Page 12 of Unsettled
“I know this is likely a stupid question, but how are you?” He tears his gaze from the window and looks at me. I suppress a shiver at his expression. His eyes seem dead, like he’s a man staring into the abyss with nothing to live for.
He opens his mouth before closing it as he shakes his head, stopping whatever his initial response would have been—likely a cutting remark. It ratchets up my concern, seeing him this serious and defeated. Sighing, he runs his fingers through his hair before leaning forward, resting his forearms on his knees.
“Fuck. I don’t even know anymore. Everything is wrong. I’ve been dropped into hell and I can’t get out. I’m terrified that we won’t find Master—or if we do, it’ll be too late. I’m fucking tired of trying to hold everything together. How the hell am I supposed to be strong when I feel like one strong wind and I’ll crumble? “None of this makes sense. I’m sick to my stomach. I miss him so fucking much.
“And then there’s Benjamin.Damn. He’s still my best friend, yet he’s so far away that I can’t reach out and touch him. We’ve never had this problem. And fuck, he kidnapped me as a friend, so why is he turning away now? Especially when I need him the most? What the fuck do I do, Marcus? What. The. Fuck. Do. I. Do?”
Tears slip down his face and I swallow hard, becausefuck, it’s worse than I thought. I mentally curse Benjamin to the depths of hell right now. You don’t turn your back on your best friend. I don’t give a shit if he’s found his true love. With everything going on with his best friend… Fuck. If I could smack him, I would. Granted, I’m fairly certain Lio would kill me for it.
I reach for him and touch his shoulder, surprised when I suddenly have an armful of a crying Boss. He needed to break, we both knew it, and I’m partially honored he did it in front of me, because I know he wouldn’t have done it with just anyone. But fuck, my heart bleeds right along with him on this.
I am loyal to Il Padrone—even love him to some degree, but nothing like the way Lio does. What they have… Fuck. It would be like losing Keegan. Hell, it would be even worse than that, I think, because Lio has nothing else. I have the Boys, I have Cole. Lio was brought into this world an innocent, and while Il Padrone helped him transition to the warrior he is now, he doesn’t have the same ties that us Boys have to each other. He’s isolated, especially with Benjamin skipping out on him.
“All you can do is move forward. I have faith we’ll find Il Padrone, even if we have to tear the world apart. I believe we’ll figure out who the fuck is screwing with us, and then we’ll send them to hell, just where they belong.” Pausing, I try to carefully approach his other concern. “Benjamin…look. Things are difficult in relationships, including friendships. I know you’re worried, but you have a strong friendship. One that can survive shit like this. You just have to be patient with each other. Understand that you may not agree on certain things, but accept the differences. Fuck knows I don’t agree with Antonio on everything.”
Laughing, he pushes off me, swiping at his tears, “Yes, well, I have heard many times about Antonio’s addiction to theTwilightmovies. You’re a good friend to indulge him.”
Snorting, I shrug. “Friends do weird things for each other. It’s fine. I mean, fuck, he forgave me for shooting him. I’m sure you and Benjamin will smooth everything over.”
With a watery laugh, Lio nods. “That is quite the perspective. Hopefully, we’ll talk about it soon. We’ll certainly have the opportunity.”
Cocking my head, I narrow my eyes at him. That sounds…potentially problematic. For everyone. “While that sounds positive, I have a feeling you’re going to give me some bad news.”
We’re not far from the Martelli mansion now, and I have a feeling he’s been waiting until it was in sight to tell me about whatever is on his mind.
“Well, I was talking to Roman, and we’d both feel more comfortable if everyone is together. Being spread out…it’s too dangerous. If we’re united, there’s less potential to be overwhelmed. I especially worry about you, Keegan, and Cole. The last thing I ever want to see is Cole hurt or traumatized. Since Antonio must be at the Amatos’, we’ll be joining them.Allof us.”
“Uh—” I bite my tongue at the glare he gives me, mentally running through the list of swear words I know—and possibly a few I make up. “I’ll, uh, make sure to let Keegan know.”
With a firm nod, he readies to exit the limo when we roll to a stop. I pop out first, escorting him to the door. “I’ll get in touch with Ignacio and I’ll plan on meeting everyone at the Amatos’. It’ll take a while to pack everything up. I’d also like to actually sleep…”
He frowns, shaking his head. “You can sleep when you get there. I want you safe, sooner rather than later.”
I hide a grimace, because I know exactly how well this is going to go down with Keegan. Not that I can blame him, but he was ecstatic to get out of the Martelli mansion for a reason. Letting him know we’ll be moving in with both the Martellisandthe Amatos? Yeah, I’m pretty sure I’m going to need to offer him a major bribe.
“Very well. I’ll see you later then. Make sure to let Ignacio know. There’s no sense in trying to meet up with him beforehand.”
I wait for him to enter the mansion before stepping away and heading for home, mentally trying to prepare for explaining why we’re fucked. I mean, it’s not my fault, so Keegan can’t be mad, right? Muttering under my breath, I can’t even find it in myself to believe that.
“You’re right,”H says, sitting back in his chair, his expression grim.“I can piece together a loose outline of your operation, but it’s so scattered and spread out that it’d take weeks to get through it all. Hell, I’m the one who taught you how to build your firewalls up, and I am having trouble getting through a few. I honestly don’t know who could do it, or how they’d be able to hack enough of your network to get what they need. You’d have to have direct access.”
The sigh I let out comes from the depths of my blackened soul. Everything in me, from my bones to my fucking hair, is tired. The headache from talking to Benjamin is still present, as is the foggy feeling. Helping those two idiots get back on track is the right thing, butfucking hell,Il Padrone needs to return and get his Family under control.
Keeping Tennant on a leash, and Roman somewhat sane, is already a full-time job. Babysitting two people who are so close, yet somehow never learned to communicate with one another, was not on my bingo card.
“You should have come to me when this all started, D,”H says, the exasperation clear in his voice.
I meet his eyes in the camera and shrug. “I was asked not to.”
He scoffs.“And since when has that ever stopped you?”
“We needed the Martellis to trust us. We’re stronger together than we are apart. Leandro and I were handling everything just fine, if not a little overworked. And the Martellis are good at what they do.”When they’re not being dumbasses and breaking each other’s hearts.“They’re currently packing up their things so they can move in for a little while.”
H stares at me, his blue eyes are big and his mouth is open in shock. Even a thousand miles away, I can feel the disbelief rolling off him.“You’ve done a lot of stupid shit since the bastard, including getting wrapped up with a mafia Family, but I have to say, D, this is probably the most reckless thing yet. You know people are actively hunting you. Fucking hell, Tennant was already arrested! Which I learned from fuckingCash,by the way, so thanks for keeping me informed, asshole.”
Rubbing at my temples, I groan as Leandro snickers. “Thank you, Hayden. You’re so helpful, as always.”
“If I wasn’t helpful, you wouldn’t keep me around. Now, how far am I taking this? It’s been a while since I’ve been in your systems, and I’ve never done such a deep dive like this. Have to say, brother, I’m impressed. Despite what V turned out to be, they taught you well.”
