Page 50 of Queen of Misfortune (Shadows of Redemption)
I look down. Maybe he’s right. Niko is all about killing my father and protecting Elena these days, and so that would be the priority of his men, including Donovan.
“No. I’m not planning on returning to Italy. Elena needs me. I want to help her and the babies.”
Donovan sucks in a breath and seems to release some of his tension. "Will Luca agree to that? To your staying?"
"It's not up to Luca.”
He studies me, dark eyes searching. "You sure about that? Because Luca… he knows things. About your father."
"Luca thinks my father is a maniac. He wants nothing to do with him. Can't say I blame him."
"Did Luca tell you all that?" Donovan squats down in front of me. It feels like a sympathetic gesture, but I can’t be sure.
“Yes.” Wondering how much Donovan and Niko know, I add, “Luca said my father offered to sell me to him, and he refused. But he says I’m up for sale at some black-market auction instead." I watch Donovan closely. Does he know? Will he admit it if he does?
The subtle shift in Donovan's expression is a punch to the gut—a barely there clenching of his jaw, the way his eyes look away for a moment. It's enough for me to know he was aware of the auction, and the betrayal stings like a slap.
"That information would've been useful to me," I spit out, the words laced with venom. "But no, I had to hear it from Luca, of all people. He’s always been good to me. Because of him and Giuseppe, I forgot how the real Mafia world works."
“It was Niko’s?—”
“Right, because you’re a toady. A lackey.”
His jaw clenches, but he doesn’t respond.
I laugh derisively. “I was almost convinced that Niko and his Family were different too, but they’re not. You’re all the same. My father never told me what was going on until he was doing it either.”
“I’m nothing like your father.”
“Aren’t you?”
He stares at me, taut with tension that doesn’t seem angry as much as frustrated. I know comparing him to my father is cruel. There are some differences. And yet, in other ways, there aren’t. Like how I’m not informed about things that could impact my life. How I can’t be in charge of my own life.
I brace for the storm, the thunder of Donovan's wrath at my words, but instead, he sighs and sits next to me. When I meet his gaze, there's no raging storm. What I see is pain.
"Then why stay, Lucy?" His voice is low, softer than I've ever heard it, and it disarms me more than any shout could. "With Luca, you'd be safer."
The words hang between us, not an accusation but a genuine question. And something inside me crumbles. All those years building walls, and they start to fall. I don’t want to tell him anything, and yet, it tumbles out.
"I've been a pawn in someone else's game since the day I was born. I was groomed to be my father’s greatest asset in creating alliances for his personal gain.”
“Your father is a fucking waste of breath.” The vehemence in Donovan’s voice soothes me.
“He wasn’t alone. You may already know this, but at one time, I was going to be the first woman in an exclusive high-market trafficking business. Guess whose idea that was? My mother’s.”
Donovan’s eyes close and his teeth gnash together. “She’ll rot in hell with your father.”
My lips twitch up slightly. Except for Elena, and Luca a little bit, no one has ever been pissed off on my behalf.
"Everything I am, everything I've ever been—it's all been bartered and sold." My voice is barely above a whisper now, the fight drained from me. "I was fortunate to end up with Giuseppe. He gave me respect. Made me feel valued. But that’s all gone. I’m no one again. I have nothing. No one."
A warm hand finds mine, not grabbing, not claiming, just there. Offering. “That’s not true.”
“Isn’t it? Elena is my sister, my blood, but Niko can force me out at any time. I imagine he wants to.” I look at Donovan. “Do you know his plans for me?”
“He doesn’t have plans to make you leave.”
I look down. “I must have some value to get at my father.”