"Your brother." I mouth to her to keep quiet. She giggles, and I have to place my hand over her mouth to keep her quiet.
"Marcello, fancy hearing from you." I drawl, truly surprised he'd reach out.
"Yeah, right," he answers drily. "I thought you'd want to know that Valentino rescued another boy back then," he adds and I still.
"What do you mean?" I frown.
Sisi sees my expression and she snatches the phone from my hand, putting it on speaker.
"Funnily enough he ended up with Agosti. I don't know how, but he's now working for Enzo. Maybe you can arrange for a meeting," he says, clearly in a hurry to end the conversation.
"What's his name?" I ask, and Sisi looks at me with worry in her eyes.
"Nero. He's around your age. Talk to Agosti." He doesn't even wait for me to reply as he hangs up.
"Marcello's still holding a grudge." Sisi comments, and I have to agree. He's still sulking from last time, but I know he's going to come around. He always does.
"Maybe this Nero will know more," I add, a little optimistic for the first time.
After the flashbacks I had of what happened to Vanya and me there, I know I'll rain hell on everyone involved. They should really find their god fast and pray, because nothing will stop me from making their lives a living nightmare.
My plan set for the day, I only leave when my girl is purring with satisfaction.
A while later and I'd managed to schedule an appointment with Nero at Enzo's house. I'd called Agosti, and I'd explained the circumstances—or as much as he needs to know—and he'd been rather accommodating in helping me meet with Nero.
I arrive at his house a little after noon, and I'm invited to his study. From the first moment I look at Nero, I can see a familiarity.
I don't know if I've met him before, but his eyes have the same quality as mine — both soulless. It's further confirmed when he moves, a robotic stiffness that I'm somewhat familiar with. In my case, though, I'd spent years trying to fight it, observing how people around me behaved and emulating those behaviors.
"Vlad," I smile at him as I stretch my arm to greet him.
His eyes are blank as he just gives me a nod, going to the couch and taking a seat.
Damn, but he's even ruder than me.
I take a seat next to him, continuing my observation.
His back is straight, not touching the couch, his hands on his knees as his spine makes a ninety degree angle. He's like a soldier on a drill. His eyes are facing forward, as if I'm not in the room, but I can see small movements at the corner—he's assessing his surroundings.
"I assume you're curious about what I wanted to talk to you since we've never met before." I start, keeping my tone jovial.
He still doesn't answer, merely facing forward. For a moment I have to wonder if he's like Seth and cat got his tongue too.
"Project Humanitas," I get to the point, and his jaw twitches, sign that the name means something to him.
"What do you know about Project Humanitas?" he asks, and I get to hear his voice for the first time. It's raw and scratchy, as if he'd been exposed to smoke for prolonged periods of time, his vocal chords damaged.
"I was there." I shrug, waiting for him to give me more than a facial twitch.
Slowly, his face turns towards me, his eyes narrowing.
"I'm told we were both taken out at the same time. By Valentino Lastra." I add, happy that he reacts to the name.
He's silent for a while before asking.
"What did they do to you?" he blinks slowly, almost mechanically.
I guess it doesn't hurt to show him, since I'm making an educated guess that he's been through similar things as me. Opening my shirt, I show him the ridges from the surgical scars, and he nods.
Surprisingly, he does the same, showing me a large scar on his back, running from his neck to his pelvis.
"I'm surprised you lived." I comment, noticing the extensive scarring.
"Ditto," he replies, putting back his clothes.
"What do you remember?" I ask, telling him that a lot of my memories from captivity are gone.
"You're lucky," he says quietly. "There's not a day that I don't remember what they did to me... what they tried," he chuckles.
"What do you mean?"
"You're aware they were trying to build the perfect soldier," he starts and I nod, "and for that they needed children who had a certain defect from birth that made them unlikely to care about right or wrong. Think a psychopath of a sort."
"The mutation in the amygdala. You have it too?"
