◆ MILES ◆"Can't take any chances, Maxim."Alright. Whatever. Mykaela's safety would be at risk if I didn't shove her out of my life. It would confuse and hurt her, of course, but Ricchar's forethought and cautionary advice made a lot of sense. And I should understand that he was only looking out for me and Kel.Out of all our cousins, he was the only one whose opinion I respected. The only one I actually liked to be around. The others only saw me as the problem child. "The prodigal son" and some other derogatory adjectives that bordered on absurdly judgmental. "How do I even tell her about them? About the deal?" I muttered, still unsure of what to do next.Ricchar scoffed at my question. "You can't. Are you serious right now?" "Why not?" I frowned. "She'll listen. She'd understand.""You just can't," Ricchar almost shouted. "What is wrong with you?""Charr, she's not dumb or stupid.""She doesn't need to know anything. She shouldn't. You'll just put her in a very risky situation, b

◇ KEL ◇ "Mykaela? Sweetie?" "Mom." I sighed with relief. My mother's endearing but worried voice sounded faint on the other end. I locked the door behind me. The solace of the private guest room provided the comfort I ne

◇ KEL ◇ This day just kept getting weirder and weirder. First, the ambush. Then Enzo, eagerly offering me money for my "services".

◇ KEL ◇ I was about to follow Miles out of the mansion, but I stopped dead in my tracks when I recalled it was time I checked up on Cloe again. I used the stairs to get to Ricchar and Cloe's bedroom. The security guards let me in right away. Ricchar sat with Cloe who was resting on the left side of the bed, his hand carefully stroking his wife's hair."Cloe, are you okay?" I asked as I crouched beside Cloe. Her bandages still looked clean, no spots of fresh blood, and she now wore a different nightdress and no longer looked deathly pale. "Hi again." Cloe looked at me and smiled big. She had on a long nightgown that fully covered her slim arms and legs. "Charr, did you talk to..." I stared at Ricchar. "Are you taking her to the hospital now? I can come with you.""Thank you, but the local ambulance is half an hour away. If you could just keep checking on her and Lorenzio till the plane gets here." Ricchar kissed his wife's cheek and gingerly hugged Cloe closer."Sure," I replied wit

◆ MILES ◆ "Sure you can do that?"Ricchar's question was filled with doubt and dissent as I'd expected, but I couldn't risk dragging Mykaela deeper into our family's complicated mess. Especially now that the huge can of worms got opened—by no less than the damned Russian mafia, too. "Only way I can keep her out of this.""You didn't ask her to stay?" Ricchar stepped closer to me and glanced behind us.I did the same. Pappa Stefano stood by the covered windows in the corner of the study room, busy talking to someone on the phone. More like, barking orders over the phone.We already discussed what happened to the ambushed convoy and agreed on our next steps with the head of security. Mamma Eleana now looked too bothered by everything to even speak. She sat in the swivel chair, the stacks of paperwork partly covering her slumped posture. Her brows and lips creased in concentration as she kept silent."Why?" I glanced sideways to look at Ricchar. Did he think Mykaela would stay if I as