“In that case, we better get two.”
He gaped at me, little mouth open in a perfect circle.
That mass in my chest, heavy and ungainly, shifted and expanded, pressing against my lungs so it was hard to breathe. Because the kid was looking at me like I’d give him a chest of treasure, something priceless and long-dreamt of.
“It’s just a tree, kid,” I cautioned for some reason. “No big deal.”
“Will you help me decorate them?” he continued excitedly. “If we don’t have money for ornaments, I’m really good at making them! We just need to buy some popsicles. Don’t worry, I’ll eat them all and then we can use the sticks!”
Even Carter coughed around a chuckle at that.
“I think we can do better than that,” I said. “We’ll get ornaments and lights for outside while we’re at it. How’s that sound?”
“So fun,” Brando breathed, beaming at me. “You’re the best.”
He turned his focus to Walcott, yammering away about Christmas plans as the man walked up the stairs with Picasso following behind. I watched them go, chest tight, tongue thick in my mouth.
And I knew exactly what I needed.
Not the empty grandeur of the Morelli Mansion or the relationships with my siblings I’d always dreamt of that went unreturned.
I wanted Brandon in his room at Lion Court, filling the cavernous rooms with excited chatter and youthful exuberance. I wanted Christmas with my men, Ezra, Walcott, and Henrik, maybe even Chef Patsy and whoever the fuck else worked around the house and grounds.
I wanted Bianca here in this house with us. Her husky laughter, her witty repartee, the dreamy look she got in her eye when she discovered a new piece of artwork hidden like lost treasure in the nooks and crannies of the mansion.
I wasn’t capable of love. This wasn’t that.
It was closer to obsession.
A mad desire to possess and cherish the way an art collector revered his most prized masterpiece.
She was mine and it was my right to care for her.
No one else’s.
That feeling in my chest settled with click like a lock sliding into place and suddenly I was filled with conviction.
I stood up so quickly I almost lost my footing, still lightheaded from blood loss.
“Tiernan?” Henrik touched his fingers to my elbow, ready to steady me.
“Bring the Bentley Bentayga around. The Aston is filled with my blood. I want to be ready to go get Bianca as soon as Ezra locates her.”
As if summoned by his name, Ezra appeared in the threshold to the left hallway and stalked forward with a ferocious scowl.
A chill slithered down my spine before his fingers even started moving.
That’s going to be a problem, he signed, because I found Bianca and she is at the Constantine Compound.
White hot fury flooded my system and for a moment, I was rendered blind by it.
“How the fuck did that happen?” I growled low, struggling to contain my helpless rage.
Tilda was at the party. Apparently, Lane’s best friend, Beckett, took her to the compound. Caroline just returned home there now.
Self-loathing and bitter regret surged over my tongue. I lashed out, grabbing the delicate wooden chair I’d sat in. It collided against the marble floor with a satisfying crash, splintering into pieces. One of them wedged itself into my palm like a thorn. It reminded me of that first day I’d met Bianca and pressed her hand around the stem of a blood red rose.
Fresh anger sparked through me.
I stalked toward Carter with a snarl on my face, satisfied by the way his eyes widened. He was a dangerous man, but so am I. It wouldn’t do for him to forget that.
“Tiernan, I had nothing to do with that,” he was saying under the roar of blood in my ears.
All I could think of was Bianca, beautiful and pure as a dove caged in the cruel hands of Caroline Constantine.
In that moment, Carter looked too much like Bryant to escape my ire. I lunged forward and squeezed his throat under my grip, watching his face turn vermillion. He thrust the side of his hand against my neck in a martial arts move I was familiar with. It hurt like a motherfucker, but I was used to pain. I stumbled back but remained standing over him.
“You want to to fix things with me, Carter?” I bared down on him with a cruel smile that felt good on my lips. “I’m done seeking forgiveness for something I was forced to do to you eighteen years ago. It’s your turn to prove yourself to me. Help me get Bianca back from the Constantines. And if they do anything at all to harm her, you’ll help me end them forever. Those are my terms.”
“You’re fucking insane, brother,” he said, rubbing his neck with a grimace. “Help is what I was offering all along.”
“Do we have a deal?” I asked with an arched brow, extending my bleeding hand to him in offering.