"I remember the last time I saw my father," Elena continued, her voice taking on a distant note, "How he promised to visit more. He wrote us a letter not long after, which I found on top of the fridge."
"What did it say?" I asked carefully.
Elena's fingers twisted in the blanket. "Promises, mostly. That he'd come back for us someday. That he loved us." Her laugh was bitter this time. "His first and last letter to us. I wonder if he ever truly did love us or not. He barely visited. Mom was always off whenever he was around. Like she wasn't super thrilled about it."
Ivy sighed. "He was a liar, Lena. Always was. And considering we now know he had family…"
"Maybe," Elena conceded. "But every girl tries to look up to their father, even if he's never there. Mom always told me to focus on what we had, how we were doing super well. I think she didn't like when I mentioned him, but she never said bad things about him, just shifted the conversations. I used to think it was so I wouldn't be sad, but maybe…"
"Maybe she knew who he really was, of his family," Ivy mumbled.
I thought about what I knew of Anthony Cassaro—the man Roman had described, the man Leo and Grayson had killed. He wasn't a good man from what I'd been told, and I wondered if he was just saying such things to keep them hidden away, so they wouldn't ruin his other life.
"People are complicated," I said carefully. "Even the ones we think we know."
"Is that what you tell yourself about the Donatis? That they're just complicated?" Elena asked quietly.
The question was understandable. I'd been loyal to the family for years, had killed for them, bled for them.
"They saved my life," I said simply. "When no one else would touch me."
"That doesn't answer my question," Elena pressed.
I sighed, running a hand through my hair. "Look, I'm not saying they're saints. But the Donatis... they protect their own. And they have lines they won't cross."
"Like what?" Ivy challenged.
"They don't hurt women or children. They don't deal in human trafficking. They keep the harder drugs out of their territory." I shifted again, wincing. "And they're loyal to a fault."
"Until they're not," Elena murmured.
I knew she was thinking about her father, about what might have happened to him.
"They'll want to know you," I said with certainty, wanting to give her some hope. "Meredith and Grayson. A sister they didn't know they had."
Elena's laugh was sharp, disbelieving. "How do you know they don't know about me?"
"Because I know them well enough to know they wouldn't abandon you if they'd known about you. Family is everything to them," I insisted.
"Even if I lied my way into their lives?"
"They'll understand. I know they will." I had no doubt about it. I'd been around the family long enough to know what they were like. They were not the kind to turn their backs.
The rain continued its assault on the roof, and the wind picked up, whistling through the broken windows throughout the house.
"I'm scared," she whispered, so quietly I almost missed it.
I tightened my arms around her. "I know."
"Not just of them finding us," she clarified. "I'm scared of what happens after. If Gray and Meredith do accept me... what then? Do I just forget everything I learned? Because I think my dad… I think they…"
It was a question I couldn't answer. The Elena I'd first met—the one with secrets behind her eyes—was different from the woman pressed against me now. She'd killed to protect us. Hadn't run when I'd told her to. Had chosen to trust me despite knowing what I was. Had saved me.
"One day at a time," I said finally. "That's all any of us can do."
Ivy had grown quiet, her breathing evening out as exhaustion claimed her.
Something told me sleep had no plans on claiming me tonight. Maybe it was the throbbing in my leg or the howling storm outside, or the need to watch over these two women.