"Yes. Everyone who was there had it. That was the baseline. After that, they tried to condition us to become killing machines, taking out the humanity from us and replacing it with blood thirst. But they also needed something else..." he trails off, lifting his sleeve and folding the end of his shirt and trousers to show me a bionic arm and leg. "Physical prowess. They wanted someone invincible, so they were trying to eliminate pain, and to turn our bodies into weapons."
"They did that to you?" My eyes widen, and he just shrugs.
"They implanted metal in my spine. It connects to the arm and leg. It was bad after I was rescued since I needed to have them resized, and there aren't that many engineers out there who could do it," he comments casually.
Fuck, he is half-robot.
Now that explains his posture.
"Were you also a twin?" I ask, and for the first time I see a flash of pain in his eyes.
"Yes. Although he is long gone."
"Mine too." I add, and we have a short moment of understanding.
"Why are you asking about them now? It's been over twenty years," he frowns, tilting his head and regarding me curiously.
"I've been made aware that my younger sister was sold to Miles from Project Humanitas around nine years ago."
"Why? Did she have the mutation?"
"No. But I think he needed her for something else." Some things are becoming more clear, and while I won't stop until Project Humanitas is in the ground, I do hope to find Katya dead. Because the alternative is way more gruesome.
"Isolating the gene somehow," he shrewdly notes, and I grimly nod.
"He'd assume it runs in the family." I add.
"It would make sense. It is my understanding that it is quite rare. If Miles had an in-house factory, things would be much easier for him."
I grunt. I'd thought about it, but I hadn't wanted to admit to myself that my sister could have been used as a lab rat all these years, subjected to countless horrors. Hell, now that I know a fraction of what happened to Vanya and me, I can wager a guess as to what they would do to her, too.
Patrick's words in particular had led me to that reasoning, as he'd mentioned someone giving birth repeatedly.
I can only hope it's not Katya...
"I'd like to ask if you can remember anything that might be of use for me to find them." I tell Nero, surprised when he offers to send me a detailed account.
"Just let me know if you do find them. They need to pay for what they did to my brother."
"Of course," I readily agree, ready to leave.
"No, Enzo, I can't," I hear Catalina's raised voice as I make to leave. "Please get Claudia settled... I need a moment," she says, dashing up the stairs.
Odd.
Yet her presence here, distressed, must only mean one thing.
She knows.
Damn. I wonder how Marcello's doing. For a moment I'm tempted to call and ask, but I know it wouldn't be welcome. Especially at this time.
So I just hop in my car and drive home, anxious to hear back from Nero.
The pieces are coming together, and I'm not sure if I like the image I'm getting.
"I remember him," Vanya says, sitting in the passenger seat.
"You do?" I raise an eyebrow skeptically at her.
"Yes. He was the boy with the dimple. He was nice," she says on a dreamy sigh.
"You had a crush on him!" I tease, and she blushes from h
ead to toe.
"Maybe," she whispers, going silent as she gazes out the window.
The memory I'd seen resurfaces, and I have to wonder just what type of life we had there.
I'm almost home when my phone rings. Seeing that it's one of the guards from Marcello's house, I immediately answer, afraid something might have happened.
"Yes?"
He's quick to tell me that Sisi found Marcello covered in blood and they are now on their way to the hospital.
Damn!
Maybe Marcello did need a friend after all. Too bad it's never me...
Chapter Nineteen
"I'm worried, Vlad. I told the doctor he wouldn't try to kill himself, but what if he did?" I pace outside Marcello's salon. The nurses had had to sedate him after he'd woken up, begging Vlad to kill him right in the lobby of the hospital.
"He's going to be ok." Vlad says, taking my arm and tugging me to his side. "I don't think he was really trying to kill himself. But I suspect Catalina's abrupt departure from the house must have had something to do with it."
"How did you know?" I frown, leaning back to look at him.
