Giovanni (Blood Brothers Book 6) Read Online Free Page B

She kept herself at a distance far enough to not be detected, knowing that if the older vampire wasn’t so occupied with his family he might have noticed the presence of another immortal in the vicinity.
    Slowly, she backed away as she silently wished them a farewell. She departed with a heavy sigh and contemplated where her next destination would be. Hopefully the next place she wouldn’t run into anyone she knew, and in particular two very determined adversaries who dogged her heels. She contemplated checking on Giovanni to see how he was handling the task she’d given to him. She hadn’t heard from him in weeks but she knew by now that he should be nestled in the small little town in South Carolina. She was certain he’d take care of the little problem down there. He’d never let her down before and she didn’t expect him to now.
    Once she assured herself that things would be handled, Nya slid into her vehicle and drove off into obscurity.
     
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    Giovanni sat by the pond and sullenly threw rocks into the water to watch it ripple. It had a calming effect on him. His chest hurt but he refused to cry. Men didn’t cry, and even if no one was watching he wouldn’t allow himself this indulgence. No matter how hard he tried to impress his father, nothing seemed to please him. If he did well with his tutors it didn’t matter. Any attempt to impress Don Sarducci with his knowledge of the land or anything Giovanni believed would be of interest was met with failure. In fact, his father who seemed to be irritated by his presence, would often scold him for things his brother would get praised for. He’d be lying to himself if he didn’t acknowledge the twinge of jealousy he felt toward Adonis, the favored son.
    It was Adonis whom his father would take on horseback rides along their massive estate. Adonis would be treated to exotic gifts from their father’s travels. If Giovanni was given anything it was usually an afterthought and nowhere near as grand as anything Adonis received. Still, Giovanni was grateful for any crumbs his father threw his way, which were few and far between. Despite this he loved his brother, who looked out for him when their father was being particularly critical.
    Giovanni had no doubt that if he dropped dead today, his father wouldn’t bat an eye. His mama was no better. The only time she paid any attention to him was in front of guests where she pretended to actually care. Most other times, she simply ignored his presence.
    “I thought I’d find you in the stables talking to that boy again.”
    Giovanni looked up to see his brother standing over him.
    “That boy is older than us.”
    Adonis shrugged. “So? He’s a servant. Does it really matter?”
    Giovanni hated when his brother took on such an arrogant tone but he dismissed it. His mind was on other things. “Our father says that I’ve been spending too much time with the help and it’s unbecoming of his son.” It was true he spent a lot of time with the stable master’s assistant. His father ran a strict household and was particularly hard on the servants. Most of them were too scared to look the family members in the eyes let alone speak to them unless spoken to, but not Gio, his namesake. It was him who Giovanni would run to whenever his father said something cruel or made him feel worthless. Gio always had good advice and whenever Giovanni spoke to him, he felt better. He felt an affinity toward the stable worker that he couldn’t quite explain. It was like there was some kind of intangible connection between them.
    Silly as it may have been, he often wished Gio was his real father. The Don certainly wasn’t much as one. Unfortunately for him, one of the other servants apparently reported how much time Giovanni was spending in the stables with Gio. He’d received a tongue-lashing along with ten strikes to the back with his father’s cane. It had curtailed his visits but didn’t stop them. He couldn’t stay away