Page 144 of Assassin's Obsession

"You think telling me my son is not like me is an insult? It's not. That you consider him a decent person is even more laughable than my deluded belief he cared enough about your safety to be swayed by your loss."

"Uh, is it just me, or haven't you noticed that I'm safe and your men are dead?" Deluded is right.

Perla crosses her legs, leans back on the couch and waives her hand dismissively. "That's mafia politics. He could have gotten you killed as easily as saved you with his so-called rescue attempt."

"Yeah, I don't think so." Angelo knows what he's doing and he would never have put me at risk.

Angelo's black glove covered hands fist at his sides. "Our egress would have happened differently if you hadn't escaped."

He doesn't look at his mother, just at me.

I smile. "Don't think for a second I'm listening to the Wicked Witch of the West over there. Her passport lists Delulu Land as her country of origin because she doesn't live anywhere near reality."

"Good one," Miceli-freakin'-De Luca says admiringly.

"You're a stupid little girl who will learn she trusted the wrong man too late," Perla gibes.

Yeah. No. I will never regret trusting Angelo. "That sounds more like you regretting your choices than an omen for my future."

Despite her attempt to look casual and unconcerned, Perla's hands have a fine tremor and her eyes reflect her own bitter disappointment. Whatever happened in here shook the arrogance I noticed earlier to the very core.

"The only thing I regret," I add, "is that I can't hate you because you gave birth to the most amazing man I know." I turn my smile to Angelo. "The man I love."

Is this a weird moment to tell him I love him? Maybe, but if this whole kidnapping debacle taught me anything, it's that there's no way of knowing what tomorrow will bring.

That wine could have been poisoned, not drugged. There are no guarantees in life, so I'm not waiting around for my feelings to make sense based on society's timeline. And if I want to say I love him in a room full of people that he deserves to have know that? Well, that's okay too.

Angelo makes a strangled sound.

Miceli says, "Aww. Róise owes me a BJ because I told her you two would be an item by Halloween. She thought Christmas."

They've been talking about me and Angelo becoming a couple? That's a little creepy considering I didn't know we were in a relationship, but also cool. Mostly cool. Knowing his family is aware of me makes this thing between me and Angelo feel more solid.

Like myI love youmeans something real to him like it does to me.

"Róise doesn't realize how fast the men in our family fall for their women," Severu says. "Because you were a little slow on the uptake. You let months pass between your first meeting and signing the marriage contract."

"At least I didn't get engaged to her sister," Miceli shoots back. "Don’t tell me Catalina had a single clue you loved her in the beginning."

"Hell, I didn't have a clue." Severu's eyes warm, like he's remembering something.

This moment hits an epic level of surreal as I witness the Godfather of the Cosa Nostra and his little brother, the Don of the Genovese, ribbing each other.

"Angelo knew he loved me from the first night he saw me," I say with wonder.

Maybe for men like this, who live life so intensely, that love at first sight thing isn't such a stretch.

"Looks like you got the smart one in the family," Miceli quips.

"Love? He doesn't know the meaning of the word," Perla snipes.

Grr. This woman is getting on my last nerve.

I smile at her, oh so sweetly. "Again, it sounds like you're doing some self-reflection there. The only person I see in this room with a defective ability to love is you."

"How dare yo—"

"Whatever your plans were for Angelo," I say, cutting her off. I am so done interacting with her, but I have one last thing to say to her. "Understand this: if you ever try to hurt him again, I will hunt you down and I will stab you through your cold heart. Then I'll twist the blade until it's as damaged as your sense of morality."

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