“To protect him or me?”
Christian took a cookie and bit it, obviously biding his time. “Both… and those kids too.” He motioned at Simona, who squeezed a stuffed unicorn that laughed shrilly every time she did, causing her to giggle too. Her eyes flashed with joy as she gazed at me.
“How can I help Daniele if I don’t know what happened?”
“The boy will come around. He’s going to be Underboss one day. His mother’s death won’t be the last trauma he suffers.” My stomach tightened at my brother’s cold assessment.
“You’re worried Cassio will hurt me if I try to find out what happened to Gaia.”
Christian picked up his coffee cup and took a sip, contemplating his next words if his expression was an indication.
“I don’t think you need to worry. Cassio has been good to me so far, and he’s good to his children.”
Christian touched my hand, looking at me the same way Cassio sometimes did—as if I was a naïve child. “Let me tell you something about men like Cassio that I know because I’m that kind of man. Like him, I’ll be Underboss. Like him, I’ve survived and done horrible things to make me strong enough for that task. To get in a position of power in the mafia, you need a dark side. The stronger that dark side is, the more likely you’ll get into a position of power and stay there. Nobody threatens Cassio’s power.”
“I know you all have a dark side. You, Dad, Cassio, but none of you have ever hurt me nor do I think you will.”
Christian laughed bitterly. “Sometimes the dark comes out when it shouldn’t.”
Elia appeared in the doorway. “Everything all right?”
My brows snapped together. “Sure.” I glanced at the clock. It was almost five. “Why don’t you leave early? You’ve been working long hours these last few weeks. Christian will stay and protect me.”
Elia peered at my brother. I couldn’t read the look in his expression, but it definitely held a hint of suspicion. “Cassio ordered me to keep an eye on you.”
The way he said it sounded less like protection and more like surveillance. Did I need to have another talk about trust with Cassio?
Christian narrowed his eyes. “I can protect my sister, don’t worry.”
“Leave,” I ordered.
Elia nodded, but it was obvious that he didn’t like the idea. Still, he turned and left. After a moment, the front door opened then closed. Would he report back to Cassio again?
Christian shook his head. “Cassio keeps you on a short leash.”
I couldn’t talk about my marriage with him. It would only prove Cassio right that he had trouble trusting me.
“How’s Mom in her new role as rising star in our circles?”
Christian scoffed, but he took me up on my offer for a topic change. “She sees it endangered now that they had to take in Kiara.”
“Our cousin did nothing wrong. Her father is the traitor, not her.”
“You know how it is. She’ll suffer for his sins anyway. The children always do for the sins of their fathers.”
Was he referring to Dad’s mediocre reputation, which led many people to believe that Christian, too, wouldn’t be a good Underboss one day? Or was he referring to Cassio and Daniele?
“I’m going to call today and talk to Kiara. I wanted to give her a few days to recover from what happened.”
“I doubt you can recover from seeing your mother being killed by your own father.”
“Are we still talking about our uncle, or are you trying to hint at something else? If you’re trying to subtly tell me something, it’s not working.”
Christian took another cookie. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“Of course you do. I thought you didn’t know what happened to Gaia? Was that a lie?”
“No. I just think it’s strange that Daniele avoids Cassio and doesn’t talk. That kind of trauma usually requires a strong catalyst.”
“Losing your mother in any way at that age is a strong catalyst.”
Christian gave a tense smile. “At least, Dad’s still happy about your bond with Cassio.” After that, we only talked about Dad, who was already reaping the fruits of my marriage to Cassio. Fewer people talked about him behind his back, too scared of my husband. I doubted Cassio would come to Dad’s help, though, unless I asked him to perhaps.
Simona scrunched up her face.
I sighed. “That expression means I need to change her diaper. Do you want to stay down here?”
Christian shook his head. “I can handle it. I’ve seen worse.”
I picked up Simona and we headed upstairs into her nursery. On the way, I noticed that the door to Gaia’s old room was ajar. I put Simona down on the changing table. I’d check on Daniele afterward.
