Page 59 of The Mob Boss' Pet

I squeeze the glass in my hand and face him.

“When Martin Peneva arrives, I’ll have him put in the basement.” I down the rest of the drink, letting the burn mask the pain in my chest. “I can deal with him if you want.”

I lift my gaze up to Roberto’s and see the heartbreak from my chest mirrored in his eyes.

“No.” He flexes his hands at his sides. “I want to.”

I nod and pour another drink.

“What about Anton,” he asks, the words dropping like anvils to the carpet.

“I have to think,” I tell him. If this were anyone else, the decision would be instant, textbook even. But he’s my brother. Our brother.

“Yeah,” Roberto says softly. “Don’t decide yet. Give it time.”

“Aunt Nancy is going to want to know,” I say, swirling the amber liquid around the glass.

“That’s your call.”

I huff a laugh. My call. Dealing with Sergio fucking my sister-in-law should have been my call.

Roberto grips my shoulder. “He’s always been jealous of Sergio,” he tries to explain away Anton’s stupidity.

“Of what? Anton has everything he could fucking want.” I down my drink and put the glass down with a clamor. “He had everything.”

“Not you.”

“Me?” I ask with a laugh. “I’m his fucking brother. What did he want that I didn’t give him?”

Roberto hardens his gaze. “Friendship?”

I blink, uncertain I can respond to him without bellowing. Anton is my brother. I’ve trusted him with every bit of my business. I may sit at the head of our family, but I’ve never kept him from anything.

“I know you don’t get it.” Roberto saves me from my confusion.

“Sergio was closer to me growing up. We’re—we were the same age,” I defend. “Anton’s four years younger. Of course, I—” I drag a hand through my hair. “He’s been resenting Sergio his whole life? And then Sergio fucks his wife, effectively taking away one more thing of his. Is that what you’re trying to get at?”

Roberto sighs. “I don’t condone him. I’m just trying to explain him.”

I close my eyes and take a deep breath, waiting for another wave of patience, because I’m all out. “He acted without authority.”

“Would you have given it?” Roberto asks, but there’s more curiosity than accusation.

“Of course not. Fucking Maria isn’t grounds for execution. But I would have handled it.”

It was a betrayal in its own right for Sergio to touch what wasn’t his. I try to put myself in Anton’s place. If someone put their lips on Stephania, if they touched her... fucked her. My knuckles crack as I fist my hands.

“I would have handled it,” I say again, gritting my teeth.

“I know,” he says quietly. “I’ll be upstairs if you need me.”

I give a dismissive nod and grab my glass. I need another fucking drink. And maybe another after that.

My brother had my cousin killed. He betrayed me after being betrayed.

I’ve kept my family close to me, keeping outsiders on the outskirts to keep this from happening. If I can’t trust family, who the fuck can I?

---