Page 10 of Consequences
If the narrowing of Il Padrone’s eyes is any indication, he caught my hesitation, but he thankfully doesn’t call me out on it.
“I understand, I do. But you can’t help Lio if you don’t take care of yourself.” I don’t tell him that Doc and Dr. Ranlen arecurrently in the middle of planning how to get Lio back here. If neither doctor thought it was a good idea for him to know, I won’t be the one to burst that bubble.
“Lio and I, we’ve ruled in your absence, and we’ve done a pretty damn good job. That’s not arrogance, it's fact. We dealt with arrests, raids—by both the police, and someone we shouldn’t have had problems with—and we’re still standing.”
“You two also brought the Families together,” Dad says slowly. “You know we wouldn’t have approved—wedon’tapprove.”
“We did the best we could with what was given to us. The Martelli mansion was raided by the police, and yes,” I hold up a hand to stop any protest, “We understand they could raid here, too, but we’ve discovered we’re stronger together. Siamo uniti contro i nostri nemici.
“When Nicolo was shot, and Antonio was brought in for questioning, we didn’t know what was going to happen. There were too many variables, too many outside forces working against us.
“Allowing Nicolo to recover here was the safest option, since Doc’s a paranoid bastard and has everything one could need medically. Plus, Benjamin and Jude have been working closely together, alongside me and Lio. Not only that, Tennant took both Seconds under his wing, and has been working with them together and individually. That was a lot of back and forth on Benjamin’s part, where at any moment he could have been snatched by the same people who took you, or the police.”
So I’m stretching the truth a little, but with the way they’re both acting, there’s no way in hell I’m going to get into the whole“Benjamin was forced to stay with us for training, but fell in love with Ten instead”thing.
“As Bosses, we had to make the best decisions available to us, in order to see our Families thrive. And they have. So save thewhole ‘this is not how we would have done it’ thing for someone else. You weren’t here, we were. So, finish your drinks and go to bed, or to the family sitting room, or to the library, anywhere that is not this office. You may be back, and you may be in charge, but our families are fractured and trying to put ourselves back together as it is, don’t give us more pain to recover from. All of this—getting revenge on the cops, and finding out why we’re being targeted—it’ll all be here tomorrow, and the next day, and the day after that.
“For tonight, be the men Dad and Lio need you to be, and take care of yourselves.” With that, I push away from the desk and stride to the door.
“Roman,” Dad calls out. I pause and look back, meeting his dark gaze. “I’m proud of you, Figlio Mio.”
A small, genuine smile curls over my lips. “Thank you. I learned from the best.”
Leaving the office, I collapse right outside the door, all the strength leaving me as the guilt and unworthiness I shoved aside fights to make its way to the forefront. A silent sob forces my entire body to shake, as tears burn my eyes before falling down my cheeks.
Sitting on my ass, I raise my knees and bury my face in them, crying into the fabric of my skirt.
You had no right.
You can’t even keep your lover safe, what makes you think you can go against the Bosses?
You don’t deserve their respect.
They’ll see what a fraud you are soon enough.
A poor excuse of an heir and Boss.
It should have been you.
Over and over, the thoughts pound through my head, and all I can do is cry. The weight of everything crashing down over me as I drown in despair.
Arms close around me, and a voice tries its best to penetrate the deep, dark abyss that is my thoughts.
“You’re okay. I got you, Tesoro Mio,” the voice says.
Blinking, I look up and find Jude cradling me to his chest. “Y–your leg,” I whisper.
“Fuck my leg,” is his reply, but he doesn’t carry me far, just away from the office door, and down the hall a few feet, before depositing me onto Leandro’s lap.
“I got him,” my best friend says.
Curling into him, I wrap an arm around Leandro’s back and hold on for the ride as he, Jude, and Boston, escort me upstairs.
Pathetic, the voice in my head says.A true Boss doesn’t need to be rescued from their own feelings.
Between it and Jude’s soft yet sweet words as we get into the elevator, I’m not sure who to believe more. My mind and emotions are too fractured to tell which voice is lying.
All I know is the feeling of inadequacy has never been so crushing.