Christian’s face twisted in disgust when I opened the diaper. He’d definitely never changed his child’s diaper.
“I thought you could handle it?” I teased, even if my own nose twitched at the stench, especially when Simona had any kind of meat before—like today.
“That doesn’t mean I enjoy it.”
“I don’t enjoy it either, but someone has to do it,” I said, then tickled Simona’s belly, causing her to grin. “Right?”
“Dad should have never forced you into this position. You are too young to take care of two little kids, who aren’t even your own.”
It was starting to annoy me that everyone kept saying that. Mom, now Christian, and even Cassio kept calling them his kids. We hadn’t been married long, but I wished he’d see how much I already cared about them. “I can handle it, Christian,” I snapped. “It’s not easy, but I’m stubborn.”
“True.”
I threw him an indignant look but couldn’t really stay mad at him seeing the grin that had accompanied my childhood. Once I was done with Simona, I put her into her crib. I could tell that she was tired. She had refused to go down for her nap at noon. She cried when I stepped back, so I bent over her and rocked the crib until her eyes drooped once more. But the moment I tried to go away, she started wailing again. This time I didn’t go to her, hoping she’d settle down. Some people said you needed to let the kids soothe themselves and let them cry, but I found that impossibly hard to do.
“She’s really demanding,” Christian commented, leaning in the doorway with crossed arms.
I picked Simona up, trying to figure out what was wrong. She kept wailing then without warning she spit up on me and herself.
“Eww,” Christian said.
With a sigh, I changed her clothes before I put her into the crib again. This time she quieted after a couple of minutes. I motioned for Christian to be silent as we walked out and closed the door. He eyed the vomit on my shirt and in my hair. “Aren’t you going to change?”
I snorted. “No. I like smelling like a bar on Sunday morning.”
“As if you know how a bar smells.”
I didn’t. I’d never been allowed in one, and not necessarily because of my age. Cassio probably wouldn’t let me set foot in one once I turned twenty-one either. I walked into the bedroom, trying not to pay too close attention to my ruined shirt. The stench was bad enough. Christian looked around curiously. Would Cassio be angry that I brought someone else into his private quarters? He and Christian had worked together for years, but they certainly weren’t friends.
“I need to grab a quick shower. Can you check on Simona if she starts wailing again? I’m worried she’ll throw up again.”
“Sure. I’ll go wait in the hallway while you get ready. Can’t leave you out of sight without a bodyguard after all.”
I rolled my eyes then headed into the bathroom. It wasn’t easy getting out of my clothes without getting the vomit on my skin. Throwing over a bathrobe, I hurried downstairs to the laundry to put the dirty clothes in a washing machine despite Christian’s questioning look. I heaved a sigh of relief when hot water finally streamed down my body, dispersing the lingering smell of vomit.
I was blow-drying my hair when I heard commotion. Turning it off, I listened. A distorted male voice carried over to me. I took a step closer to the bedroom door.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” Cassio snarled.
I put the blow-dryer down and rushed out of the bathroom, only wrapped in my towel, my hair still damp. What I saw in the bedroom sent a wave of shock through me. Cassio shoved Christian against the wall, his forearm wedged into my brother’s throat.
Cassio’s gaze cut to me. Slowly his eyes slid over my half-dressed state, and his expression morphed into pure rage.
He hurled Christian to the floor, pulled his knife from his holster, and knelt on my brother’s chest. My blood ran cold. Cassio pressed the gleaming blade against Christian’s throat. Blood welled up at once. What was happening here?
I rushed forward and gripped his arm, trying to pull him away. “Cassio, what are you doing? Stop it! Stop it, please!”
Cassio bent down, bringing his face closer to Christian, ignoring my futile attempts at stopping him. “What the fuck are you doing alone with my wife?”
It took a couple of heartbeats for his words to trickle through the fog of my terror. “Cassio, have you lost your mind? That’s my brother! Let him go now!”