Page 123 of Charity's Redemption

The cacophony of protest rang in my ears as they argued with one another. Luca started in on them as he took offense to them being so opposed while Nico and Max explained their positions.

I sat back against the headrest and took a bite of my toast while huffing my disdain.

This didn’t go as planned. I thought they’d be jumping for joy to have us all under one roof. Weren’t they Italians? Wasn’t this how they were raised, anyway?

But then again, they argue like Italians, so maybe if I sat here long enough, they’d work it out and come to some sort of resolution.

“See what you’ve done?” Max accused me.

I shrugged, grabbed a sausage patty and wrapped a pancake around it, then devoured it.

He wouldn’t make me feel bad for expressing my desires to have us all under one roof together. It was the closest thing I’d get to a family, and he wouldn’t take that away from me. I’d get them here, eventually. It was just a matter of when.

“Luca, I need that guy you have on file so I can get it listed, but you know that I’m a package deal. I come with Cannoli, and there is no changing that.”

He smiled and hopped off the bed, grabbing my hand and dragging me with. “Come on. I want to show you something.”

I eyed him with caution, then crawled out of bed with my pancake in hand. Max and Nico followed behind us as Luca brought me to a closed room three doors down, then opened it.

“You’re not locking me inside because I suggested we live together, right?”

“Why would I do that, Charity?”

“I don’t know.” I shrugged. “Maybe because you don’t think rationally sometimes.”

“That doesn’t even sound like something I’d do. Just look.” He swung the door open further and inside sat a carpeted gymnasium fit for a royal cat.

“You bought him a cat tree?”

Luca nodded. “I figured you’d come around eventually or hoped at least, and when you did, I wanted you to see that I was okay with the devil living here too.”

“Awe.” Tears welled in my eyes, but I forced them back, refusing to cry over a fucking cat toy. “Thank you, Luca. He’ll love it to pieces.” Then something occurred to me. “He’s not staying locked in this room no matter how appealing you make it look.”

He laughed, the one rare sound that made hearing it a luxury. “I didn’t plan on that. But now that you mention it…”

I slapped his shoulder, then winced as mine smarted. “Erase that thought from your mind.”

He flashed a toothy grin. “I’d prefer it if you moved in before the BBQ.”

Oh, the dreaded BBQ where my life would only become worse than hell when I had to watch my mother with her snide facial expressions and comments towards the men I love.

I’d give my left pinkie toe to see her mouth off to Luca or Max. But knowing her, she’d stay her quiet Christian self and only judge in her mind.

“Oh, that…” I frowned with disgust. “Is this like a ‘family’ gathering or like a ‘family’ gathering?”

“What does that mean?”

I sighed and rolled my eyes as we walked back to my bed. “I mean like, is it just my dad and mother, or the whole family?”

“The whole family.”

My stomach twisted into tiny knots that cut the circulation to my legs, halting me in places. “You want there to be a murder at your house, don’t you?” I groaned at the possibility of bloodshed, which caught me by surprise.

“It wouldn’t be the first time.”

I bobbed my head from side to side. “Touché.”

I’d killed Giovanni here, Kane, and even a few before that.

---