Sempre (Forever Series #1)(6)

He drank juice from a glass, unaware of her presence, and Haven took a step back to flee. The movement caught his eye, and he turned in her direction, the drink slipping from his hand when he spotted her. It hit the floor and shattered, the spray of liquid soaking his pants.

Jumping back, he looked down at himself. “Shit!”

The curse sent Haven into a panic, and she darted forward to clean up the mess. He bent down at the same moment Haven dove to his feet, their heads colliding. The force knocked him backward, a piece of jagged glass stabbing him when he caught himself on the floor. He cursed again as blood oozed from the small gash and stuck his wounded thumb into his mouth. She noticed, as she looked at him, a scar running through his right eyebrow, slicing it in half.

His gaze lifted, a pair of vibrant green eyes greeting Haven, intense passion swirling in the color that took her breath away. She broke eye contact, her chest tightening as she snatched a towel from the counter to clean up the juice. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she pushed the glass into a pile, but she was disrupted when his hand seized her wrist. She yelped at the zap of static electricity, and he blinked rapidly, just as caught off guard.

“What’s wrong with you?” he asked, gripping her tightly.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “Please don’t punish me.”

Before either could get out another word, the overhead light flicked on and Dr. DeMarco’s harsh voice rang out. “Let her go!”

The boy dropped her wrist so fast it was as if he’d been savagely burned. “Sorry,” he said, the word barely audible as he climbed to his feet.

Haven struggled to breathe as Dr. DeMarco poured a glass of water from the faucet and handed it to her. “Drink,” he commanded. She forced the water down and gagged, her stomach more interested in expelling its contents. “What happened here?”

They replied at the same time, answering in sync. “It was an accident.”

“It won’t happen again, sir,” Haven continued. “I swear.”

Dr. DeMarco blinked a few times. “It’s not often two people accept blame around here.”

As if on cue, the boy spoke again. “Yeah, well, it wasn’t really my fault. She scared me. She’s a f**king ninja or something.”

Dr. DeMarco pinched the bridge of his nose. “Watch your mouth, son. Go get ready for school.”

He started to argue, but Dr. DeMarco’s hand shot up to silence him. The sudden movement startled Haven. She recoiled, bracing to be struck.

The boy eyed her strangely. “What the hell’s wrong with—?”

“I said go!” Dr. DeMarco said. “I don’t have time for you.”

“Fine, what-the-f*ck-ever.”

Dr. DeMarco turned to her after the boy stormed out. “He isn’t usually . . . well, never mind; that’s a lie. He is usually like this. He’s finicky and angry, but that’s neither here nor there. He’s set in his ways, and it doesn’t matter what I do. Carmine is who he is.”

Carmine. A strange name for a strange boy.

“Why are you up, anyway?” he asked. “I figured you’d sleep most of the day to recover.”

“I didn’t know what time I was supposed to get up.”

“You get up whenever you get up,” he said. “You can go back to bed now.”

“But what about—?”

He didn’t let her finish. “I’ll handle this. Don’t worry about doing anything today. Just rest.”

2

“I need a favor.”

Carmine stepped past his father, refusing to acknowledge he’d spoken. The scent of freshly brewed coffee was strong in the kitchen as Vincent cleaned the sticky mess from the floor. The knees of his newest Armani suit were soaked with juice, and Carmine got a tiny bit of satisfaction from that fact.

“Are you ignoring me now, son?”

“Oh, are you talking to me? I thought you didn’t have time for me this morning.”

Vincent stood. “I certainly don’t have time for your attitude, but I do need a favor.”

“Of course you do.”

Vincent pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket and handed it to him. “Ask Dia if she’ll grab this stuff after school today. I’d do it myself, but I know nothing about things teenage girls need.”

Carmine laughed. “I don’t think Dia knows shit about teenage girls, either.”

“She knows enough,” he said. “Just do it.”

Carmine shoved it into his pocket. “Whatever. Is it for the ninja girl? Who is she, anyway?”

“Do you honestly care?”

“No.” The word came out before he gave it any thought. He wasn’t sure what to think.

“Then it doesn’t matter who she is,” Vincent said. “But she needs things, so don’t forget to ask Dia.”

“I heard you the first time,” he said. “It would’ve been nice to have some warning you were bringing someone here, though. Where’d she come from?”

Vincent poured some coffee into his silver travel mug. “I thought you didn’t care.”

“I don’t.”

“Then again—it doesn’t matter,” he said. “All that matters is she’s here now.”