Page 89 of Deathless & Divided

“Yeah, him. Dino saved you kids back then. You know that, right?”

Lily shook her head. “No.”

“He was old enough to have a leg stuck in the Outfit and he was working under Ben’s thumb a great deal of the time. Because he understood the rules and how badly it made you kids look that your father turned on the Outfit, Dino did what he had to so that your parents’ shame wasn’t reflected on to you or Theo. Dino separated you from Joseph and Valerie DeLuca.”

Lily flinched at her mother’s and father’s names, but Damian didn’t relent. “He took you out of that home, put you in with your uncle immediately, and then threw himself full force into the Outfit. He never finished high school. He’s never even had kids of his own or been married, Lily. Because he’s spent his entire life working to wash away the shame so that people could see you and Theo as his brother and sister, not the children of Joseph and Valerie.”

“I’m not ashamed of my parents,” Lily said.

“But you are ashamed of what your father did.”

Lily cringed, staying silent.

“You can say it. It’s just me here, you know,” Damian said. “Nobody else needs to know. You’re not protecting dead people by saying something that’s true.”

“He did wrong by the Outfit,” she said instead.

“And the people reacted how they were taught to.”

“How do you not blame the gun?”

Damian shrugged. “Because it didn’t pull the trigger. It just follows the rules.”

“I don’t think my mother’s death was an accident,” Lily told him.

“Why not?”

“I think my uncle knew she would have taken her kids and ran.”

“It’s possible,” Damian agreed. “Ben has always tried to control the DeLuca side of things as much as he could. Don’t take this the wrong way, but dwelling on it all isn’t going to help you, Lily. All that stuff has already happened. It’s been over with for years. I’m not saying you should forgive and forget, but maybe you should start leaving it where it belongs.”

“Behind,” she murmured.

“Yeah. Back where it can’t keep hurting you. Because right now, you’re the only one letting it hurt you, sweetheart.”

“Is that how you do it, Damian?”

“I’m more concerned about the now to be worrying about buried people, Lily.”

“Don’t you miss your parents?” she asked.

“I barely remember them, but if you want the truth, I miss the idea of people who were supposed to be only mine and them loving me. I miss what I think that should feel like because I never got the chance to experience it.”

“Oh.”

Just like that, her tears starting falling again. Damian’s gut twisted harder at the sight, making him feel all kinds of terrible. Pushing off the hood of the car, he crossed the few feet between them, caught her pretty face in his palms, and tilted her head up so he could stare down at her.

“Please don’t cry,” he murmured. “I don’t do well with tears. I told you that. Stop.”

Lily sucked on her bottom lip but she didn’t stop. He figured she couldn’t help it. “I’m sorry.”

“You’re going to force me to do it, huh?”

“Do what?”

“Make you stop crying so I can feel better,” Damian said, grinning wickedly.

Lily laughed through her tears. “And just how do you plan on—”