Page 12 of Lines Drawn
“Hopefully, still sleeping. Cristian was down here for a while, until Carter forced him to bed for thesecondtime, and Jude stayed with you until Cristian came to trade places with him.”
Roman hesitates before asking, “Ignacio?”
“He stayed until I came back down,” Hollis tells him. “I'm sure he'll be back after he gets some rest. It's only been an hour or so since I sent him to bed.” He moves his hand to Roman’s hair, stroking it gently.
Roman tries to shift, but cries out at the movement. Hollis tugs on his hair in reprimand. Roman’s gaze goes to the bandages on Hollis’s wrist and he sucks in a breath. “Your arm?”
Hollis sighs and follows his stare, sorrow crossing his features a moment. “Don't worry about it, Amore. I… I'm going to be okay. I'll tell you about it after you rest some more, okay?”
“Promise?” He stares at Hollis intently.
“Yes. I promise.”
“Okay.” Roman sighs and seems to settle against the bed again, once he's reassured that those he cares about are okay and taking care of themselves. At least, relatively.
Holding his unbroken hand in mine, while Hollis strokes his hair, we sit with him until he falls back asleep. Though we're missing Jude, the quiet between us is exactly what we need to soothe our frayed nerves.
As the reassurance that Roman is okay seeps through me, the need to spill blood pushes its way forward. I'm itching to have achatwith those that the Martellis captured.
I don't want to leave either Roman nor Hollis, but the urge todosomething, to play with those who thought it was okay to go after what's mine, overrides that sense.
Hollis sets his free hand on my arm, and I look at him. “Go find Emilio,” he says quietly. “I know they were waiting for you before…interrogatingour guests. Roman and I will be okay. Cristian and Jude are here, though maybe you should take Jude with you?”
“I do like the little lamb’s initiative when it comes to torture,” I muse. “You sure you'll be okay?”
He nods. “I'll be even better knowing you've made them pay for hurting our giocattolo. That isourjob, no one else's.”
I grin. “Yes. Yes, it is.”
I lift Roman’s hand and kiss his fingers, before kissing Hollis deeply. “Call me if you need to.”
“I will. Go, show them why they shouldn't touch what doesn't belong to them.”
I can almost taste the blood on my tongue, feel it on my fingers. “I will.”
This is going to be fun.
Loyalty. Such a simple word, yet one that seems to break so many. Forsaking others, pledging fealty. It’s a cornerstone to the Martelli motto. Loyalty. Courage. Victory. My thoughts are chaotic as I turn it over in my mind. Last night showed me something that may threaten it all.
I barely twitch at the knock on the door, calling out, “Enter.”
“Uh. Are you alright, Padrone?” I hold back a laugh at Marcus’s question, because fuck if I know.
Slowly, I turn from studying the large Martelli Crest that I keep on the wall behind my desk. I stare instead at the Boy who has been with me longer than most—all except for Luca. However, I think Marcus may be the best person to ask about this…situation.
“I have an issue.” I pause, trying to figure out the best way to approach this.Fuck. There’s no good way to do it. “Hollis joinedEmilio and I last night. And no, not for fun. He was struggling, and Emilio took over to comfort him. I merely went along with it. But it leaves me with…”
Marcus stares at me, waiting for me to finish, but the words escape me. Growling, I run my fingers through my hair, yanking at it for good measure. I finally gesture for him to talk, even as he stares at me in confusion.
“Okay. So…I think I know what’s going on.” Marcus sits down and rubs his chin, before taking a deep breath. “I know Emilio is yours. All of us Boys know that. The relationship you have with him is different from the one you have with us. You still own us, but with him, there’s more to it. You found your person. There will never be any question of loyalty with him.”
“Won’t there?” I ask softly, giving voice to a concern I never thought I’d have.
Sighing, Marcus stares at the top of my desk, instead of meeting my eyes. When he finally raises his gaze to mine, I almost flinch from the naked longing I see there. “You know that I love Keegan? Yet, my loyalty is still to you. Keegan’s loyalty is to you as well. We know that you’ll protect us, and we trust you to do what’s best for the Family. When you were kidnapped, Emilio needed someone to help him. The shy, innocent college kid no longer exists. He’s been taught to go to his knees. It makes sense to him. With you gone, he needed that to help keep himself sharp. You’re familiar with that.”
“Of course. I’ve never had a problem with that before.” My brows furrow as I stare at him. “But that’s not all that happened.”
“No,” Marcus responds softly. “For either of you. I know it’s easier for you to claim Cristian. That’s what you do. Having Emilio claim someone…it’s very different. You’ve accepted it in the past, when Ignacio asked permission to be with Benjamin, orwhen I paid the penalty to keep Keegan. But Emilio never saw anyone else. Hollis isn’t a threat to you. Nor is Cristian to Lio.”
