Page 82 of Her Ghostly Embrace
Aurora grabbed her hand. “Want me to come?”
“I might get more out of him by myself, but you can keep an eye on me from the window if you’re worried.”
Aurora pulled the curtain as far open as it would go. “Oh, I will be. I know he was hypnotized, but I don’t trust him yet.”
Gia leaned in and brushed a quick kiss across Aurora’s lips. “Thanks for looking out for me. I’ll be back soon.”
Aurora chased her retreating lips. “I’m counting on it.”
As soon as Gia exited the building, Marc caught sight of her and raised his hands in surrender. “Gia, I just want to talk.”
“I know, Marc. Relax.”
He was more casually dressed than she’d seen him in years, wearing jeans, a hoodie, a baseball cap turned backward, and not a single piece of jewelry. “Your vampire friend told you my mind was messed up, right?”
“She’s not exactly a friend, but yeah.”
“I never would have stood by him if he hadn’t forced me,” Marc said in a rush. “I swear. Not after I figured out he’d killed Ma.”
Gia wanted to weep with relief, but she held it together. “Why didn’t he erase the memory of what he’d done, like he did with me?”
Marc shrugged, looking hopelessly lost. “He made me into the man he wanted, altering anything he didn’t like. Ordering me to believe him. To buy into his thinking. It’s fucked. I can remember all his commands now. All the times I disagreed or argued with him, and he smoothed it over so I’d forget. And the worst thing is, after a while, he didn’t have to do that anymore. It’s like he smashed me into a mold, and eventually, I gave in.”
Gia’s heart ached. “Marc…”
“I know.” Marc adjusted his hat nervously. “For years, I held all these beliefs, thinking they were genuinely mine, and they weren’t. Even the ones like Ma that I fought the hardest, he eventually figured out how to force me to accept.”
“Jesus Christ.” Gia patted his shoulder.
His posture relaxed almost imperceptibly. “I don’t know if I’d have wanted to inherit his empire any more than you did if he hadn’t forced me. I don’t think any of it was me. After fifteen years of this shit, I don’t know who I am.”
“Oh, Marc, I’m so sorry.”
He reached for her and hesitated. She pulled him into a hug. “No, I’m sorry for what he did to you, Gia. I’d never have accepted it if he hadn’t forced me.”
“I believe you.” Gia pulled away, hardly recognizing the man before her. Who was her brother without his ambition? Without the Balzano legacy? “What are you going to do now?”
Marc glowered. “Fuck if I know. I can’t go back.”
“Who do you think will take over?”
“Salvator will try, and then the Russians will rip him to shreds. Or someone else will. Maybe Salvator will win. I couldn’t care less as long as I never see any of them again.”
“My thoughts exactly.”
They shared a strained smile.
Marc was right. Now that Franco and his supernatural influence were gone, the humans would fight it out and see who rose to the top. The winner didn’t matter to Gia or Marc in the least.
“I’m going to stay here for a while,” Marc said, looking down the road like he might find directions for the rest of his life on a street sign. “Maybe I should take some classes and see if I have any skills beyond being a dumbass.”
“Hey, you aren’t a dumbass. Neither of us can help what Franco hypnotized us to do.”
“I suppose not.” He sounded defeated.
“If Salvator or anyone comes looking for you, let me know.”
Marc smiled fully, in a way she hadn’t seen since they were kids. “Thanks, G. You’re the best sister.”
