Page 61 of Morally Corrupt

"Agosti, Bianca, and Theodore Hastings." My father completes the first round of introductions.

"Pleased to meet you, Mrs. Hastings." Enzo purrs in accented English, taking my hand and kissing my knuckles. I'm already forcing myself to smile, but my cheeks must look unnaturally compressed at his gesture. Theo's arm tightens around me immediately, and he steps in to shake Enzo's hand, deliberately taking his attention from me.

"Italian, right?" my husband asks.

"Born in the States but raised in Sicily," Enzo answers, showing white teeth and a dazzling smile. I narrow my eyes at him, not quite understanding how someone can look like that. I then shift my gaze to his wife, and she seems utterly indifferent to her husband's flirtatious charm. Odd.

"And these two gentlemen," my father continues, "are Matthew Gallagher and his son Quinn Gallagher from Boston." Both father and son are incredibly fair, their looks the opposite of everyone in the room. They are handsome, in an Aryan way, but their stance tells me they are also deadly.

Then realization dawns.

Well, fuck me!

If this isn't a mob meeting…

I haven't had much interaction with the Italian or Irish mafia, but it seems that my father is quick to rectify that. I'm not dumb. I can read between the lines, with Enzo and his Sicilian upbringing, or the Gallagher men from Boston, who I am sure are packing ammo right as we speak.

Yet my smile doesn't waver. Theo doesn't react either, but I'm guessing he doesn't realize what's happening. His only tell that he is a little out of his comfort zone is that he keeps me glued to his side, the arm around my waist digging into my skin.

I want to tell him he has nothing to worry about, even though any sane woman would admit Enzo's looks are blinding. So, to mollify him, I lean into his shoulder, letting my cheek rest a little on his arm.

"Come, let us sit. We have much to discuss. Mr. Ashby has been singing you both a lot of praise. I can see why he is such a proud papa," the fat man says, and I almost gag when he utters proud papa. If he only knew…

We go to sit on the couches, presumably until called to the dining room. I take a seat next to Allegra, and I see Theo being ushered next to the Agostis. The Gallaghers are directly across from us.

After staring intently at my husband, Quinn Gallagher starts the conversation by asking the oddest question.

"You seem remarkably familiar, Mr. Hastings. Have we met before?" Quinn's face shows traces of a rough mob life. Two white lines bisect his left eyebrow, and his nose has seen better days, potentially before being broken several times. My gaze goes directly to his knuckles, and my suspicions are confirmed. Fighter. But then I'm startled by a thought, and my head snaps in Theo's direction, zoning in on his knuckles as well. Odd…

"Oh, he was in Boston at Harvard; maybe you moved in the same circles?" I quickly jump to Theo's defense.

Quinn laughs.

"Oh, I doubt that…. never mind." I give him one of my Yes, drop it smiles.

"Harvard, huh?" Enzo starts. "Is that where you met your delectable wife?" His question throws me off a little, mainly because the wording is inappropriate.

"We met in this very house, in fact. Her father introduced us."

"Such a pity I didn't know you earlier, Mr. Ashby." Enzo turns towards my father and adds.

Everyone laughs. I fake a laugh too, but looking at his wife, I wonder what type of marriage they have that he so blatantly disregards her. She doesn't seem to mind it, though. I would even go as far as to say that her smile is the most genuine one until now. Odd again.

Theo looks in my direction at his comment, his eyes zoning in on my face.

"What can I say, I'm a lucky man," Theo finally says, and the topic is dropped.

The conversation goes on for a little while before we finally head to lunch, and my father reveals his true intentions for this meeting.

21

THEO

After the events of last night, I never thought I'd have another shock in the form of my past staring right into my eyes. Quinn Gallagher is someone I'd known in passing more than a decade ago, and I really hope he won't continue with his line of questioning. If he does, I'll just have to shrug it off and go with I have one of those faces lines.

Bianca's intervention has saved me a reply, but her manner of conversing with these people is somehow off. She's being extra solicitous to them. Does she know any of them? I'm particularly taken aback when Enzo Agosti makes some blatantly flirtatious comments towards Bianca, with his own wife standing right next to him.

The whole affair reeks of something more than just a family lunch. I know that Martin dips his fingers in a variety of projects, some of them skirting the line of legality, but the Gallaghers' presence here tells me this isn't merely a matter of loopholes.

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