Friggin’ tyrant.

Where does he think he is? Some backward country where women have to fall in line behind their male counterparts? I am not the kind of girl who can live like that. I’d almost rather die.

Sitting on the edge of Siena’s bed, I grip the wand in my hand—I finally found her stash. A replica of Hermione’s by the looks of it. According to the box, it’s made of vine wood with a dragon heartstring core. Let’s hope this thing works. The next time I see Casper, I’m turning him into a toad.

Lying back against the bed, I kick off my heels and curl into the pillows. Nothing about this night turned out the way it was supposed to. The worst part of all? He’s right.

God, I hate him so much for it. I hate that little voice inside my head too.

Everything in me knew going out alone was a bad idea, but I followed along with Viviana anyway, caught up in the moment. I’d done the same thing when I jumped on a plane to London, too excited to meet my family to clearly see the implications of my actions. Never once did I sit down and think about how my life will change. As soon as I made the decision to come here, I should’ve realized that it has to change. I’m losing some of my freedom, and I need to come to terms with that.

Deal with it.

Savage words, cutting right to the point. Casper has been careful to tread lightly about everything, but this—this he refuses to be nice about. Either he’s being a straight-up dick, or…in his own bizarre way, he genuinely cares.

The thought sends flutters through my lower belly.

No. I don’t want to feel anything for him while I’m so angry. Closing my eyes, I grip my pillow tight to my chest, letting out a small sigh. I try to think of anything but Casper, but his handsome face haunts me even as I drift off to sleep, invading the privacy of my dreams. Somehow I manage to sleep through the night. Tossing and turning. At one point, I get up to change into my pajamas and drink about a gallon of water. Before going back to bed, I check the sofa to find it empty. Either Casper left or he’s in the basement. Probably the latter. Viviana told me there’s a bed down there where he sleeps when he visits. Sighing, I head back upstairs.

The next morning, the sound of a blow horn wakes me.

I sit up so fast my head spins. What the—?

The sound stops, and at first, I think I dreamt it up. I mean, why would someone have a blow horn? Then I hear Viviana’s enraged scream, and I know it wasn’t a dream. My head aches with the need for an aspirin and more sleep.

Like millions of geese honking all at once, the blow horn sounds off again. God, that’s loud. I cover my ears. If it’s bothering me this much in here, Viviana must be freaking out. The sound is coming from her room. Wiping the sleep from my eyes, I amble out of bed into the hall.

“You’re such an asshole, Leo!” Thump. Thump. Thump. “I swear to God I will murder you!”

I peek inside the cracked door. Leo is standing there with an actual blow horn—I wasn’t imagining that. I blink several times at the sight of him holding it outside Viviana’s closet, like he’s a ref in a sports arena. There’s absolutely no remorse in the hard lines of his face.

“Worry me in the middle of the night while I’m away on business, and this is what you get—asshole brother. Now get up. We’re training today. I don’t care how hungover you are.”

A black high heel soars past Leo’s head, hitting the wall behind him. “Over my dead body! Get out!” She continues hurling shoes at him from the closet; none of them come close to hitting their target.

Fearing he might come after me next, I retreat downstairs instead of back to my bedroom. In the kitchen, I find Casper sitting at the island, a plate full of crumpets in front of him.

“Nice PJs,” he says, referring to my bright mango-orange matching set.

I crook a brow, surprised to find him still here. “Why haven’t you left yet?”

He bites into a crumpet, talking out the side of his mouth. “First you want me around, then you don’t. Make up your mind, woman.”

I head over to the coffee maker, noticing there’s already a freshly brewed pot. I narrow my eyes on him as I pour myself a mug. Why does he look so handsome? My hair is a mess, and there are mascara smudges all over my eyes, but he looks like he came fresh off the pages of GQ. It’s pissing me off.

“I made it clear last night how I feel about your presence.”

He waves that aside, “You didn’t mean it.”

I slide onto the barstool next to him. “I definitely meant it. Don’t you have somewhere else you have to be?”

“Other than right here beside you? There is no better place.” He winks as he says the last part, and I lose my breath for a second.

“Uh huh.” I raise the mug to my lips, reminding those damn butterflies not to buy into his lines. “Seriously. Don’t you have more important things to do?”

“You are my important thing. Besides, I’ve decided to stick around for a while.”

I choke on the coffee. “Excuse me?”

“Without me here, you’ll just find new ways to put yourself in danger. Drugs, high-speed car chases, running with the bulls—who knows what you’ll think of next.”

“How about you skip the insults and tell me the truth.”

His teasing grin fades when he notices my not-amused face.

Running a hand through his dark hair, he lets out a slow breath. “The truth is a more defined version of what I told you last night. I really do care about your life, Mila. The thought of something happening to you…” He shrugs, looking lost for words. “It makes me feel fear on a level I didn’t know was possible.”

His gaze connects with mine, and we stare at each other for a long moment. Whatever anger I felt instantly dissolves, all while my heart races wildly beneath my chest. God, what did it take him? Like two seconds, and just like that—bam. Back in my good graces.

“I didn’t mean what I said about the tablet,” I say, feeling guilty about the way I told him to take it back, like an ungrateful little brat. “No one has ever given me such a nice gift before.”

“What—you mean the douchebag boyfriend never got you anything nice?”

Thinking of the electric toothbrush Ethan gave me for graduation, I snort back a laugh. “Nothing like the tablet. I almost feel bad for keeping it. I planned to give it back, but Vivvy would lose her mind. She’s already made me promise to let her borrow it.”

“I wouldn’t let you give it back anyway.”

“I mean, it’s just so expensive—”

“Mila,” he says, warning me with his tone. “This is not how gift giving works. You’re supposed to say thank you. Tell me I shouldn’t have, if you want. But you’re damn well keeping the tablet.”

