Page 51 of Tossed into the Mob
We sat at the kitchen island, and I considered going for a swim after breakfast. Treyton sat opposite me and brushed his leg against mine. It was our thing. Even if I didn’t need soothing, we touched one another constantly and enjoyed the serenity that being skin to skin gave us.
“You’re doing a lot of thinking over there for someone on their honeymoon.” We didn’t have a lot of money, neither of us had much savings, and when Flint and Tony offered us their self-contained guest house for as long as we wanted, we accepted.
“Just thinking about how good it feels to be official.” Mating made me part of La Luna Noir, and marriage satisfied my dad. Though he had been marked by Emilio, he was human enough that he wanted to see me wearing a ring.
“Any regrets?” He eyed me over the rim of his mug. “About marrying into a family of criminals?”
Treyton was the furthest thing from a criminal. And he wasn’t a great shot, having injured Riggs in the shoulder, while I shot his beast in the heart.
“I’ll let you know when I fill in my tax forms. Somehow I doubt there’s a box to check for a shifter pack member.”
My mate let out a hearty laugh and glanced out the window. “I see Rudy’s car in the driveway. Wanna go over and see what’s going on?”
That seemed like a bad idea. Perhaps Treyton was used to differentiating between a business meeting and a family get-together, but I didn’t want to barge in without an invite.
“What if they’re discussing something top secret?” It was nothing to do with me, and I didn’t want Flint shouting at me.
“My cousin rarely, if ever, holds important business meetings at the house. It’s his rule to keep his private and work lives separate. The worst that could happen is he locks us in the basement.” He chortled.
What was it with his family that they enjoyed making jokes about Tony’s time in the basement? “Don’t say that.”
He grabbed my hand, but I was still in my pajamas and I protested. “It’s family. No one will mind. Besides, they know what we’ve been doing.”
“Drinking coffee and eating leftover wedding cake?”
He slapped my butt, and we raced over the damp grass to the house. We went in the side door and climbed the few stairs to the main level. It was empty, and Treyton said they must be in the study. But that suggested it was business.
This house was huge, and it was usually filled with children’s laughter, but today it was deathly quiet. The family had been living here when Rudy’s mate was assassinated, and even though it was light and airy, I’d have preferred to be in the basementwith the door locked from the inside than sneaking through these corridors.
When we reached the study door, Treyton gave a quick knock, and Flint said to come in, as if they’d been waiting for us. That was a little odd until I realized this was a ruse. Treyton had set up a surprise, and he’d concocted a story about a business meeting. He was the sweetest, sexiest mate, always giving me gifts or surprising me with a picnic, as long as I brought my plastic sword to ward away zombies.
I giggled as we charged into the room and were met with the same surprised expressions as the night Treyton introduced me to the family, though perhaps it was ‘cause I was still in my PJs.
There were four shifter family members present, and there were two people I didn’t recognize. Their stunned faces made me pause, but this was part of Treyton’s plan, I was certain. The family were good at pulling off practical jokes, but I was going to best them.
“Thanks for assigning me a high-ranking position in La Luna Noir. I accept. Do I get a fancy title like Associate Vice President of Bad Guy Elimination or just a really big gun?” I made a finger gun and pretended to shoot, yelling “Pow pow.”
No one moved, and they didn’t giggle or tell me I’d caught them out. I hesitated again, but hey, I was part of the family and they were jerking me around. It wasn’t until Treyton glanced at me, his face a mask of horror, that my heart did some weird shit and I figured I was taking my last breath. Or Flint was about to kill me. Either way I was going to die.
“Treyton!” There was no mistaking the fury in Flint’s tone. “I thought you were Uncle. This is private. Get out.”
My poor mate. As the shifter and the blood family member, he was bearing the brunt of his cousin’s ire. But I was the one who’d messed up.
“It was me. I thought you were pranking me. Sorry.”
My mate's face was drained of color as he took my arm and guided me out of the room. When we closed the door, I took hold of him and apologized. I’d made it worse. If I hadn’t been an ass, Flint would have said it was private and to leave. Instead, he was furious.
“It’s my fault. I should know better than to assume we could charge in. I’m sorry.”
But as we headed to the side door, Hunter called us back. “Flint wants to talk to you.”
Damn. Flint had already given us a tongue lashing. If being locked in the basement was in our future, I hoped it had wifi.
I gripped Treyton's hand, overcome with my own fury. Yes, my mate made a mistake and so had I, but Flint already chastised us. Did he forget to say something and wanted a do-over? My mate had spoken of being bled. I understood it was a shifter punishment, but I didn’t care to witness that.
I straightened my spine and told Treyton to follow me. He opened his mouth as if to speak, but then closed it.
“We’re here, and I don’t appreciate being hauled in for a second round of reprimands.”