"I spotted her at Agosti's. And she didn't look much better than your brother," Vlad purses his lips.
"What could have happened..." I mutter, confused.
How come everything happened all at once? Lina had left the house in such a hurry, taking Claudia with her and not answering any of my calls. For the first time, she'd truly shut me out, and I don't know what to do about it.
"It's for them to figure it out, hell girl. We can only make sure that your brother gets out of this unscathed."
"Can you stay over? There's no one at the house and..." I trail off. I don't know why the prospect of an empty house scares me so much. Maybe because I'm still a little scared of dark and lonely places.
"You don't even have to ask," he tells me, and I'm immediately more at ease. "I wouldn't dream to leave you alone. Especially if rumors of Marcello's absence were to circulate."
I nod. I hadn't thought about that, but it makes sense that we'd be seen as easy targets. I'd learned a thing or two about the mob since leaving Sacre Coeur, and family is always the weakness most exploited.
"God, when will the misfortunes stop?" I groan out loud, sagging against Vlad's body.
"I trust your brother will figure things out," he sighs, "and as soon as he gets his shit sorted, I'm telling him about us. Including that I want to marry you." He declares, and my eyes widen at his words.
Pulling back, I look suspiciously at him, studying him for head to toe.
"What brought this on?" I ask. He'd casually said he was going to marry me before, but I hadn't taken it to heart since Vlad has a flair for the dramatic. That and his dry sense of humor make for a deadly combination, ensuring that I rarely take his words seriously. But now? He seems pretty serious to me.
"I'm tired of hiding, and I'm tired of walking on eggshells around him. But mostly I don't want to be apart from you anymore," he tells me, a defeated look on his face.
I quickly sober up, knowing there must be more to this. Especially considering how he'd behaved last night, desperation clinging to him as I'd tried to comfort him in my arms. The pure shock I'd felt when I realized tears were flowing down his cheeks... Whatever he'd found out during his visit at the psychiatrist must have affected him more than he'd let on.
Even now, with his body against mine, I can feel the tension radiation off him, his usual smile gone as if keeping up the ruse of joviality is too much for him.
I know he's not telling me everything, and it's killing me inside to see him like this.
"Why?" I throw the question at him, doubt niggling at me.
His eye twitches as he forces a smile on his face.
"I told you, Sisi. You keep the demons at bay," is all he says as he pulls me into him, his lips on mine.
I let myself enjoy the kiss, but a foreign thought invades my mind.
He's never told me what demons.
Hell, the most I know about his problems is that he has bad episodes. But besides that, he's still an enigma. I know his history, I know his quest, I know all the facts. But why do I feel like I'm missing the biggest piece of the puzzle?
The truth is that I'm too far gone to consider what that might mean for me or for our relationship. I already love him too much to ever consider leaving him, regardless of what he's dealing with. I'll just do my best to help him through it.
I know that as long as I'm useful to him he'll never leave me, so I'll just have to make sure I'm indispensable to him.
"Ok," I agree on a soft voice. "Never let me go and I'm yours. That's my only condition, Vlad." I take a deep breath, "I know who you are, and what you are capable of." I raise my hand to caress his cheek, his eyes pinning me with their intense stare, "and I accept all of you as you are," I brush my thumb against his lips, "the bad and the good. Just don't ever leave me." My own lips tremble as I utter the words, baring my soul and my one weakness to him.
"I don't think I can imagine a world where you're not, Sisi. Not anymore," he confesses and my lips tug upwards.
"Good," I give him a full smile.
Because I don't think I can imagine a world without you either.
It wouldn't be fair to say I'm not scared of the future, especially since Vlad is so... volatile. But I knew the moment I realized my feelings for him that loving him would never be easy. It will always be a battle with myself and him. With myself because I don't think I'll ever stop yearning for his love, even while knowing him not capable of it. And with him because there might come a day when his logical mind will tell him I'm a liability, and of no further use.
As long as he never lets go, I will never let go.
