That had been a week ago and things had been chaotic ever since.
The move to the city had been like a smoothly choreographed dance and I’d had so many of Luca’s bodyguards surrounding me that it had almost reminded me of when I’d lived with Father.
Almost.
But not quite.
Because besides the bodyguards, Vaughn was nearly always with me. And despite him worrying about my safety, when I’d started to feel stir-crazy in Luca’s fancy apartment, Vaughn had taken me to Central Park and he’d shown me all the trees he’d climbed as a kid and the place he and Luca had met Con, King, and the third brother I had yet to meet, Lex.
We’d still had bodyguards on those outings, but I’d been glad because it had helped Vaughn to relax a bit. He hadn’t shown me any affection in public but he’d explained why beforehand. Because on the remote chance there were people from my past watching, it had to look like I was just another pet being taken out for some air.
Similar to when Father had allowed me to go to the flower shop every week.
But I hadn’t felt any of the same emotions beyond the natural fear that came with knowing that there was a possibility someone was watching me. I hadn’t actually felt that sensation myself, but at one point, Vaughn had thought he’d spied a man following us. He’d actually pursued him after leaving me with the bodyguards in front of Luca’s building and I’d been hustled inside and had had to wait for nearly fifteen minutes before Vaughn had returned to declare he’d lost the guy. He’d set about to reassure me he wasn’t even sure there’d been a guy, but we hadn’t ventured out again after that.
That had been a couple days ago.
While Luca had stayed at the apartment with us, we hadn’t seen much of him. Con and King had come and gone but hadn’t slept in the penthouse like they had at the house in the Hamptons. I’d found myself missing the comradery between the men. Even when they were at each other’s throats, like they were now, there was no missing the affection they had for one another.
The only real anger I’d seen between them in the past week had been when an argument had erupted between Con and King about their younger brother, Lex. Con had once again pressed King to explain why Lex hadn’t joined them in New York or why he wasn’t answering Con’s phone calls, but King had refused to respond. They’d nearly come to blows and Vaughn and Luca had had to intervene and tell them both to walk it off.
I’d asked Vaughn about Lex but he wasn’t sure what was happening with the man, either. He’d told me that as the youngest of their group, Lex had always been on the receiving end of some overprotectiveness, especially when it came to his older brothers, because he’d had both a hard childhood and some health issues, but he hadn’t gone into details and I hadn’t asked. I definitely understood what it was like to be younger and protected, and while I’d always welcomed it with Dante, I wasn’t sure how it would have felt to be treated the same way once I’d been older and more independent.
And had had a normal childhood.
I’d only spoken to Dante a few times in the past couple of weeks. Each time, he’d practically begged me to let him come get me, but, of course, I’d always refused and had spent much of the time trying to convince him I was safe and that it would all be over soon. I’d only spoken to Dante for a few minutes on each call because it was really hard not to break down and just tell him where I was. Despite keeping the calls short, I’d gotten to talk to Magnus and Matty too. They were all still staying away from home, but Matty had turned it into an adventure and Magnus had said he was using the time to try and get Dante to commit to some wedding plans.
But when I’d questioned my brother about the wedding, he’d stubbornly had the same response.
We’ll talk about it when you get home.
I’d taken that to mean he hadn’t agreed to a date yet. I’d wanted to kick my brother through the phone for his stubbornness and blatant refusal to see how much Magnus loved him and that Dante was worth every single ounce of that love, but there were some things that would just need to wait until I was home.
Dante wouldn’t know what hit him because the old me wouldn’t have dared to confront him about something like that.
Well, the old me had changed.
A lot.
And I had Vaughn and his crazy brothers, both of the blood and of the heart, to thank.