Page 89 of Of Lies and Shadows

“I’m not saying I can’t be loved,” I murmur, staring out the window. “It’s just… we started wrong. He showed me a kind of cruelty that rivaled my father’s. And for a second, I saw my future. A version of me that looked too much like my mother.”

Bruno doesn’t speak. But I see the way his knuckles whiten around the steering wheel, the slow burn of rage building in his jaw.

“You’d never be her,” he says finally, low and sure. “I’d kill anyone who tried to make you.”

The words are quiet, yet they carry the weight of a promise. It makes something warm bloom in my chest even as I try to suppress it.

“You’d be killed,” I whisper, a small smile tugging at my lips despite everything.

He glances at me, his eyes unwavering. “It’d be worth it.”

“He sees me as a traitor, and I see him as a monster. What chance do we have?”

Part of me wishes, achingly, desperately, that he’d prove me wrong. That he’d do something to change my mind. But the part that’s been burned too many times keeps me tethered to reality.

Bruno takes the exit toward the mall, shrugging like it’s simple. “People’s perceptions change. I know you couldn’t stand me when we first met, and now? You’re pretty fond of me.”

I snort. He’s not wrong. Back then, I thought he was just another of my father’s lapdogs eager to impress, willing to step on girls like me to climb higher.

“It’s not the same,” I mutter.

“Why not?”

“Because you’re my brother.”

He turns so sharply to look at me that the car sways across the lane. A horn blares behind us, jolting us both.

“Jesus, Bruno!” I bark, grabbing the handle above the door.

“You know?” he asks, eyes darting to me.

I let out a slow sigh. “Of course I do.”

His brow furrows. “Dante told you?”

Now I’m the one frowning. “Dante knows?”

He exhales sharply, drumming his fingers against the steering wheel. “The man’s obsessive. He nearly tried to kill me just for being close to you.”

I hate the little thrill that flares in my stomach at that. I hate how much it still affects me, how much Dante still affects me.

“Since when did you know?”

I tilt my head slightly, thinking. “Three months after you arrived? Maybe less.”

He turns toward me, stunned. “You’ve known that long?”

“It wasn’t that hard to figure out. My father is psychotic, but he isn’t stupid. The only reason he let you stay near me is because he knew you wouldn’t touch me. Not like that. Something had to be stopping you, and it wasn’t loyalty.” I glance over, and for once, his usual grin is gone. “And the eyes. Our shade of green isn’t exactly common currency in this world.”

“Then why didn’t you say anything?” he asks, more hurt than I expected.

“Why didn’t you?”

Bruno parks the car and turns toward me fully, his expression serious. “It wasn’t safe,” he says quietly.

“And if I’m honest, there was a part of me that hoped you came here to kill him.”

That startles him. “What?”

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