Page 53 of Cassio (Belles & Mobsters 3)

As she fussed around, I noticed her glancing Luca’s way several times. A question was coming his way.

“So how is everything in…” she trailed off, chewing her bottom lip nervously. “-mmm, you know, in the mafia?”

She worried about the repercussions after what had happened with Benito. Nico gave both Luca and me a heads up that she was scared they’d come after Luca. Only one person tried but he’d be dead soon.

“Nothing to worry about,” Luca told her with a wide grin. “And certainly nothing your awesome cooking cannot make better.”

It didn’t appease her. She had come to know Luca too well and how he hid everything with his easy manner.

“Well, I don’t believe you,” she retorted, a stubborn tilt to her chin. “I swear Luca, if I find out there is some backlash going on, I will blast a Facebook post stating I did it.”

Both Luca and I choked on our drinks.

“Don’t even think about it, Sister,” I warned her, my throat still raw.

“Just because you call me sister, Cassio,” she growled, “doesn’t mean you get to tell me what to do. I think with my own head, thank you very much!”

I knew she did; she was fiercely independent.

“You are joking, right?” Luca asked her in a hesitant voice. “You wouldn’t actually put an admission in writing.”

She rolled her eyes. “Okay, maybe Facebook is not the best place. But I’ll find a mafia blog or some shit like that.” She narrowed her eyes on Luca. “You will tell me. Right, Luca? I appreciate what you are doing, but if it means doing it at the risk of your life, it is not right. We can figure something else out.”

I cocked my eyebrow. “Like what?”

She shrugged. “Well, we could kill all the bad guys.”

My sister was on a roll today.

“Don’t worry,Sorella,” Luca told her with his charming smile. He loved calling her sister in Italian. “If it comes to that, we can team up and kill all the bad guys together.”

“I know you are dodging,” she muttered under her breath as she carried on with preparing a plate of food. “A blind man can see it.”

She was too perceptive. Maybe it was the gene we shared. Perception, temper, her dark hair and dark eyes - something we inherited from our father. Though temper might be just the Italian in us. The hate for him, on the other hand, we grew and nurtured on our own. Bianca was the kindest and the best of the three of us and even she hated him. There was something to be said about that.

Bianca lowered the plates full of cookies and mini-sandwiches in front of us. I raised my eyebrow. She went all out. They were shaped in bowties. Luca immediately shoved one into his mouth.

“This is good, Bianca,” he commended. “What’s the deal with bowties?”

She shrugged, lowering herself on the empty chair. “Just experimenting with different things. For Grace’s baby shower.”

“I thought she was having a girl?” Luca blurted.

Bianca just rolled her eyes. Leaning backwards and her hands back on her stomach, her eyes came to me. She had a keen way of picking up on emotions.

I was always happy to visit my sister, but today, I really needed Nico. I needed answers and Nico was the only one with vast enough resources to be able to get those answers for me.

“Is everything okay, Cassio?” she questioned.

For a second, I considered lying to her. I knew she’d grill me to death once I told her I was about to get married.

“I’ll be getting married soon,” I ended up saying.

She raised her eyebrows in surprise, but before I could say anything else, Luca chimed in. “Assuming she doesn’t run away.”

I frowned. Luca could sometimes have such a big mouth. Though right now, it didn’t escape me he did it on purpose.

Bianca’s eyes turned a few shades darker. “Am I to guess that you are forcing her?”

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