Page 78 of Contempt

She had a sister—Cella—who would gladly spend her entire life with her nose stuck in a book. Her sister had once used books to escape the pain in her life, but even after things got better for her, she knew Cella still found peace in a good book. And if someone was lucky enough to borrow one of Cella’s beloved books, but it came back dog-eared?

God save your soul.

“What’s the book about?” Lucia asked.

Diego beamed, and then quickly went into a whole discussion about the book—a discussion he mostly had with himself because all Lucia did was nod and agree. She was there to listen and spend time with him. Whatever he wanted to do, she was game for it.

“And there’s dragons,” Diego added.

“Really?”

Diego nodded. “They have to hatch them.”

“How?”

“I don’t know—that’s the point.”

Lucia laughed at the look he gave her, but Diego didn’t seem to mind. He went back to his book, and started reading out loud. He did well—only stumbled on one or two big words that he needed to slow down to get out properly.

It struck her then how much this kid had changed in the last few years. In small ways, sure, and in bigger ways, too. He just … wasn’t the same. He’d had his own little personality back then, but now, it was bigger and more honed to him. She regretted having spent so much time away to punish someone else in her life because she’d missed out on a lot here.

But what could she do?

Hindsight was still twenty-twenty.

“And then Mar—”

A knock on the door interrupted Diego’s reading. The kid pursed his lips, and annoyance flashed in his gaze at needing to stop his reading as he lifted his head from the book.

Lucia almost laughed.

Yep.

Just like every other book-lover in the world.

If only she would have focused on Diego, then, and not noticed the way Rose seemed to jump on the spot. She caught the way Rose’s gaze darted to the hallway leading to the front door of the apartment, and how her hands instantly clenched into the dish cloth she had been using to wipe down the counter.

Were those nerves?

Why would Rose be—

“Sorry, let me grab that,” Rose said quietly.

She didn’t meet Lucia’s gaze.

Or Diego’s.

What was going on?

THIRTEEN

Renzo tried not to be nervous. He wasn’t the fucking type to have nerves, anyway. He liked to bury that shit as deep as he could so it would never be used against him. Something else The League had taught him that he figured was good use in his daily life. Not that he was ever going to thank them for that.

He appreciated their lessons.

Respected them, even.

He didn’t agree with the way they went about teaching.