Page 46 of Thorns of Desire

I leaned back. We all kept secrets, and Lykos was no exception. “Because she’s his niece. Lykos’s wife is… was… Alexandra’s older sister.”

“But she’s dead,” he claimed. “I attended her funeral.”

I shrugged, giving him a pointed look. Perception was everything in our world and we knew it. After Enrico’s brother died, we played our own scheme to ensure the Marchetti territory remained strong until Enzo was old enough to take over.

He leaned back in his chair and considered this news. “How do the Triads come into play?”

The Marchettis had never worked alongside them, but there’d been other families that tested those waters. It never ended well.

The Triads were known for their unpredictability. If they’d zeroed in on Athena, it was only a matter of time before they got their filthy paws on her.

Unless I got her away from here.

“Remember how Atticus fucked them over way back when?” He nodded, remembering the whole fiasco of flesh smuggling over the Greek territory. Atticus was into flesh trading and continued the practice until his son took over. “This has to be their payback.”

The line between his brows deepened. “Why wouldn’t he just settle the score with interest like he did with the Albanians and the Cortes cartel? It’s not like he’s short on money, and his son, Danil, made their empire ten times bigger.”

“I don’t know.” Which was exactly what was bothering me. Danil went out of his way to settle his father’s scores, making the people Atticus fucked over very rich. “But I plan on taking Athena to my castello.”

Nobody apart from Enrico knew of its location. It’d be the safest place for Athena.

“Probably a good idea.” Then Enrico smirked. “So you were sleeping with her mother a decade ago, and now you’re sleeping with the daughter.”

I shot him an annoyed look. “I never fucked Alexandra.”

“Cristo, that was a close one, Manuel. I’d like to see you explain that to your new young bride.”

I narrowed my eyes on him. “I never said I was marrying her.”

He rose out of his chair and laughed his ass off all the way out of my office.

NINETEEN

ATHENA

While I had an earbud in one ear and paying attention to my surroundings with the other, I slipped out of the bookstore and started walking toward my apartment.

I couldn’t keep a smile off my face.

Despite my recent encounter with some crazy ninjas, my life was going surprisingly well. My proudly smutty books were selling, and I had just signed a large batch of paperbacks for a local store.

Glancing over my shoulder, I couldn’t see the guards Manuel assigned to me, but I could sense them. Being followed definitely wasn’t something I loved, but it did offer me some peace of mind.

Ignoring their presence, I crossed the street, ensuring I waited until there wasn’t a car in sight so they could follow me safely. It was silly, but I didn’t want them putting their life in danger.

I stretched my right arm, flexing my wrist that had cramped from signing two hundred copies.

It’s a good problem to have, I thought to myself, smiling.

Life worked in mysterious ways sometimes. When I was younger, I would have never guessed that Manuel Marchetti would become my protector.

Strange, because my mother had never offered me the protection that her lovers provided for her. Not that I had wanted it, and of course it would have been difficult to explain since she kept me a secret from them.

Besides, it was probably for the best considering all the shit Raven got into in high school. I was homeschooled up until I turned fourteen, then Mom put me in a private boarding school on the East Coast. It was where I met Raven, the two of us clicking instantly.

Yes, it sucked not having a parent during my growth spurt and hormonal changes, but Raven was there for me.

I turned the corner and passed a row of cafés, their outdoor seating filled with Parisians. My eyes traveled over their smiling faces, many of them with cigarettes between their fingers.