Chapter 1: The Threshold of Glass and Teeth
The air inside my father's study smelled of old leather, spilled scotch, and the copper tang of sheer panic. Brutus stood planted over the Persian rug, his massive black shoulders heaving with every breath, the steel spikes on his heavy leather collar catching the amber lamplight. Across the room, Julian Vance kept his palm pressed flat against the mahogany doorframe, his dark suit jacket straining across broad shoulders as his slicked-back dark hair caught a sheen of cold sweat. His chest rose and fell in jagged, aggressive rhythms, his eyes wide and fixed on the slavering jaws inches from his polished Italian loafers.
"Nobody move!" Julian's voice cracked across the cavernous room, sharp enough to cut glass. "That dog will rip apart anyone who gets near Mr. Moretti!"
I didn't care about Julian, or his terrified shout, or the way the maid pressed herself so hard against the sheer white curtains that the delicate fabric seemed ready to tear. My father sat crumpled sideways in his high-backed leather chair, his chin pressed against his chest, his eyes rolled back beneath pale lids. The silver pen he had been holding rolled across the blotter and dropped silently onto the floorboards.
"Sophia, no! Come back!" Julian barked, his hand darting out as if to grab my shoulder, but he dared not take a step forward while Brutus let out a low, vibrating rumble that shook the decorative globe on the corner table.
I ignored him. The pink ruffles of my dress brushed against the heavy brass of the desk leg as I took another slow, deliberate step toward the center of the room. Brutus's ears flattened against his blocky skull, his upper lip curling back to reveal rows of glistening white teeth that could easily crush bone. But I kept my eyes fixed on the white patch of fur on his massive chest.
"It's okay, big boy," I whispered, keeping my voice low and steady, imitating the cadence my father used whenever the thunder rolled over the estate. "You're just scared for him."
I reached out my small hand, palm up, letting the air carry my scent across the space between us. For a agonizing heartbeat, the world stopped turning. Julian held his breath, his mouth slightly open, his face twisted in a mask of impotent fury and disbelief. Then the tension in Brutus's frame snapped. The fierce, rumbling growl dissolved into a heavy, wet sigh. The massive Cane Corso took a hesitant step toward me, pressing his damp, velvet snout directly against my open palm. His posture softened completely, the hard ridge of his spine relaxing as he leaned his immense weight against my knees.
May you like
I stroked the thick fur behind his pointed ears, feeling the steady, powerful thrum of his heartbeat beneath my fingers. I looked up past the dog's broad head at the stunned faces of the adults frozen in the doorway.
"He says you can help his daddy now," I said softly.
