Giovanni (Blood Brothers Book 6) Read Free

front door. He wasn’t sure what kept him rooted in the spot. No. He knew exactly why. Once he entered that house there would be no turning back. No matter what happened his fate would be sealed. The question was, could he handle it? Could she? Part of him wanted to turn, run and never look back, but he’d made a promise. And after all the shit he’d done in the past, he had a lot to atone for.
    Squaring his shoulders, Giovanni took a deep breath and made the trek up the dirt path, moving as slowly as he possibly could. Once at the screen door, however, he noticed for the first time that the porch was occupied. He wasn’t sure why he hadn’t seen the woman initially. Before he’d undergone the spell, her presence wouldn’t have gone unnoticed. But then again, there were a lot of things different about him now. He was still trying to get accustomed to the new man he’d become.
    The old woman rocked back and forth in an oversized rocking chair that seemed to engulf her body. Lines intersected all over her sun-darkened skin, giving her the look of someone who’d lived many years. Her iron gray hair was pulled back in a severe bun, and the wrinkles around her mouth made it look puckered and a little mean. She stared at him with eyes small and dark like onyx, and it almost seemed as if she was staring right though him. There was a time when he could listen to the beat of a person’s heart and could tell by how strongly it beat how old that person was. His extraordinary sense of hearing was another casualty of the spell.
    Her blank expression gave nothing away. Giovanni hesitated for a moment, waiting for the woman to speak, but when she didn’t he shifted on his feet nervously. He cleared his throat, unsure of himself for the first time since he could remember. “Uh, I’m looking for a Miss Sydney Lewis.”
    The woman stared at him blankly, still not saying a word.
    “This is her house, isn’t it?” He knew for a fact that it was but he wanted the verbal conformation so he could continue on with his task.
    She continued to rock silently.
    Perhaps the woman was deaf. “Is Sydney Lewis home?” he practically yelled the words.
    The woman flared her nostrils and practically sneered. “I may be an old woman, but I hear perfectly fine.” The cadence in her voice was slow and sharp, blunting the charm of her southern lilt.
    The little bit of patience he had been holding on to was gone. He raised a brow. “Then I’m sure you heard me the first time.”
    She eyed the bag he carried with him. It was a plain canvas duffle bag chosen because it was inconspicuous, unlike the expensive luggage he could easily afford. “I suppose you’re looking to stay.”
    Giovanni had scouted this place from a distance and wasn’t familiar with this woman. She was a probably another boarder but she certainly possessed an air of a woman who claimed whatever domain she resided in. “This is a boarding house, isn’t it? I spoke to Miss Lewis on the phone and she’s expecting me.”
    “I help her run this place. Can’t say I remember her mentioning a new person coming this week.”
    He never realized how much he’d taken his powers for granted. In a former life, he would have glamored her. The old woman would be eating out the palm of his hands but he was just an ordinary man. No special abilities and with an infinite amount of frustration. Giovanni mentally counted down ten and released a sigh. “Perhaps it slipped her mind but I informed her I’d be here today.”
    The woman narrowed her eyes. “I doubt it. Sydney tells me everything.”
    “I’m sorry, Ms.—I didn’t catch your name.”
    “Because I didn’t throw it.”
    He bit his tongue to hold back a curse. Before he could think of a calm response, he heard the soft sounds of footsteps approaching. He turned to see a tall dark-skinned woman in a yellow sundress approach. His heart skipped several beats as his breath caught in his throat. It had been several months since