Page 56 of Thorns of Silence

I flopped down onto the couch next to Cesar, pulling out my phone and skimming through the internet until an article caught my eye. Sex toys. Lotions. My head spun, and I closed my eyes for a moment.

I hadn’t been drunk in years. Not since the abduction. I let my mind wander back to Nix, and an idea trickled through my sluggish thoughts.

“I’m going to order her toys,” I exclaimed victoriously.

Cesar opened one eye, watching me wearily. Amon eyed me suspiciously. I ignored them both as I searched for every sex toy and lotion available on the market and pressedbuy,buy,buy.

I felt at peace as I got my shipping confirmation, each item addressed to Phoenix’s apartment.

TWENTY-TWO

PHOENIX

My eyes narrowed on the open package on our kitchen counter, itscontentsstaring back at me. There was a cryptic note on top of it without a signature.

Enjoy your clitoral vibrators and toys. Your satisfaction is guaranteed. Don’t hesitate to call for assistance. Please leave a review.

My eyes narrowed. It didn’t appear like a usual customer service number.

“What the fuck is that?” Isla signed, staring wide-eyed at the box. I slammed the lid shut, glancing around like I’d been caught on camera.

“Nothing.”

She stared at me. “Do you need so many?”

I blinked, feeling hot all of a sudden. “They’re not mine.”

Her brows met her hairline. “Your name’s on the slip.”

I groaned. I had a suspicion I knew who’d sent it. The same creep who sent me croissants. The same stalker who ruined my every date. The creep who always inserted himself around me at the wrong time.

My eyes flicked to the phone number. Was it Dante’s? It wasn’t the number he’d given me before, but then they often changed. The underworld probably single-handedly kept burner phone companies in business.

“It’s a mistake,” I signed. “I’m sending it back.”

She choked out a laugh. “If you are, leave me one, but if I were you, I’d keep them. These are worth thousands.” She shoved my fingers out of the way as I was about to seal the box, opening it wide open and pulling them out. “Jesus, this is all really good quality.”

I covered my burning face, suddenly feeling like I had a temperature. Dante was a fucking nuisance that I didn’t need in my life, except I didn’t know how to make him stop. None of us needed the shit that came with the Leone family. Reina was living, breathing evidence of it. So was my past.

“There’s nothing to be embarrassed of, Phoenix.”

I shook my head. “I’m not embarrassed.” Just murderous. Maybe slightly annoyed. And intrigued how in the hell Dante Leone would know that I had issues orgasming. It killed me that I had to think about him to find release. It felt like a betrayal every goddamned time.

The expression on Isla’s face told me she didn’t believe me. “If you say so.”

I shoved the box toward her. “You can have it all. And leave them a review, will you?”

Isla’s jaw hit the ground and I turned around, heading to Reina’s room so I could check on her. Seeing her hurting so badly was all the confirmation I needed.

Dante Leone was my past. He wouldn’t—couldn’t—be my future.

* * *

For the past two months, we’d been witnessing Reina’s grief. Each day, she’d withdrawn further into her shell. She barely ate, her complexion was sickly, and the distant look in her eyes was all too familiar.

She’d been all in with Amon, and he’d hurt her. I wanted to be there for her and help her, but I didn’t know how. It made me feel helpless. I was meant to protect her, and I’d failed.

Clutching my sister tightly to my chest, I combed my fingers through her curls. She’d lost weight, and it broke my heart to see her so hopeless. Tears burned in my eyes and I couldn’t breathe. We’d always been close, even when I was going through my own heartbreak. I never told her about Dante, but she sensed something—or someone—had changed me. When Grandma crafted the elaborate story about my illness, she took it at face value, so I went along with it. I was too ashamed to tell my sixteen-year-old sister that I was blind and stupid, falling for a boy who knocked me up and left me the same night he learned I was pregnant. After he fucked me thoroughly.