Page 37 of Lines Drawn
Standing up, I head for the door, not even pausing when my uncle calls my name. I’m over this shit. Instead, I head to the gym. I need to work out this aggression, and if it’s not by punishing Emilio, then there’s some practice dummies who can stand in for him.
Emilio is going to regret this. If he lives through it, he’s going to wish he didn't when I get my hands on him again. Fuck knows it’s time to recreate my black room…
When Allesandro disappears with his uncle, Cristian pushes back his chair. There’s pain on his face because, even though it was his left shoulder that Benjamin stabbed, the movement would have aggravated the wound. Frankly, neither Ten nor Cristian should have been sitting at the table with their injuries, but with Doc occupied, there’s no one to tell them no. Hollis knows how to pick his battles, and I still believe Cristian deserves every ounce of uncomfortableness he is currently feeling. Doesn’t make watching him struggle easy, but choices have been made.
“Carter, can I speak to you, please?” Though he phrases it as a question, I can hear the order in his tone, and it makes me stiffen. Marcus and Keegan both press their shoulders to mine, offering me support.
“I don’t know,canyou?” I say carefully, using similar phrasing as I did when Roman was a child and I was trying to help him with his schoolwork by infusing the lessons into his everyday life.
I can practically hear his teeth click together as he clenches his jaw. “Please, Carter, may we speak privately.”
“You don’t have to,” Keegan says quietly.
I don’t look away from my husband as he speaks to me, so I don’t miss the way Cristian’s eyes flare at the close proximity my two friends have to me. It makes me smile a little at the hypocrisy of it.
“I’ll be fine, but thank you. It won’t take long. I’ll be up in time to read Cole’s bedtime story.”
“It’s okay if you can’t,” Marcus says.
I wave him away. “I promised, and I don’t break my promises.” Which is why everything is so fucking hard.
Marcus brushes his hand against mine as I push my chair back, and the skin on skin contact helps ground me a little. I squeeze his shoulder before following Cristian out of the dining room. He doesn’t bother heading to his room upstairs. Instead, he leads me just far enough away that we shouldn’t be overheard.
“What the fuck are you doing, Carter?” he asks venomously.
I lean against the wall and shrug. “I figured, if the Martellis and O’Connels are going to have representatives, the De Lucas should as well.”
“The De Lucas are Amatos. That wasyouridea. You are the one who wanted nothing to do with your father’s Family. You happily handed it over to me once you put him in his place. Or are you trying to rewrite history now?”
His dark eyes are usually endless pools of comfort and support that I helplessly fall into, but now? They’re nothing but voids of dark fire that I want nothing to do with.
“No, I know what occurred, but…we kept the name,” I say softly.
“What?”
“We kept the name. When I took Georgio over, I could have called the De Luca name defunct, could have pushed to have the operations fully absorbed into the Amato Organization. I didn’t. We’ve been running it as two separate Families under one rule for the last seven years, but I think it’s time to fix that.”
He scoffs. “You don’t want to rule!”
“Do not tell me what I want to do or don’t do,” I reply icily. “Just like you cannot tell our son how and who he can love, you will not tell me what I may or may not want.”
He laughs. “Oh, this bullshit again? I thought I made myself clear earlier, Carter? I did what I had to do in order to protect my family. Did I go too far? Maybe.” He shrugs a little. “If I did, it’s too late to change it now, and maybe I wouldn’t, if given the chance. Ignacio didn’t just touch my son, he trampled all over any boundaries and traditions we might have held dear. I am a fatheranda Boss; I had to act like both.”
“I am also a father,” I say lowly. “And I enjoyed seeing my son happy and fulfilled. He was hurting, but he was getting comfort from those he loved. There was nothing wrong with it.”
Cristian shakes his head. “I know you love Roman like a son, but only one of us has ever had any actual rights.”
If the wall wasn’t behind me, I would have crumpled to the floor at his words. All the air has been knocked out of my lungs, and the pain is greater than any I’ve ever felt.
He’s killed me. And he never even had to touch me.
I stare at the man in front of me, the one I thought I would love for the rest of my life. Whogaveme life when Julian almost snuffed it out. I see nothing but a stranger looking back at me.
“I love my son,” I rasp. “I have since the moment I laid eyes on him. Nothing you ever do or say can take that away. But us…”I shake my head and take a shuddering breath. “Don’t expect to ever see me in your bed anytime soon. I meant what I said at dinner. I will be representing the De Lucas. I’m just sorry my father isn’t around to see me be the Boss he didn’t think I could be.” I push off from the wall. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a little boy to help put to bed.”
“I hope you enjoy getting fucked by two men while it lasts. We all know the Martelli way, don’t think you’re special.”
I give him a small, cocky smile that I don’t feel. “Good thing you prefer to bottom. Hopefully, Il Padrone knows how to use a knife…or maybe I hope he doesn’t. I’m sure Ignacio wouldn’t mind a roommate…”
