Page 13 of Tossed into the Mob
A piece chipped off my heart, and I swallowed my tears.
“This is Brock.”
No one said anything. I’d told them who he was to me, but he didn’t know that or that I had a beast inside me.
Grandpa broke the silence. “Welcome, Brock. I’m Arnie, Treyton’s grandfather.”
“It’s nice to meet you, sir.”
I was supposed to be the one taking charge, but I was dumbfounded at my family’s response. Rudy introduced himself and ushered Brock onto the sofa beside Tony who sat frozen, clenching one of his kids’ toys.
I raced over to Brock until Flint got my attention. “Can I talk to you?” He jerked his head down the hall and strode off. His brothers followed, while I was torn at obeying my Alpha but wanting to reassure my mate.
“Go. Arnie and I will look after Brock.” Rudy shooed me off.
I mouthed to my mate, “I’ll be back in a minute.” But Rudy was already chatting to him about how we met.
I entered the study, and the brothers were in a huddle. Hunter shut the door.
“Look, I know this is unusual, but he’s scared and he says his alpha dad is part of La Luna Noir.”
“What do you know about the guy?” Ranger asked.
“He could be a plant.” Hunter was pacing the room.
Words tumbled out of me as I told them as much as I knew about Brock’s history, leaving out the kidnapping part.
“He’s telling the truth as he understands it.”
“I suspect he is.” Flint raked a hand through his hair, the one with the snake tattoo.I shivered because snakes scared me and he had one etched onto his skin. But I understood the tattoo to be a warning to people trying to oppose him.
In the dim lamplight, my cousin looked older than his late thirties. He’d been doing this job since his father was gunned down, and it was a burden.
“Are you done? Dinner’s ready.” Rudy was outside the door, though he didn’t charge in or knock.
Flint sighed. “We’ll continue this later. Be nice to him.” That last command was directed at his brothers.
“Wait.” I placed my back against the door which wasn’t a wise move when I was preventing my Alpha and his brothers from leaving. “I have one question. Is there any way one of you is his father?”
Three glowering faces stared at me, each with a wolf at the forefront of their gaze. There might be a bleeding in my future, but I needed an answer.
“No!” Flint snapped.
I stepped aside, and the cousins pushed past me. I wasn’t hungry, but I had to be with my mate because I couldn’t throw him to the wolves.
That's a tired old joke. My beast sighed.
But I was breathing easier at being told he wasn’t their son. It didn’t explain their faces when they met him, though.
I raced behind them as Rudy was laying an extra place at the table.
They’d left a chair empty for me beside Brock. Everyone complimented Grandpa on the food, but I’d lost my appetite. My mate attempted to cut his meat with his left hand, and the slice of lamb skidded onto the table.
Shit. His arm. I was doing a crap job of looking after him.
“Let me.”
We shared a glance. His gaze said “Thank you,” while mine was an apology.
