Page 8 of Whispers in the Dark
Besides, the idea of someone holding a razor blade or a pair of scissors anywhere near my neck…
Instinctively, I reach up, running the tips of my fingers across the prominent scar that decorates my neck—the one I received from the same explosion that killed my father. Not only did the shrapnel leave me with this physical reminder from that terrible day, but it took something from me as well. Something others cannot see:my voice.
“Irreparable damage.”
“Serious trauma to your larynx.”
“Lucky to be alive.”
I believe those are the words the doctors uttered as I was in and out of consciousness.
With excruciating pain, I’m able to get out a word or two at a time. Maybe three if I’m willing to suffer the consequences. But nothing more than that. No sentences. No aloud thoughts.
My fingers press into my throat as I remember the day that changed everything for me.
“You’re just jealous,” Alex states, standing to retrieve both glasses. He hands one to me before taking his seat. “If I recall correctly, you tried to grow out your hair when you were eighteen but cut it off only after your then-girlfriend complained that your hair was prettier than hers.”
Vin chokes on his drink, patting his chest. “Vaffanculo.”
I grin as I throw back the dark liquid, savoring the burn while it slides down my throat.
“Where’s our drink?” Leo, my youngest brother, asks as he strides into the room with his best friend Eli by his side.
Leo’s ahunter. An apex predator on the streets of New York who’s responsible for finding those who harm our family. And trust me when I say they can never outrun him.
“You get one when you arrive on time,” Vin answers, placing his empty crystal glass on a coaster. “I believe you and Mauro left at the same time, yet it’s he who sits before me.” Vin’s blue eyes regard him with authority.
Leo sits on the edge of the desk, crossing his tattoo-covered arms over his chest. “I had to inform Scarlett I was back.”
“And you couldn’t have done that with a phone call?”
He smirks. “Nope. We had some ah”—he scratches his head—“unfinished business to attend to.”
Vin pinches the bridge of his nose. “Your sex drive should be examined. It’s not healthy.”
Leo shrugs. “I feel my wife may disagree with you on that.”
Eli, my sister’s bodyguard and husband, rolls his eyes, taking a seat on one of the chairs before the desk. Not only did he grow up on our property, earning himself a place in our family, but that man has and would take a bullet for our sister, which is why my brothers and I respect him so much.
A knock pulls our attention to the door. “Sir.” Vin’s right-hand man, Samuel, stands at the opening. Vin arches a brow, waiting. “Sorry to interrupt, but your one o’clock is here early.”
“Shit.” Vin looks at his watch. “I forgot all about them. Have them wait in the foyer. We’ll be done here shortly.”
Samuel dips his chin and exits.
“Anyway,” Eli starts, “can we get this meeting started? Madeleine’s taking a nap, and I’d like to be back before she wakes. Dr. Rose wants to remove the stitches.”
Silence fills the room.
Madeleine is our baby sister. Thefinancierof our family, who takes pride in running the casino, ensures all books are keptclean, and that everyone on our payroll is paid accordingly, which includes half of New York’s finest.
But a few weeks ago, she was on the brink of death after getting kidnapped and shot by a woman with an unhealthy obsession with Eli. And that was after she spent the past year engaged to that woman’s twin brother because he blackmailed her in order to save Eli.
What a fucking mess.
My fingers tighten around my glass, barely registering the crack splintering on one side.
At least neither of those monsters is breathing air into this world anymore.
