot of sleepless nights, and the doctor gave express orders that Rory avoid as much stress as possible.
After that, I forced her to take it easy, going out on my own hunt for Leda and coming up empty time and time again. Even my new connections with the police hadn’t helped, and I had started to think that we had lost her for good.
Until today. She wanted my help.
No, she had begged for my help, and I was torn on whether or not to do so.
But something else bothered me. The abrupt ending of our call. Did Lucas Valentino catch her with the phone and take it from her? It certainly sounded that way, and Leda would be ballsy enough to steal her captor’s phone.
I got up from the couch, and walked over to the island where my laptop sat.