Page 26 of Blood & Lace
Shit, that might be Onyx.
I was out of the shower in seconds and snatched my phone up. Damian's contact appeared on my screen and I winced. He was no doubt pissed off with me. I'd avoided all his calls since getting married. Not to mention, I'd been a bit occupied. But he had to understand, then again all my siblings thought I was a bit strange.
I answered as I tied the towel around my waist. There was no hello, not when I knew my brother was angry.
"Enough is enough. Where the hell are you, Lucero?" Damian growled.
The smile that stretched over my face was impossible to wipe off. "At home."
"No, you aren't." He sounded exasperated with me. To be fair, that had been Damian's overall way with me. Since we were kids. He was only three years older than me but he acted as if he was closer to our parents’ age instead. If anyone asked me, he was stressed beyond measure, unable to really relax. "I'm here now and you're nowhere to be found. In fact, all your shit is gone."
I nodded and quickly remembered I was on the phone. "Yeah, well, I'm married now and can't live at home."
"Stupido stronzo. Di cosa stai parlando?"
I could understand Italian way better than I could speak it. My parents said it was the American school system that ruined my Italian. I wasn't too sure if that was true, but I wasn't going to argue either.
"You knew the plan before anyone." I'd told Damian exactly what I was going to do before I finally captured Onyx's heart.
"That's not what—Fuck. Lucero, where are you right now? Emir already told me you got stabbed."
"Man, this family can't keep a secret to save their lives."
Damian huffed out a laugh. It was short lived but at least he wasn't shouting at me anymore. "You already knew that when you called him. He said your husband stabbed you?"
I looked at the stitched wound on my hand, unwrapping it to admire it even more. "We held hands."
"I'm not going to attempt to understand you right now. I know how you are when you get obsessed with something." Damian let out a long dragged out sigh. "Did you move out?"
"Yeah, all my stuff."
There was a long enough pause I had to make sure Damian was still on the phone. "I want to ask but I already know your dumbass will say yes."
"Then don't bother."
He grumbled more Italian my way. "You're breaking Ma's heart."
That hurt a bit. I never wanted to hurt her in any way. I loved my mother, but I loved Onyx too, and if I didn't act now I'd never have him.
"Maybe I should do a check-in. Make sure your new husband hasn’t maimed you yet."
I rolled my eyes. Onyx would never. "Aren’t you busy?"
"I'm always busy. If you've forgotten, we're trying to show that we can handle our newfound power." There was a tightness in Damian's voice the longer he spoke. "You've missed four events, not to mention there was an incident last week that could have used your attention. Instead, I had to pull Prince and Nash off their own tasks to cover for you."
"So what I'm hearing is that I'm irreplaceable and a real asset."
Damian muttered something in Italian too low for me to really catch it. "You already know that. You're my brother, and as annoying as you are, the family needs you. I need you."
I'd always be there for my family. There wasn't a part of me that was ready to let them go.
"Just give me a bit. I can get some work in now that I've moved in with Onyx, but I need to make sure everything here is solid."
"No matter what, Lucero, I got your back, but stop ignoring me and disappearing. I know how important this is to you but there is no shame in it not working. "
A knot formed in the middle of my gut and threatened to drag me down. I placed a hand on my stomach as if that would stop the feeling from taking over. "I won't." I shook my head, no wasn't enough. "I can't fail." I can't be without him.
"Then do what needs to be done and get back to work. We need you too," Damian reminded me.