I roll my eyes. “Thank you. You shouldn’t have.”

Satisfied, he grins. “You’re welcome.”

A bellowing screech, followed by a loud crash thunders from up above us. Casper and I both look up at the same time, hearing Leo and Viviana’s raised voices.

“They’re going to kill each other,” I say, clearing my throat. “No need for anyone else to do it for them.”

He laughs, the deep, rumbly sound music to my ears. “You know what they say about those Italian tempers. Did you come down here to hide?”

“He has a friggin’ blow horn. Of course I came down here to hide.” I steal one of the crumpets off Casper’s plate, swiveling around in my barstool. My head is lightly pounding, which is probably one tenth of the pain Viviana is being treated to upstairs. “No one deserves to wake up like that, especially hungover.”

“You think so? Even after the crap she put us through last night?”

Last night’s events replay in my mind, and I shudder. If Casper hadn’t shown up when he had, I’m not sure what would have happened.

“Okay. Maybe a teensy little bit, but Leo is taking it too far.” I bite into the crumpet, and my taste buds sing at the buttery goodness. No wonder Casper likes these things so much. “He’s making us train today too.”

“How’s that going by the way?”

I shrug one shoulder. “Okay, I guess.”

“You hate it, don’t you?”

“No, I don’t actually. Sergio is really nice.” He’s almost too nice, which I think is part of the problem. Trainers should be mean, like drill sergeants. You should feel like you want to die, all while they’re yelling at you to drop and give them twenty push-ups. “I know it’s not an overnight transformation. I just thought I’d get more out of it.”

“I can train you.”

His offer catches me by surprise. I look up at him skeptically. “You? Really?”

“Who do you think taught Viv and Leo? My dad used to work security for Renzo. We’ve been training them for years.”

“I didn’t know that.”

“It’s true. You can ask them yourself. Here comes Miss Sunshine now.”

Viviana’s dark look threatens murder as she approaches. She’s fully dressed in workout attire, her hair pulled back into a long braid. Looks like Leo won their battle, and she’s not happy about it.

“Crumpet?” Casper holds the plate up to Viviana.

She grabs her stomach, turning white. “Ugh, get it away from me.” She goes straight to the fridge, grabbing a bottle of water.

“By the way, where’d you get the pistol?” he asks her.

Her fingers slow around the cap as she twists it open. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Leo saunters in next, glaring at me like I’m up for round two. He stands across from me on the other side of the island. Seeing his rigid scowl, the tick in his jaw, the way he plants his feet like he’s preparing for battle—I gulp. I don’t have any shoes to throw.

“I have a few things to say to you.” He leans forward, demanding my full attention with his laser beam stare. “I get that Vivvy most likely put you up to this, but you hold some responsibility. You came back into our lives only a week ago. We’ve already lost one sibling. Did you ever consider what it would do to us if something happened to you?”

I flinch as a wave of guilt clenches my insides.

I hadn’t thought of that.

“Or what if Casper hadn’t gotten there in time, and you couldn’t stop Vivvy from leaving with those men he told me about? How would you have felt then?”

Casper coughs. “Let’s ah—leave me out of this.”

My throat tightens, a knot forming at the back of it. “You’re absolutely right,” I say, trying to sound as sincere as possible. “I’m sorry for making you—both of you worry.”

Viviana snorts from behind me. “It’s not a crime to go out, Milly. We don’t have to let them dictate our lives.”

Casper looks over at me, raising a thick, dark brow. “You agree and apologize to him when I pretty much said the same thing?”

“I’ve had the night to reflect on it. Also, his approach was a lot better than yours.”

And let’s be honest. I’m really, really thankful he didn’t use the blow horn.

Casper shakes his head, letting out a breath. “Unbelievable.”

Leo accepts my apology with a nod. “At least one of you knows how to take some responsibility.”

Viviana slams the refrigerator door shut. “You’re a bloody hypocrite, Mr. No Fucks Given. You can sit there and criticize us, but you put yourself at risk all the time. Without regard to anyone.”

“There’s a huge difference. I’m not reckless. I just refuse to let someone else control my life.”

“Believe I mentioned something about that, too,” Casper mumbles beside me.

“Whatever.” Viviana presses her fingers to her temples. “I’m tired of arguing. Are we going to the training session or not?”

Looking at me, Leo tilts his head to the stairs. “Go get ready, Mila. You’re not getting out of this one.”

I sigh, getting up from my seat. If Viviana can muster up enough energy to do this, I can, too.

Casper’s voice stops me as I’m about to mount the stairs. “Actually, ah, I was wondering if it’d be all right if I trained her today.”

Leo stares at Casper for one long, intense moment before he gives a resounding, “No.”

“Come on, man. Didn’t I make sure they both made it home safely last night? You owe me a solid.”

Leo crosses his arms over his chest, thinking. I watch his impenetrable expression begin to crack. “You’ll just take it easy on her.”

“I swear I won’t.” Casper holds his hands up, shaking his head. “Remember the first lesson my dad gave you guys?”

One corner of Leo’s mouth turns up. “I remember it very well.” He looks back at me, and then again at Casper. “Alright, you can have this one. For last night.”

Casper grins, revealing those gorgeous dimples. “Hear that, baby girl? I just saved you from a day of misery.”

I can’t help but smile back. The guy can be impossibly charming, when he wants to be.

Viviana ruins the moment by saying, “Saved? If that’s what you want to call it. I remember your dad’s first lesson too. Bloody well gave me nightmares for weeks.”

He ignores her. “It’s not that bad. Go get ready, Mila. You’re in for some fun.”

I don’t ask questions. I gratefully accept this token of luck, hoping an hour alone with Casper is worth whatever he has planned.