Page 125 of Vicious Addictions

Why did I ever agree to this dinner?

Was I so eager to impress theCapo dei Capithat I willingly accepted an invite into the lion’s den?

What was I thinking?

You were thinking of Jude and how you would use any excuse to see him again.

Argh.

I hate that my choices, even subconsciously, are made irrationally with him in mind.

Accepting Vincent’s invitation to dinner wasn’t just about Jude. His siblings played a part in my decision, too. I spent so many years listening to him talk about them that I’d inevitably want to meet them in person.

Marcello, Stella, Luciano and Enzo—the twins—and sweet Annamaria.

I’ve imagined meeting them countless times, but now that the moment is here, I feel completely out of my depth.

It shouldn’t matter whether they like me or not, yet I crave their acceptance more than their fathers’ respect. And when I say fathers, I mean all three of them.

Vincent said this dinner would be family only. Still, I’m not naive enough to believe that Giovanni and Dominic won’t be there. Of course they will. As will the Red Queen, Selene Romano.

My anxiety spikes through the roof just thinking about meeting Jude’s mom. I lean forward to grab a water bottle, twisting the cap hurriedly in desperation to quench the sudden dryness in my throat.

“You okay there, cousin?” Rolo asks, eyeing me attentively.

“I’m fine,” I reply curtly.

“Bollocks. You’re shitting bricks again, aren’t you?” Remus laughs outright.

With one hand strangling the bottle, I use the other to smack him across the head.

“Forgot what a temper you have,” he mutters, rubbing the sore spot.

“Best not to forget in the future,” I warn, leveling him with a look. “And while we’re at it, you wankers best try not to embarrass me tonight. Just this once, act like respectable gentlemen.”

They exchange a glance before grinning.

“Yes,my lady,” Rolo teases with a mock bow.

“Tosser.” I flip him off.

“Well, here we are.Chez Romano,” Remus announces as the car slows to a stop.

I glance up at the sprawling mansion before me, my forehead creasing as the realization sinks in.

Jude once told me the Romanos lived in a large cabin in the middle of the woods, hidden away for none to find.

Thisisn’t their home. This must be the old Salvatore Romano estate, Vincent’s predecessor.

Vincent doesn’t trust us enough to bring us anywhere near his family’s real sanctuary.

Smart man.

I wouldn’t either.

“I have half a mind to break down those double doors,” Remus says beside me, staring at the mansion’s entrance. “It would serve the cunt right for the little stunt he pulled yesterday.”

“How about instead of beating the doors down, we burn the whole fucking thing instead?” Rolo piles on with a wiggle of his brows. “It just so happens I’ve got some lighter fluid in the car’s boot for emergencies like this.”

---