Page 13 of Betrayed By Sin
Apiece of home. A piece of him.
The weight of Cameron’s stare pulls me back to the moment.I nearly forgot we weren’t alone.
He leans against one of the grand columns, arms crossed, expression unreadable.
“The Donati’s dog, Magnolia?” he muses, tilting his head. “What if he’s a spy?”
“His name is Axle.” Ishoot him a glare, my hand still tangled in Axle’s fur. “You think Sin trained him to report back?”
Cameron shrugs, unfazed. “Wouldn’t be the craziest thing he’s done.”
Axle lets out a low growl, his ears flattening as hestares at Cameron like he understands every word.
My mother steps forward before I can snap back. She kneels beside me, running her fingers gently behind Axle’s ears, her touch light.
“He’s part of the family now,” she says softly, her eyes meeting mine with quiet understanding.
My mother’s expression leaves no room for him to argue. Cameron turns to the security. “Make sure he didn’t break thetreaty. The dog was just sitting on the step, waiting for someone to open the door.”
I stand up, ready to pounce. I may be angry at Sin, but I don’t want any harm to come to anyone. Violence cannot be the answer to everything. “If it was Bria.”
Cameron holds up a finger, “Aside from you, there are no exceptions to the treaty.”
I look to my mother for help. “No harm will come to Bria if it was her.”
Cameron is awestruck, “That’s not-”
“How is it okay for Magnolia to go to their side but not Bria?” With a huff, she walks away, turning just before she disappears into the hall. “We just got our girl back. We’re not going to go after theirs.”
Cameron doesn’t look like the brother that’s been so sweet to me, his face morphs into an unrelentless scowl.
He looks like what he is, the heir to the throne. A child raised to be the leader of the Rusco family.
I’m going to need to make sure Bria is safe.
Even if she hates me, even if she knew the whole time…
Cameron walks towards me, inviting me into his study. “There are things you need to know about the Donati family.”
Cameron’s study is nothing like the rest of the house. It’s darker, richer. Elegant but severe. The emerald-green walls are lined with shelves of first editions, each spine a whisper of history and power. A massive oak desk dominates the center of the room, its surface polished to a mirror-like sheen, and the scent of aged paper and leather lingers in the air. A fireplace sits unlit in the corner, its carved marble mantle heavy with old memories.
A crystal decanter glows under the light, half-filled with whiskey that catches the golden flickers of the lamp beside it. Cameron stands near it, nursing a drink, his fingers wrapped loosely around the glass. He isn’t looking at me. He’s looking past me, out the large window that stretches from floor to ceiling. Beyond it, the estate is quiet, the trees swaying under the morning sun.
I watch him, a strange tension creeping along my spine.
“What?” I ask softly.
He doesn’t answer immediately. Instead, he takes another sip of his whiskey, the ice clinking as he tilts his wrist. When he speaks, his voice is heavier than I’ve ever heard it. I don’t mention how he’s drinking at the crack of dawn.
“You know how everyone talks about how ruthless Sin is?”
I nod.
Cameron exhales slowly.“He didn’t get that from nowhere.”He turns his gaze back to the glass in his hand.“His father, Salvatore Donati… he was something else. Something darker.”
The mention of Sin’s father sends a chill through me. I pull the blanket I’d draped over my shoulders tighter, but it does nothing to stop the cold spreading in my chest.
Cameron tips his head back slightly, eyes locked on the world beyond the glass.
