Page 14 of Tossed into the Mob
Brock needed reassurance, and I placed a hand on his, hoping he didn’t shake me off, but he returned my gesture with a small smile.
The usual conversation at family dinners was raucous, but tonight’s was stilted, with Rudy and Grandpa carrying the load. Matt and Odell appeared clueless, while Ranger and Hunter shoveled food into their mouths as if they were eating their last meal. Flint, like me, didn’t eat and pushed food around his plate.
“Who wants ice cream?” Grandpa pushed his chair back.
“Me,” the kids said in unison, and Rudy suggested they eat in the den while watching TV. That wasn’t a good sign, because he only used the TV diversion when he wanted his grandchildren out of the way.
I stared at the chocolate mousse and patted it with my spoon, making it jiggle. Brock was sending me pointed looks, his brows raised, his face a mask of confusion. I didn’t have an answer, but I was certain we were about to get one.
“Enough of these messages you’re sending one another.” Everyone looked at me. “I know you’re kicking one another under the table and communicating with weird looks.” I droppedmy spoon. I’d never spoken to my Alpha like that, or Grandpa or any of my assembled family.
Flint jammed his spoon into the mousse, and Tony put a hand on his mate’s elbow.
“Brock, I’m sorry if we haven’t been more welcoming, but when you walked in, we knew you were one of us despite not being?—”
“Mafia.” I cut Flint off in case he said a shifter.
“Thank you, Treyton.”
I was worried for Alpha’s teeth because he was clenching them so hard. Hunter ground his teeth too, or was that Ranger?
“Brock, you’re not familiar with our ways, but you remind us of someone.”
“My father?” Brock's voice was squeaky high with excitement. He’d lost the dad who brought him up, but maybe he could meet the father who hadn’t been in his life.
“Correct.”
“I look like my father.”
“When he was younger, yes.”
I didn’t like where this was going, worried they were going to say he was their brother or mine. Yikes!
“Your alpha father was born into La Luna Noir,” Flint continued.
“Okay. There’s a crazed gunman after me, and I need your organization’s protection.”
Flint studied his mousse before looking up. “But there’s something I have to tell you.”
Gods no, he was going to deliver bad news.
Hunter blurted out, “He was a?—”
Ranger elbowed his younger brother while Flint went into Alpha mode. “Hunter, enough.”
The room stilled. No one could mistake the authority in my cousin’s voice.
Flint saidwas. Not is. I moved my leg so it brushed against Brock’s and reached for his hand.
“Your father is no longer with us.”
SIX
BROCK
I looked to Treyton for clarification.
He was my support network, because while no one had put a gun to my head, they didn’t react with kindness when I walked in. Treyton was the only one I could sort of trust, while Flint and his brothers’ expressions and how they held themselves were intimidating.
