Page 58 of The Mob Boss' Pet

He looks up from his phone. “Roberto will deal with it.” He gestures with his chin to our little brother.

“Is the conversation about finding Sergio’s murderer inconvenient for you?” I shove out of my chair and grab his phone from his fingers.

A text pops up on the screen.

Thanks for the heads up.

I raise my gaze. The color drains from Anton’s face.

“What’s going on, Anton?” I ask, lowering my voice.

He swallows, and his Adam’s apple bounces.

“It’s not what it looks like,” he says, reaching up for his phone, but I keep it out of his reach. My chest clenches.

“No?” I ask, wiping my thumb over the screen to see more messages.

“Vincenzo?” Roberto looks over my shoulder at the phone, then levels a heated stare at Anton.

Anton groans. “Fuck.” He kicks his heels against the floor.

“You?” Roberto leans against my desk. “You hired the kid?”

I stare at the phone, at the blatant betrayal from my brother. My own flesh and blood. One of the few people in my life I have ever trusted, ever given my oath of protection and ultimate loyalty to. My throat burns. My heart races up my chest, bouncing off my ribcage, keeping air from getting into my lungs.

“You were never supposed to be hurt.” He points to Roberto with a plea in his tone. As though his intention to only kill our cousin should somehow lessen his betrayal.

“Why?” I ask in a low voice. It takes too much energy to speak.

He turns his panicked gaze on me. “He... fuck, man, he was fucking Maria,” he shouts and jumps up from the chair. Raking both hands through his hair, he paces the room. A caged animal that knows it’s about to be brought to market.

“Sergio was fucking Maria?” Roberto clarifies as I watch in bitter silence. The why doesn’t matter.

“Yes!” He stops and spins around, pointing at me. “You never would have let me deal with him. He was our cousin, but you treated him like he was your brother. Well, he wasn’t. I am. Me.” He smacks his hand into his chest.

“You killed Sergio because he was fucking your wife,” I state flatly. “And what punishment did you give Maria?” I ask. “She seemed perfectly healthy the last time I saw her.”

“She’s my wife!” Anton yells. “Her fucking father would come down on us if I did anything to her.”

“Her father still works for our family.” My voice raises. “He would have come to me with the problem. He wouldn’t have acted without my authority. Unlike you!” The rage builds in my chest. It’s not just betrayal but hurt bursting through me.

“Does Maria know what you did?” Roberto asks. The danger in his tone suggests his anger is rattling him as much as mine. He deserves retribution for what happened to him. He deserves to deal with Anton himself.

“Yes,” he says sadly. “She needed to know it was her fault.”

“Her fault?” Roberto says, taking a step toward him. “You killed family. You took out a member of this family without consulting your boss, your own brother!”

Anton raises a wary gaze to me. “Vincenzo.” He opens his arms to me, like I’m going to embrace him and forgive his sins.

“Leave,” I say, turning my back on him. “Get out of my fucking house.”

“Vincenzo,” Anton says again. Desperation weighs down my name on his lips. “Please.”

“Go,” I say, picking up the decanter of whiskey and pouring myself a double. It’ll take more than this to dull the ache, but it’s a start.

Footsteps sound across the floor and the door creaks as it’s opened. The door slams closed as I sip my drink.

“Vincenzo.” Roberto’s voice nearly cracks.

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