Chapter 169

When I come back down the stairs, I see that Frankie is fully up on the island now, his legs crossed beneath him as he sips his coffee.

And I can’t help it. I burst out laughing as I cross the kitchen to the fridge to take out the cream. “Are you allowed up there?” I ask, sending him a grin over my shoulder.

“I don’t know,” he says, grinning at me. “Your kitchen now. You tell me, donna.”

“Please stop calling me that,” I sigh, mixing cream and then some sugar into my coffee before turning and leaning against the counter, my coffee in my hands. “It just feels…wrong somehow.”

“What do you want me to call you, then?”

I consider, my head turned a bit to the side, looking him up and down as he grins at me from his high seat. “I think I like it when you call me Bambi. Or iterations thereof.”

“Good,” Frankie replies, his grin spreading into a real smile as he puts his coffee down on the marble surface next to him. “That’s my preference too. Come here.”

Frankie waves a casual hand towards me and I obey, going to stand next to him. When he pats the island itself I laugh and then shrug as I obey, hoisting myself up onto the island as well, though I leave my legs dangling. I’m not a complete animal like him, after all.

“How are you feeling about all of this?” he asks, his voice soft, more considerate than its usual joking tones.

“I don’t know, Frank,” I say quietly, letting my eyes drift shut and my head hang back. “Can we not ask me that question right now? I’ve been trying to figure it out all night and don’t have any answers.”

Frankie hums consideringly and I take it for the agreement it is before I open my eyes and look at him, our faces almost level now.

“What about you?” I ask, turning towards him before lifting my coffee to my lips and taking a sip. “How are you feeling about all of it?”

Frankie shrugs, screwing his mouth to the side before looking away from me, towards the windows. “I’m honestly not sure, Bambs.”

“What do you mean?”

He frowns a little, considering it. “I mean that…I guess I always saw this happening. Christian – he’s always been ambitious, even if he pretends he wasn’t. And angry – his anger at his father, at his family, for…” he sighs, looking back towards me, “for taking him away from his mother, I think. For treating him like an outsider instead of a son most of the time. It grated on him. I think it was…always going here.”

My eyebrows raise because…that is not how I have experienced Christian. It’s also…not precisely the story he told me.

Frankie takes in my surprise, but he continues. “Part of why I joined on with Christian and Nico is because I knew it was the best bet – those two were a ride to the top, and for a scrappy kid like me…the top always sounded great. But now that we’re here?” He hesitates, but then gives a little shrug.

A strange thrill of joy pulses through me to hear Frankie say this, to see his hesitance. “So, what?” I ask quietly. “It’s…not as good as you expected?”

“I guess…” he murmurs, shrugging one shoulder again. “I thought it would be better. More satisfying, maybe? Just…more. But really, we’ve kind of just shuffled the same deck, haven’t we? All the cards and the players are still here – just…in totally new positions.”

“But people are…dead…” I say, not understanding the metaphor.

Frankie looks at me evenly. “Doesn’t change the deck,” he says quietly. “New King, new Queen. Someone else will fill the role of Jack now that it’s vacant. Someone will come in as the Ace, the Joker. Nothing’s changed except the roles we play. Our position in the hand.”

My stomach sinks at this, and honestly…I’m not sure I even understand why.

“But don’t listen to me,” Frankie murmurs, dropping his head a little and shaking it. “I shouldn’t be saying this stuff to you – it can’t possibly be making you feel better.”

“No,” I say instantly, sitting up straight, my coffee clutched in my hands. “It’s…good to know that other people have hesitations. That it’s not just me.”

Frankie raises his eyes to mine again. “Well, whatever happens,” he says quietly. “I’ve still got your back.”

“Thanks, Frankie,” I say, giving him a warm smile and raising my coffee up cup for a toast. Frankie laughs a little and raises his own, clinking it against mine.

We’re quiet for a moment – though there’s nothing awkward or strange about it. Just…two people who are very close sharing a moment in the early morning light. My mind begins to wander to all of the people in the house – some of whom are still a mystery to me.

“Um,” I say quietly – but even that sound makes Frankie start a bit. He was, clearly, lost in his thoughts too. But he blinks out of them and turns to look at me. “Have you seen Lucy? And Bianca?”

He takes a deep breath, straightening his spine as he does. “Yeah, sure. I saw them both last night. They’re…okay.”

“What does that mean?” I ask. “Okay?”

“It means that Bianca is going to be out of here today,” he says quietly. “She’ll go to a hotel or something – and then when he goes, Giuseppe will take her with him. Make sure she gets…set up in a new house or whatever. Christian will make sure she’s got her personal possessions – whatever money she needs to live a good, quiet life. But…after she leaves this house, she’s gone. Out of the family. You…won’t have to worry about her anymore.”

I quietly consider this, realizing that of course she has another son – Giuseppe, Tony’s brother, who will be her sole protector now. How quickly things change in this world – one day a queen, the next a widow and a burden.

God, will that be me some day?

I turn away from the thought, not wanting to go down that tragic rabbit hole. “And Lucy?” I ask, refocusing on Frankie’s face.

To my surprise, he smirks at me. “You don’t have to worry about Lucy.”

I frown at him, a little displeased with this response. “What does that mean?”

“It means,” he says quietly, looking away and out the back window. “That Lucy will make her own way in this world. She is…ambitious as well, after all.”

My face twists in confusion as I look at Frankie’s profile because his answer hasn’t given me any clarity at all – more questions, in fact.

“Well, where is she going?”

“She might not be going anywhere,” Frankie says, turning his head to look back at me. “That’s up to Christian, and he hasn’t given any orders yet.”

I gape a little, studying my friend. “He would…keep her here?”

“Maybe,” Frankie says, shrugging.

“But why?”

“Lucy is pretty and clever – and she knows this world. She’s also been tied to this family for a long time – it’s unlikely that she can transition to another without them seeing her as a spy. It’s likely that Lucy will want to stay here – my guess is that she’ll push Christian for that. But whether or not Christian sees a use for her is another question.”

I look to the side as well now, considering this strange turn, not knowing how I feel about it. “Do you think Lucy betrayed Christian?” I ask quietly. “Like Tony did?”

“No way to know now,” Frankie murmurs. He turns his eyes over to me and, to my surprise, reaches out and takes my hand, giving it a little squeeze.

I look down at his large hand, wrapped around my small one, and then I squeeze his hand back.

“Don’t let these kinds of questions bother you too much, Bambi,” Frankie says. I look up into his eyes, wondering if that’s even possible. “You’re not a mind reader, and you don’t know enough about this game to make an educated guess. My best advice for you might be to…learn how to ride the wave as best you can. At least until you learn how the tides work.”

I smirk a little as I study his face, consider his advice. “So metaphorical today, Frankie,” I say, laughing a little. “You’re like a fortune cookie.”

He smirks and opens his mouth to give what is undoubtedly a clever reply, but before he can say anything, the door to the room swings open and Nico walks in.

His eyes move immediately to my hand, still clasped warm in Frankie’s.