Page 39 of Blood Vows

“I’m opening it,” she insisted.

“You already opened it before.”

“Yes, I did,” she said.

“So, let me see it,” he said again, holding out his hand.

She hesitated, and Dante’s eyes narrowed. “Elena.”

“The card seemed normal,” she insisted.

“Normal seems like a word that’s fucked us repeatedly,” he said.

“That’s fair.” She pulled the birthday card free. It was simple, with no sentimental message. Just four words written beneath the printed greeting.

Stay away from red.

Dante went completely still when she handed it to him. He read it again. “What does that mean?”

“I thought it meant that I should stay away from red wine,” Elena said.

Dante slowly looked at her. “Why would you have to stay away from red wine?”

She shrugged. “Hale used to tease me because I hated red wine.”

“That’s it?” he asked.

“Yes,” she breathed.

“Anything else red that you can think of?” he asked. She thought about it, trying to find Hale’s hidden meaning in everything red that she could think of—cars, clothes, and flowers, but nothing came to mind.

Her chest tightened. “The ledger.”

Dante looked at her. “What ledger?” Elena stared at him. She had never told anyone about it—not Isabella, not her father’s attorney, no one.

Dante saw the answer on her face. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.”

“I forgot about it,” she admitted.

“How do you forget a ledger?” he asked.

“Because I never understood what it was,” she said.

He handed her back the card. “Where is it?”

“Not here,” she said.

“Elena,” he warned.

“It’s in storage,” she said.

Dante loudly swore. One of the guards appeared in the doorway, and Dante pointed at him. “Get the fuck out.”

He disappeared, and Elena stood. “It was in with my father’s things.”

“I’m assuming that the ledger is red,” he said. She already knew why he was asking, and her mouth went dry.

“Yes,” she whispered.