Page 90 of Diamond In The Rough

“But you’re twins! Same time. Same womb.”

“Different eggs. Different placentas. We just so happened to be growing at the same time. Biologically, our relationship is no different than yours and Felix’s.”

“That’s not actually true.” Felix, of course, swings through the dining room door and inserts himself into a discussion he wasn’t invited to. “The only thing Micah and I shared was the sperm our father donated. Other than that, we have different mothers. We grew in different wombs. Different times. We were born in different years, and by all accounts, we were both of our mothers’ only children. You were one of three that traveled your mother’s vagina track.”

Vagina track?

Tiia’s eyes swing to mine, her nose wrinkling in distaste. She’s about to find an exit and leave this shit—leave me—in her past. So I tighten my hand around hers, and chuckle. “He’s gonna say increasingly annoying and stupid stuff until he gets a reaction out of you. I’ve practiced the art of dissociation over the years.”

Felix rolls his eyes, then rolls his body away from the door as Bastard gallops through and makes a beeline for Christabelle.

“Well… just so we’re all on the same page,” Tiia murmurs, warily observing my brother sniff his girl. “Ya know, about my mother’s vaginal track?—”

I choke out a snort, that turns to a cough when Felix’s wild stare swings our way.

“My brother and I were born via caesarian. We started life being difficult. It’s our thing.”

“She’s stepping up.” Felix pulls out a chair beside Christabelle and sits. No manners. No waiting for Tiia. There are no formalities inside this home when it’s just a family meal. “A difficult woman from birth. Why am I not surprised?”

Tiia stops in front of a chair when I lead her there, glancing over her shoulder when I come up behind and press a kiss to her bare shoulder. Then she lowers.

Our exchange is elegant. Almost practiced, though I know neither of us have experienced this exact moment, in these exact circumstances.

Finally, I help push her in until she’s situated in front of a glistening plate and shining silverware.

Mary prepared the table for us. Felix grilled the steak. Someone made a salad—might’ve been Christabelle—and now here we are… about to share a family fucking meal unlike any other I’ve attended.

“So, do your other brothers visit often?” Tiia glances across and smiles, small and soft, as I pull out the chair beside hers and sit down. “There are five of you. Three have crossed the country. I bet you miss them.”

“No, we?—”

“Miss them like I’d miss my own heart if it was ripped out of my body,” Felix answers. “Micah’s not gonna tell you the real stuff on that subject, Ms. Hale. He doesn’t discuss feelings, and sixteen years without Arch and Tim has left him chronically and unhealthily independent of them. That’s not to suggest he doesn’t love them. It’s a defense mechanism, I suppose. He would kill for them. But he won’t admit to missing them.”

“It’s great that you’re discussing my private business at dinner.” A growl rumbles in the back of my throat as I reach across the table and select a steak for Tiia. “Though, I’d rather speak for myself.”

“But you won’t,” he taunts. “You’ll just grunt and change the subject.” He looks at Tiia. “We do miss them. But New York is not a safe city to live in when your last name is Malone. It’s okay.” He sits back in his chair and slings his arm over Christabelle’s shoulder. “We can address the elephant in the room.”

“The… elephant,” Tiia’s voice crackles, “being that you’re the, uh… mafia?”

Felix laughs, loud and startling enough to make her jump. “I typically say I’m a businessman. That business just so happens to make people angry sometimes. Tim and Archer leaving was the best thing they could have done for themselves. Cato following was the best thing we could do for him. If I could convince Micah to leave, I’d do that, too.”

Curiously, she glances around and looks up at the side of my face. But like I’m not ready to discuss feelings, I’m also not volunteering my thoughts on the idea of abandoning my brother. So I plop a steak onto her plate and grab the salad bowl.

“You would live in New York alone?” Giving up on me, she looks back at Felix. “You’d send them all away and stay here without them?”

“In an instant.” He grabs a bottle of wine from the middle of the table and slowly fills the crystal glass in front of an unusually silent Christabelle. “Our father made a lot of enemies in his time. He besmirched a name that was once something to be proud of, and he made five sons, all of whom he expected would follow in his footsteps. Now there are men like Joseph Wilkes storming the city, hoping to hurt everyone I care about. And we haven’t even met the dude.” He finishes pouring, then moves to his own glass. “Literally, we’ve never sat down and talked with the guy. But he’s decided he wants money and power, and he’s willing to kill those I love to get it.” He stops and smirks. “So if I could pack my brothers up and place them in a box, then place that box somewhere completely and absolutely safe?” He nods. “I’d do that.”

“Would you put yourself in that same box?” Shyly, Tiia looks down at the plate I’m loading up for her.

Like Christabelle, I remain silent. I allow the two louder members of our party to duke shit out and discuss things that really shouldn’t be discussed with anyone who isn’t actually one of us.

“If you could give up New York,” she clarifies, “be with your brothers somewhere else, and just… be a normal family. Would you?”

“No.” He sets the bottle down, surprising her with how certain his word is. Then glancing up, he meets her eyes. “I will always remain here as the face of the family and the guard at the door. I would protect that box with my life. And since you’re sitting at my table, holding my brother’s hand—the first woman who has ever sat at this, or any table, holding his hand—then I expect you would do the same.”

I set the salad bowl down with a snap. “Lix!”

“I hope you would shield him just as passionately as he’ll shield you, Ms. Hale. We have no room for weak women in our lives.”

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