Fire Bound (Sea Haven Sisters)(40)

Casimir remained silent. The look on her face, so lost, so vulnerable, tugged at his heartstrings. He wanted to go into Luigi’s room and cut his throat.



“I know just about everything there is to know about the Porcelli family. Of course, Luigi did most of the research for me. I know that Aldo has one sister. Luigi didn’t bother to name her because he said she was of no consequence, that the Porcelli family didn’t allow their women to have any part of the business. I think I need to find out the name of Aldo’s sister.”



He took the towel from her hands and began drying the beads of water from her body. “Malyshka, come to bed. This is all too much to take in. We need a lot more research before we go any further.” He didn’t need to do more research to know Luigi Abbracciabene had betrayed his brother and sister-in-law for power and money.



“Why would Tio Luigi have me kill the men who murdered our family if he’s in bed with them? That doesn’t make sense.”



Luigi’s logic didn’t make sense to her, but it did to him. Casimir knew Luigi had the perfect weapon in Lissa. He’d trained her himself. He’d taken her into his home and shaped her into being what in Russia would be referred to as a torpedo or a kryshas, an enforcer. The Porcelli family didn’t know about her. They had no idea that child still lived. Her existence had been kept a secret. Casimir knew her existence would always have to remain a secret, and that meant only one thing…



When Luigi had wanted to visit his family, he became conveniently ill and “retired” to his wing of the house where she was strictly forbidden to go. Casimir would have bet his last dollar that Arturo, Luigi’s most trusted man, had stayed behind with Lissa while her uncle had snuck out. Arturo had made certain she didn’t try to go visit her sick uncle in his wing.



“We need more information,” he hedged.



Her gaze jumped to his face. She went very still. “Don’t. I’m hanging on by a thread, Casimir. If my uncle helped orchestrate the hit on my parents and deliberately deceived me all these years, I don’t have very much to hold on to.”



He dragged her into his arms. “You have me. Put your thumb into the center of your palm and feel that. My heartbeat. Your calling card. I’m there. Inside you. I can’t lie to you, malyshka. I can’t turn on you. That mark means we’re sharing something so deep there is no deception between us that would ever work. When your world is turning upside down, hang on to me.”



“He’s my family.”



Casimir shook his head. “I’m your family. My brothers. All of them. Why do you think they contacted me in the first place? They love you, and they were worried for your safety. Your sisters on that farm love you. This man, if he has done the things we are beginning to suspect he’s done, then he is not family.”



She lifted her chin. “You tell me why he would train me to kill and point me to the Porcelli family if he doesn’t want justice. Tell me what you really think.”



“What I think and what I know are two different things.” He didn’t want to be the one to take away her entire world. He’d already given her far too much truth, and he couldn’t bear the shattered look on her face. He wrapped his arm around her waist and gently coaxed her back toward the dark of the bedroom.

“Why don’t you want to tell me?” she persisted, sounding accusatory.



He sighed. “I’ve felt more for you than I have for any human being since I was taken from my family. I didn’t expect to have the kind of emotions for you I have so fast. Do you think I want to be the one to cause you hurt?” He jerked back the covers, his anger seeping to the surface in spite of his determination to stay in control.

The temperature in the room had gone up several degrees, telling him he was close to an explosion. He was extremely gentle with her as he handed her into the bed. She didn’t lie down, but scooted to the front of the bed, sitting with her back to the headboard, holding a pillow in front of her so tightly her knuckles turned white. He could see the slash of color in the darkness.



“Don’t you think I’ve been deceived long enough? It would hurt more to think you suspected something and didn’t share it with me. I’m not so silly that I would lose my mind and confront my uncle.”



Casimir slid in beside her, sitting close, his thigh against hers as he drew her beneath his shoulder. He kept his voice very low. Matter-of-fact. Gentle. “He raised you to be his weapon. If he married Angeline Porcelli and Angeline’s father and the son are dead, accidents a few years apart, what other heirs are there to the throne? The Porcelli family is already merged with the Abbracciabene family. Luigi has all the power and money for himself. He’s been patient and appeared to be a good friend and ally. The old guard is dead. Everyone who would have been loyal to the father and son. You killed them off, one by one. You’d be his only loose end, and it would be easy enough to get rid of you.”