Page 84 of Enzo
“This is… ridiculous,” I grumbled, spreading my legs as he shifted me over his head and onto his shoulders.
“Exactly the kind of silly I wanted.” Amara was happy, and that was the only thing that mattered. “Now, look at me, you two,” she instructed.Click. Click. Click.“Smile.”
I was already grinning from ear to ear and so was she, behind the lens of her camera.
“You were pretty on your wedding day, Pen, but you’re prettier today,” she said, never removing her eyes from the lens. “You’re happier too.”
My fingers found Enzo’s that rested on my thigh and our fingers intertwined. I was happier. This marriage had turned out a lot different than I imagined, and I’d started to believe that even my papà was warming to the idea.
The shutter of the camera stopped and Amara pulled it away from her face, eyeing it critically before she announced, “Okay. Let’s see the inside.”
Getting off Enzo’s shoulders was scarier than it’d been going up, but once again, we had no choice but to oblige and follow my sister as she strutted toward the cathedral.
The cathedral’s facade was imposing with its towering columns and archways, but the interior was even larger than life with its majestic altars, sculptures, and mosaics. My sister was in heaven.
“Did you know that this floor is made up completely of marble from Lake Como?” Amara asked, staring wide-eyed at gray-pink slabs that formed spectacular floral motifs. “The Candoglia floor has been subject to many restorations over the years, but only a select few artists have been permitted access because of how intricate the original designs are.”
I chuckled—who knew my sister was such an encyclopedia of historical facts?
“That’s fascinating.”
“Isn’t it?”
Amara twirled around once, glancing up at the ceiling. She pushed her hand through her hair excitedly, overwhelmed by the vastness, but then froze.
“What’s the matter?” I asked. She pulled her hand out, staring at a chunk of hair hanging limply over her palm. I let go of Enzo’s hand and rushed to her. “We knew to expect this, darling. It’ll grow back.”
“It won’t.” Her eyes, full of sadness, lifted to me as she let the silky strands slip through her fingers.
“It will,” I protested. “Just like last time. You’ll see.”
She smiled, something about it cracking my heart in two.
Enzo joined us, hands in his pockets and his eyes locked on Amara.
“Do you remember that nativity scene on the bronze door when we entered?” Amara looked at him, her eyes glistening as she nodded. “The sculptor in charge of its renovation is a friend of a friend. He made one for you, but I want to make sure you like it.”
Her eyes lit up and her smile turned brighter, but in the back of all of our minds, dread remained.
33
ENZO
Organs of the night.
That was the name of Atticus’s organization. The very one that had been kidnapping humans and butchering them like animals in order to harvest their organs. It’d taken me a while to find out, but once Atticus revealed himself, I dug through thousands of various layers of shell companies to find it.
Then, to my surprise, Kian Cortes sent a message through my secured channel confirming it. Lo and behold, I was getting close to dismantling Atticus Popov.
Aunt Athena, Uncle Manuel’s wife, had claimed that Atticus wasn’t right in the head. She said that roughly around the time she learned he was her father. I was only a teenager then and didn’t understand.
As I watched the scene in front of me, her words resonated in my head and in my very soul.
The camp was filled with people, their only value being the vitality of their organs that would eventually be harvested and sold to the highest bidder.
All around, silence hung heavy in the night air. Even the moon couldn’t seem to find the strength to shine here. Muted red lights surrounded the camp, letting us know how secluded it was, with nobody and nothing to reach us for miles.
“I don’t like the idea of leaving you here alone,” Amadeo said. The cloak of darkness afforded us a level of security. The nights were cooler in this part of Western Sahara, and both of us wore NordicTrack jackets.
