Callista Genovese never wanted to be part of the family business. She enjoyed the anonymity of being a teacher in a land where she was not the killer queen. But like always, family tends to ruin everything.
Callista was dragged back to New York with...
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For Callista Genovese, dressing up was as easy as breathing. But tonight felt a little different. The air was dense. Goosebumps erupted over her tanned skin despite the closed windows.
"Just say it," she said, adjusting the strap of her black dress.
Castor rolled his eyes, taking a quaff from his cigarette. He had watched her all night without a word. Caly clasped the golden necklace around her neck, hoping it could lessen her aggravation. It didn't. She was nervous as hell. She had known Castor for a long time but she had never been this scared of him.
"Say it!" She whirled to face him.
"Will it change things?" He put out his cigarette on the ashtray. His face remained grim. "He told you something, didn't he?"
Caly dropped her hands to her sides. She cannot look at him. It had reached Castor's ears that she had spent the night at Franco's place. She should be angry because her privacy was broken but Cas' disappointment was too much to bear. "No. It's not like that."
Cas kicked off from the wall. His black suit a glaring disparity from the pearl wallpaper of the girl's room. His midnight hair was pushed back, revealing his piercing and the tattoos on his neck. He stood straight in front of her.
He reached out a hand and Caly flinched. Castor dropped his arm and with a groggy voice, he spoke. "What'd he say?"
Callista remained quiet. For the first time, she had doubts about whether she knew Castor at all. "Franco said..." she gulped, meeting his jade eyes. "You killed his... fianceé?"
"What?" he spluttered, eyes wide. Cas clicked his tongue. "He still believes that?"
"It's not true?" Caly felt like she could breathe again.
But apparently that was the wrong thing to say. Castor's green eyes had darkened with a thunderous gleam. "You believed him? And you doubted me?"
The quiver of his voice felt like a slap to Callista. She froze, taking in the rush of emotions in her best friend's face. It wasn't fury like she expected. It was pain.
"Cas..."
He left the room and the atmosphere dropped to negative four.
✘✘
Caly wanted to weep. She had wounded her best friend's heart with her stupid words. She glanced beside her to see Castor nursing a whiskey. The man kept his mouth shut the entire trip.
Castor Luciano was often compared to a raging beast. An extremely volatile one. Yet, there are a handful of times where he was silent. And that's even more dangerous. She couldn't read him. Worst of all, she seldom apologized.
