Page 73 of Savage Empire

“Alone in the salon are you?” I question weakly, feeling my eyes begin to sting. Tonight has been too much, and it seems that wine still makes my emotions run high.

She snorts happily. “Yeah, no need for theatrics. The jailers are out for dinner and won’t be back for hours. What’s up? We haven’t had an emergency call in ages. You and Yordan okay?”

“We’re okay.” I swallow.

“I can hear the trepidation in your voice, Rayna,” she replies, tone becoming serious. “Are you sure you’re okay? It’s not Apollo, is it? He’s not stopped treating you both well, has he?”

“No, no.” I shake my head, even though she can’t see me. “This is actually…this is actually about you.”

“Me? How?”

“I’m so sorry,” I rasp, tears silently falling down my cheeks.

“Sorry?” Sienna echoes. “What do you possibly have to be sorry for?”

“I’m the worst friend in the world?—”

“Hey! Don’t talk shit about my best friend like that,” she chastises. “You’re the best, R. Whatever it is, we can work it out.”

“I don’t deserve you,” I tell her, lip wobbling. “I really am so sorry.”

“Sorry for what? Please just tell me, you’re stressing me out,” she pleads.

I sniffle, exhaling hard.

“They all know.”

“W-what?”

The sound of her voice wavering on that one word makes me wish I could reach through the phone and comfort her. To wrap my arms around her and smother her with an embrace that could take away all her fear.

“Apollo forced me to attend a family dinner with them all, Sienna. All of them,” I blurt out, voice trembling. “I tried to get out of it. I knew it was a bad idea and I tried to stay home but Yordan was relentless. And once I was forced into the Moretti home I told myself I could bite my tongue. I always keep my mouth shut when it’s important, you know that, but I couldn’t. I saw her and I?—”

“Rayna, slow down,” she says quickly, cutting off my ramble. “You’re not making any sense. What happened?”

“They sat me across from her at dinner, S,” I rasp. “I was staring at her face, silently raging about how much I missed yours. She was talking about some charity she was working with for abused women, saying how it was a Moretti family traditionto take care of those who truly need it. I had too many glasses of wine and I couldn’t hide my snort. And she looked at me like I didn’t deserve to be there.”

“Oh…Rayna.”

“I’m so sorry, it just all came out,” I confess, throat feeling tight. “I kept looking at her and seeing you, the real you, not the person they’ve forced you to become. I got so mad. I know you don’t want to cause trouble and I know you still love them in your own way. But I really can’t help wanting to hurt them. Seriously, I wanted to jump over the table and throttle her.”

“I don’t know what to say?—”

“I’m selfish to ask this but please don’t hate me, S. You’re my best friend and it’s been eating me up to keep this secret, especially as I’ve become more and more entwined with this family. The more Apollo helped me, the more I knew I couldn’t hate them for not helping you. They had no idea, not even an inkling about your neglect or abuse in any way. They would have helped, if she just spoke up. If she even suggested your home life was unideal. Dante would have probably snapped you up and made you one of his many unofficial children without blinking.”

“You think so?” Her voice is quiet, soft and unsure.

“He looked murderous when I got it all out, Sienna. Like he was going to hop on the plane with Elio and go get you himself.”

A small gasp. “Elio is coming?”

“Of course he is,” I reply, chest filling with appreciation for my friend. “He’s good, S. Really good. I consider him a friend, really. And I know you do too. He doesn’t think you’re a burden, and he knows you don’t want your parents dead. He’s coming to get you and he promised he wouldn’t hurt them. Only because you asked.”

“You’re sure?”

“He swore it,” I emphasize, nodding even though she can’t see my face. “Elio doesn’t take vows lightly. He’ll do this the way you need. He would have done it ages ago if you only asked.”

It’s quiet for a moment.