“So…what do you do? Where do you go?”
“St. Thomas’s. In the city. The priest there holds midnight Mass for me. He hears my confession first.”
Haley’s eyes shine. “Confession?”
“I’m a sinner, darling.”
“I have a confession.”
I lift her face to mine. “It’s not a sin to love the way I fuck you.”
She laughs, a tear slipping down her cheek. “When we were fighting before. When we weren’t talking? I went to the kitchen at night. Gerard was there. And I met Timothy.”
“I know. Gerard told me.”
A huff. “I thought he might. But that’s not the confession.”
“Tell me.”
“Timothy told me about your dad. He told me about the maids, and about being your half brother. And he told me—” A deep breath. “He told me that you think you’re going to hell. Is that what it means—is that why—”
I kiss her into silence. Jesus. There’s always more she wants from me. She’s down to the bone already. “Timothy’s wrong. For a long time, I thought I was already burning.”
“What changed?”
“You.” Haley pulls me close by the neck. Kisses me. Her tongue darts out to meet mine, and fuck, I want her. “You’re too innocent for hell, so this can’t be it. Even if it hurts like a motherfucker.”
“You’re corrupting me, though. What then?” That she can play with me, at a time like this—I’ll never be worthy of it.
“Then I’ll go to church and ask for absolution. I’ll do the penance, if that’s the cost.” I lean down and brush my lips over the downy skin at her neck. “I confess to you, darling, that I go because sometimes it eases the pain.”
“Like a miracle?”
“No. Not like a miracle.” I could breathe her in forever. “When I was growing up, it was a safe place, which I know is another ridiculous irony.”
She makes a sound of sorrow, but I shake my head.
“For that hour, my father had to be on his best behavior. He couldn’t beat anyone in the pews. So I looked forward to it. I looked forward to church, and vacations, and birthday parties, even though they were always strict, formal affairs usually attended by the fucking bishop. My fucked-up nerves recognize that, on some level. It can be less painful when I walk in the door.”
“Leo.” She can’t keep the sympathy from her voice.
“It wasn’t all a nightmare, darling. Don’t get that into your head.”
She runs her lips down the line of my jaw. “The birthdays. Were they big parties?”
“Yes. My mother has always been good at throwing elegant events.”
“We have them, too,” she says, sounding almost wistful. “The Constantines, I mean. Elaborate parties with ball gowns and tuxedos, with cakes that are as tall as a person. With fireworks and pop stars and every other kind of thing you can imagine.”
There’s a pressure in my chest as I imagine her with her family. Will she miss them if she’s with me? Of course she would. “Pop stars, huh? Who was at your birthday party? Ariana Grande?” Jealousy makes my voice come out gravelly. I don’t want her having a crush on anyone, even a famous pop star. “Or maybe Harry Styles?”
She gives a nervous laugh. “I never had a birthday party.”
I pull back so I can see her face. “What?”
I can’t see the pink of her cheeks, but I know it’s there. “We had family parties. Before my mom died. I don’t mean to say—” Haley swallows. “She was working, and my dad was so busy. She would make a cake from a box and we would sing, just the five of us. There wasn’t always a lot of extra money, so…” An embarrassed breath. “After she died, Petra would make the cake. But we didn’t have guests. I’m not complaining,” she says in a rush. “I would never complain. They loved me. It just wasn’t—we didn’t have parties like that.”
Outrage tightens my throat. “What about the huge Constantine parties?”
Her lips twist. “We’re not really Constantines. At least, not the real ones. The favorite ones. The rich ones. And I don’t think I would need a huge gala anyway. It’s ridiculous. I know that. It’s just something fun to daydream about around my birthday. A small party just for me.”
I’m a fucking fool. “When is your birthday, darling?”
“Does it matter?” She bites her lip. Blushes.
Damn her family. They made her feel like she wasn’t important. The Morelli children were strapped like animals, and even we got birthday cakes. “Of course it matters.”
“It’s…it’s on Saturday.”
“This Saturday.”
“It’s not a big deal,” she whispers, though it sounds less like she’s trying to convince me. More like she’s been trying to convince herself of that for her entire life.
“How old?” I’m pissed about her treatment, so it comes out gruff.
She shivers in my arms, but she answers me—my obedient girl even when she’s afraid. I pull her against my chest, comforting her even while I order her around. “I’m turning twenty-two,” she says, trying to sound nonchalant. And failing. It’s important, this milestone. She’s turning twenty-two, and she’ll have a damned party if it’s the last thing I do.
Chapter Sixteen
Leo
I’m in my office planning a party for a Constantine when the text arrives. The last of the daylight is fading in the courtyard. A bird from the trees taps at my window. “There’s new birdseed,” I tell it, though it can’t hear me. “Go away.”
It flutters off the sill as I pick up my phone.
A message from Eva.
Turn on the TV—channel 9
I loathe the sound of live TV and rarely require background noise to work, so I don’t have one in my office. There’s one in the den. It spends most of its time hidden by a panel above the fireplace. “Gerard,” I say as I open it. I know he’s nearby. I heard him in the hall.
“Sir?”
“Is Haley upstairs?”
“She is.”
She went up to read an hour ago. Some days, she prefers the smaller space and the deeper quiet in the private library. I wasn’t fucking around about my plans for the room on the first floor, but I haven’t had time for full-scale renovation yet.
Gerard steps into the den as the TV flickers to life. Channel 9.
It’s a news channel. And a news broadcast. And a very familiar face. The chyron at the bottom of the screen reads KIDNAPPED CONSTANTINE BRIDE.
“What the fuck.”
Rick stands on the sidewalk in front of the Constantine compound, camera lights competing with the dying sun. He has one hand in the pocket of what looks like a brand-new overcoat and a fading black eye from where I punched him. The other hand clutches a piece of paper.
“—engagement announcement was a painful day for the family. In all the confusion, no one thought to stop it from being printed. But Haley had already been taken. I’m here to ask for her safe return.” His eyes come up to the camera, and he takes a big nervous breath. I hate this motherfucker. He’s right to be nervous. “I’m so worried. We’re obviously—we’re offering a reward for her safe return.”