Nancy A Collins-Vamps 02 by Night Life

becoming distant as she tried to recall what had happened in the grotto that night. “I was trying to shapeshift into a wolf and something . . . something strange happened. I don’t really know what.”
    “Neither did your physical education instructor—at least not fully. But your headmistress recognized the Shadow Hand when she read Knorrig’s report. Luckily, Madame Nerezza is an old friend of the family: she’s agreed to keep the information secret.
    “However, I have reason to believe a member of the school staff leaked a copy of the report to Vinnie Maledetto. That is why he has suddenly expressed such a keen interest in your welfare. He hopes to win your trust in order to turn you into an assassin for the Strega.”
    “No! You’ve got it all wrong!” Cally shook her head in protest. “That’s not the reason the Maledettos are nice to me. One of the twins got stuck with a bat face after flying class, and I helped her turn back. Vinnie—I 100

    mean, Mr. Maledetto—provided me with a driver to thank me for helping his daughter, that’s all .”
    “What you say could very well be true. Perhaps it started innocently enough—but I can tell you that nothing involving Vinnie Maledetto stays innocent for long. The man has an unerring ability to identify the deadliest thing in a room and exploit it to his own ends. And you, my dear, are the deadliest by far. You cannot trust the Maledettos, Cally—not the father, not the son, not even the girls. Your mother told me of your involvement with Lucky Maledetto. . . .”
    “My what?” Cally was momentarily baffled—she’d forgotten trying to throw her mother off Peter’s scent by claiming she’d been sneaking off with Lucky.
    “He and his kin are sworn enemies of all who carry Todd blood in their veins. That is why you must break your ties to that accursed family.”
    “But Bella and Bette are my friends !” Cally protested.
    Seeing the look on his daughter’s face, Victor placed a hand on her shoulder. “I understand how confusing all this is for you. I realize you must feel that I have no right to come in here and tell you who you should and shouldn’t be friends with. I haven’t been a father to you up to this point, Cally, but I want that to change.” The serious look on Victor’s face lightened as he moved his hand to touch her chin, tilting Cally’s head back so 101

    that she looked directly into his eyes. “I’ve seen your grades and read all the summaries your instructors have written about you. You are an incredibly intelligent and gifted girl, with or without the Shadow Hand, and one I am proud to have as my daughter. I pray to the Founders that you will find it in your heart to forgive me for whatever hurt my actions may have caused you over the years. Still, you must believe me when I tell you that severing your ties with the Maledettos is for your own good.”
    Cally took a deep breath and stepped back as she pondered what to do. She had visualized all sorts of scenarios for when she finally met her father face-to-face. Some were angry. Others were tearful. Some were bittersweet. But not one of them had involved him asking her to discard her friends in the name of family.
    Part of her wanted to tell him to forget it. She had gotten along just fine without him up to now. But what if she told him no and he decided to wash his hands of her entirely and she never got to see him again? She had spent her entire life waiting for her father to make his appearance. She wasn’t about to risk his leaving her again.
    “Okay, I’ll do as you say,” she sighed.
    Her father smiled and opened his arms. Cally stepped into his embrace, rubbing her cheek against the lapel of 102

    his wool suit as he hugged her. “That’s my girl,” Victor Todd said, smiling in quiet triumph as he stroked his daughter’s hair. “That’s Daddy’s girl.” Cally closed her eyes and sighed happily to herself.
    He even smelled like she had imagined fathers