Page 124 of Thorns of Death
“Sit up straight and get that seat belt on. Now!” I said in a stern voice, agitation clear.
Both brothers shot up into a sitting position. They blinked their eyes, sleepiness still in their expression. “What the fu—” Amadeo never finished the statement, noting his father’s eyes narrowed with warning.
When neither Enzo nor Amadeo moved to put their seat belt on, I repeated, “Boys, put your seat belts on.”
They stared at me confused. “Why?”
I blinked, then glanced at my husband who just sat back in his seat, watching the whole exchange like it was a movie. Why did he put a seat belt on me and let them fly without securing their seat belts?
“For safety,” I muttered. “Now be good and put them on. Or I’ll have to ground you.”
I froze. Then brought my hand to my forehead. Gosh, I sounded like Reina now, scolding them. That wouldn’t do at all.
I sighed. “Please just put them on.”
To my surprise, they both did as I asked without another word.
Enrico leaned over and whispered, “Our conversation isn’t over.”
I dug my fingers into the plush leather, my heart racing. I turned to look at him, tilting my chin. “I’m not sure there is much more to say. If you can’t keep your promise to me, how can I trust you to keep any of your other promises?”
His jaw clenched. I knew he didn’t like to be questioned. Well, too bad. He said we’d be making decisions together, and this wasn’t it.
“Whatever,” I muttered, turning to look the other way. He shot his hand out and grabbed my jaw, ensuring I stayed facing him.
“No, not whatever.” His tone was dark, warning. “I promised we wouldn’t hurt her. But we will find a way to get to her mother, and we might have to do it through her. We don’t have the luxury of not doing so.”
“Why? Who is she, aside from someone delusional?”
Two heartbeats passed. “She’s the woman who can easily makeallour secrets known.”
I froze, finally understanding what he meant. “I thought you said only two people—” I cleared my throat, flicking a glance at the boys. Neither one of them were paying any attention to us. “—know about it.”
“That’s correct, but with this newrelationshipyou witnessed,” he said, referring to Donatella, “we can’t risk her drawing any conclusions.”
Okay, when he put it that way, it made sense. Except, the lead in the pit of my stomach refused to ease. He might be doing the right thing for his family, but not for that young woman.
When push came to shove, would he do the right thing for my friends and me? Or would he sacrifice us for his family too?
“Are you alright?”
My attention snapped to Enrico. “Yeah, why?”
“You went white as a sheet.”
My lips parted, and the worst words came out. “Did you know if you burn a body, you can’t trace DNA?”
Thick silence grew so deafening as I once again had everyone staring at me. Tension licked at my skin and my blood froze. Oh. My. God. How did that shit come out of my mouth,again?
“Are you going to burn a body?” Enzo asked, curiosity in his eyes.
I scoffed, weakly. “No, of course not.”
And all the while, I mulled over details of a plan thathadto work.
* * *
The Marchetti estate was nothing like I imagined. I was dazed.