"I love you," I lay my head on his chest, whispering the words so softly he can't hear them, because he wouldn't even know what to do with them. No, they're for my benefit only as I'm trying to materialize this love I feel so deep in my chest.
"What was that?" he frowns, but I just shake my head and smile.
"Nothing," I say, taking refuge in the warmth of his arms, the only type of warmth he's capable of giving me.
A couple of days in the hospital and Marcello is discharged to come home. For all his protests that he hadn't tried to kill himself, the doctor in charge asks me to supervise him so that he doesn't try anything again.
Vlad's been spending all his free time with me while I'd been alone at the house, even though I know he has some outstanding matters to attend to too. His gesture had been sweet, and we'd found ways to entertain ourselves.
He'd definitely been overly enthusiastic to share his favorite movies with me, even though I did not find them romantic in the least. Why, I should have known that with a title like Human Centipede, I'm not bound to find anything remotely sappy inside—other than a lot of freely flowing bodily fluids.
Considering it was one of the rare times I'd seen him so immersed into something, I'd tried to share his enthusiasm, especially as he'd delved into the science part, gushing about the creativity of the scenes.
"Maybe you should try this next time you torture someone," I'd joked, and he'd turned at me wide eyed, giving me a big smooch as he'd told me I was a genius.
"Why didn't I think about it before? Fucking hell, this is exactly what I need for my next experiment, and there doesn't have to be too much blood either," he'd become so excited and I'd listened patiently as he'd started designing the experiment, using some pointers from the movie but putting his own spin on it.
But two days and I'd been spoiled for his presence, and now that Marcello's back we need to be more careful. At least until things settle down.
I am still skeptical about whether Marcello is suicidal or not, and because of that I want to be extra careful with Vlad, already anticipating how Marcello's going to react at the news.
"Do you need anything?" I ask my brother as I help him to his room. The mere fact that he's allowing my touch when he'd been a beast to the nurses
is astounding. I'd gotten some details from Vlad about his aversion to touch, but nothing concrete.
"No." He sounds surly as he answers, hopping to his bed and resting his leg on it.
"Marcello..." I start, but he doesn't even let me continue as he asks me to step out.
Sighing, I do, but that doesn't stop me from visiting him every few hours, just to make sure he doesn't do anything stupid.
"He's not very cooperative," I tell Vlad on the phone after I've said good night to Marcello. "I don't know what could have made him behave like this..."
"Don't worry that pretty head of yours, hell girl. It's between him and his wife, and they should solve it at some point."
"You're right but," I lower my voice to a whisper, "I think I heard him cry, Vlad. I don't think he's doing fine at all. I'm worried." I bite my lip, my forehead creasing.
"Sisi," Vlad groans, "it's complicated."
"So you know what happened," I fire at him.
"Of course I do," he replies, almost offended, "I wouldn't be me if I didn't," he jokes, and I can already see his satisfied smile behind the phone.
"Well, spill. What happened?"
"I may know the circumstances, but it's not my story to share Sisi. Your brother fucked up, but I can't say he was wholly guilty." He says cryptically, avoiding answering any of my questions on the subject.
"Fine, I'll figure it out," I mutter, hanging up.
I don't understand all the secrecy. Marcello is surly, Vlad knows what happened but won't tell me, and Lina won't even answer my calls. I'm one minute away from going to her brother's house and demanding a meeting.
"Sisi?" Venezia knocks on my door.
"Yes, come in," I give her a welcoming smile. If I'm in the dark, I can't imagine how Venezia feels.
She walks inside slowly, almost uncertain of herself.
"Sit," I pat the bed next to me.
"Do you think Lina and Claudia are ever coming back?" she asks in a small voice, her tone telling me that she doesn't think they will.
"They will," I try to reassure her, "they have to." I take her hand, squeezing it gently.
Morally Ambiguous: A Dark Mafia Romance (Morally Questionable Book 4) Page 33
