Page 9 of His Deadly Devotion

“Are you sure it’s safe?” I ask.

“I wouldn’t be taking you if I didn’t,” Papa replies.

“What jet are we taking?”

“Your Zio Mikhail organized something for you. Can’t use the Valentino jets. They’re being tracked,” my father tells me.

“And Zio Mikhail’s aren’t?” I counter.

“The jet belongs to an associate not connected to the family,” Papa says.

Okay then, guess we’re not going to know who actually owns it.

I still have my go bag, but my father hands me two passports. “These are your new identities. You’re siblings, so act like it,” he says with a smile.

“Siblings?” My face scrunches up in disgust. “Really, Papa?”

“It was believable. You’re too young to be traveling as… anything else,” he tells me. “The jet will stop in London to refuel. You’re not to deboard for any reason. When it lands in Melbourne, your brother will be waiting on the tarmac for you.”

“Can you tell him he’s not allowed to kill Connor?”

“I’ve told your brother it’s inyourbest interest—and his—that the kid lives… for now,” Papa says.

That will have to be good enough. I know if they give him a chance, my family will come to love Connor.

Okay,lovemight be a bit strong, but they will come tolikehim at least.

“You need to lie low, Aurora. No trouble.” My dad’s voice is more firm when he says this.

“It’s not like I cause trouble on purpose, Papa,” I tell him.

I see Connor smirk. He doesn’t make a sound, though.Smart man.My brother, though? He doesn’t know how to keep his thoughts to himself.

“You might not cause it on purpose but you sure do have a knack for finding it, Aurora.” Enzo’s eyes meet mine in the rearview mirror. “Maybe I should go with you.”

“You can’t. We need to keep up the act that we don’t know where she is,” Papa says. “If you go missing too, they’ll know we’re hiding something.”

Theyare Connor’s family. His parents. I can see his discomfort. Sense it. Reaching over the seat, I take his hand in mine and squeeze.

5

Ilook across to Aurora. This is for her. I take a deep breath, trying to calm my nerves and the flight-or-fight instincts that are kicking in. Never did I think I’d be betraying my own family, but let’s face it. That’s exactly what I’m doing right now. And it’s all for her. The girl who killed my cousin.

I’m sorry, Kenny.

I hope he can forgive me. When the time comes to face my cousin again, I hope he understands I didn’t really have a choice. The thought of letting her go off to the other side of the world without me being there to keep her safe, well, I can’t.

I don’t take my eyes off her. Her hand continues to squeeze mine, and somehow my anxiety starts to dissipate. I don’t know how she knew. I’ve learned to control my features. I can endure a lot of shit and no one would know it bothered me.

She knows, though. Aurora can read me better than I can read myself. Which is why, even when I was telling her how much I hated her, she never believed me.

I give her a small smile, trying to reassure her that we’re going to be fine. That I’m fine. Neither of us says a word, not until her father pulls up right next to a jet. I take a look, trying to figure out who the damn thing belongs to, but there are no identifying marks on it.

I climb out of the car. My shoulder fucking aches. I reach a hand back inside for Aurora anyway. “You need to take some pain pills,” she repeats.

“I’ll survive,” I tell her. I’ve never been a fan of drugs, and I’m not afraid of a little pain either.

“Yeah, but you don’t need to suffer while surviving,” she says.