Page 25 of Hidden Empire
Yawning, I drop down onto the couch that Armani claimed, and my body sings as I sink into the soft leather. Nico, Remo, and Matteo spread out on the other couch that’s larger. The boat is still docked, from what I can tell, but judging by my watch, we should be leaving very soon.
Dad said the ride is slow but that the room doesn’t make it feel like a burden. I’m already thinking that I agree with him. I could hang out here for four hours without feeling bored out of my mind. Sometimes comfort is really all you need.
Armani wraps his arm around my shoulder to cup the side of my head and slowly pulls me against him. The side of his chest and arm are warm against my face, and I can’t help but relax into his hold.
“Sleep, it’s a long ride, and you’re tired.”
I try not to flush. I was too nervous to sleep last night, and apparently, my brother can tell. I attempted to nap on the plane earlier, too, and my brain was not having it.
“I’m o?—”
“You’re not okay,” he interrupts, keeping his hand protectively on top of my hair. “You’re tired, so sleep. I’m not going anywhere.”
He doesn’t need to tell me another time. Drifting into a relaxing nap, I let any possible worries melt alongside the world around me.
Voices float around me. Low at first, but louder as I begin to wake. I try not to pout, still feeling sleepy and comfortable where I am. Keeping my eyes closed, I stay still, wondering if I’ll be able to doze back off. When the voices become more clear, I know I won’t be able to sleep because I need to listen.
“Really, Armani?” a nasally feminine voice asks. “Getting your fraternizing over with before we dock, are you?”
Fraternizing?
“What I do or don’t do is hardly any of your business, Lorna,” my brother replies in a dull, bored tone.
“Seems a bit beneath you, does it not?” Lorna, I assume, snipes. “I thought public displays weren’t your thing.”
“Only when I’m disgusted to be seen in the person’s presence,” he quips back, sounding equally as bored as before.
“You’re a pig, and you’ve downgraded,” she seethes. “Is this an arranged thing? I can’t see you letting someone drool all over you otherwise. Seriously, she looks like an infant.”
“Fitting, since she’s our fucking baby sister,” Matteo growls.
I blink my eyes open at her gasp, finding my youngest brother towering over her. He must have just walked over.
“What?” she blurts, blinking up at him.
I guess I can see why she’d say I look young, because Lorna is definitely older than me. She’s still beautiful, of course, which is a pity considering she doesn’t seem very nice.
“Yeah. Baby. Sister,” Matteo emphasizes. “Need it repeated a third time?”
“You don’t have a sister,” Lorna states, refusing to believe it.
Matteo looks like he wants to reach out and choke her. “For a teacher, you’re pretty dense, aren’t you?”
This lady is a teacher? My stomach churns. Oh god, what have I gotten myself into?
“Watch it,” she warns. “You can’t talk to me like that once we’re off of this boat.”
“You watch it,” he retorts. “You know just as well as I do how badly I can fuck with you inside of the rules. You’re lucky I don’t start now for your snide remarks about Jade. Fuck. Off.”
Steam practically shoots out of her ears as she leaves, storming out of our space and huffing with anger.
“What a way to wake up,” I joke, trying to remove the scowl from Matteo’s face.
He frowns. “You shouldn’t be spoken to like that, Jade. I won’t accept it.”
“Hey.” I nudge him playfully with my elbow. “Being called a downgrade for my brother and an infant is like one of the lamest ways I’ve been insulted. Not even in the top fifty rudest moments of my life, I swear.”
He narrows his eyes. “That does not make me feel better. Write me that top fifty list so I can kill the people responsible.”