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me to draw me in a hug. “Amelia, we have been at was with Papà and Giovanni to get you back with us. Our family isn’t complete without you.”
    His hug tightens tenfold, and I enjoy the suffocating hold he has on me. I relish it, holding on tighter and falling hard against him, enjoying the sweet scent of his cologne. Enzo makes me feel safe and calm. He makes me feel sanity take control again. It’s for this reason that he is and always will be my father figure.
    “I’ve missed you so much, Lia,” he whispers, kissing my hair. “I knew I would get you back damaged, and I know I still have no idea how bad you are, but I will never stop fighting for you.”
    It’s then that I break down into a flood of tears. The torrents align across my lashes and fall in drops down my cheek, leaving a trail. I become unbidden, and I just cry. I cling to lost hope and he’s here feeding my new faith. He’s trying to get rid of my worries, save my soul, and restore me all in one quick jaunt. I’m terrified it’s never going to be that easy to continue living with myself.
    “Don’t ever think I’ll leave you in the dark.” His words hit me hard, my heart listening, my soul a little more resistant. “I know you better than you know yourself. I know the demons you carry with you.”
    I nuzzle into his chest a little more seeking. “You don’t know the new ones,” I whimper and feel my desolation echo louder than ever.
    “I’ll meet them soon,” he vows. He does learn of all my demons, and he does take them on as his own, so I shouldn’t be so shocked that he’ll want to know my recent torturous devilish imps. “I wouldn’t be your big brother if I didn’t try and help you whenever I can, Amelia.” He continues to rub soothing lines and circles into my back and I finally begin to calm down enough to pull away. “I will never leave you to deal with this alone. I’m just happy you came home so I can prove that.” Before I put distance between us again, his places a hand to my chin, rubbing his thumb across my cheek to smear away my tears. “We are never past saving.”
    We are all but choking angels. We have clipped wings, slipped halos, and dirty consciences. Every one of us has secrets and inner fiends that will destroy from the inside out, but we all have a fighting spirit. We are all worth saving. We have a secret yearn to be free of the devilish clutches that force us to decide between right and wrong, family and freedom, life and death.
    Being an Abbiati forces you to become a dreamer. Being the fallen angel sounds alluring until you become just that and you realize hell is already burning around you.
    “Amelia!” my name punctuates the air in the same way it had when it rolled off my uncle’s tongue. This time, however, my father’s voice tosses my name out. “Get to my office now!”
    “Showtime,” I whisper miserably and finally withdraw from my brother’s arms.
    I don’t go through the kitchen. Instead, I head through the meeting room, evading an array of worried looks like the one Enzo presented. I march toward my father’s office and find him walking toward me.
    “What do you want now?” I ask, crossing my arms over my chest. “To be honest, I have terrible jet lag and the last thing I want is another altercation with you.”
    “I think we should take this to my office,” my father declares, admonishing my comments all over again. “There’s business we need to attend to.”
    Great, straight home and straight back to the grind , I think to myself. “What is this? Now that I’m home, you’ll give me a new kill list?”
    “No,” my father blandly replies and the look in his eyes is unreadable. He looks lifeless right now and I hate not seeing any intent in his eyes. “This is far more dire.”
    “Whatever,” I state and roll my eyes. I know I must look like a petulant teenager, but I want to sort a room for Lorenzo and hop in a shower before settling back into the normality of