Page 147 of Crazed

Cara hands him a glass of water, and he downs that, too.

"Okay. Off to find my wife." He spins and freezes.

"I saw that," Arianna claims.

"It was dry," Killian lies.

"Sure, it was." She huffs then leaves the room.

He follows, and Massimo comes over and sits next to me. He slides his arm around my shoulders, tugging me into him and pressing his lips to my forehead. "You okay?"

"Yeah."

He studies me for a moment then pecks me on the lips. "Don't worry about Arianna. Everything will be fine. She just needs to process everything."

I stay silent, unsure she'll ever like or trust me.

"Don't worry, dolce." He points to the table. "Someone hand me a plate. I'm starving."

29

Massimo

One Week Later

"Leo'sin the back of Fat Tony's Pizzeria for the next few hours," Luca relays, stubbing out his joint in the ashtray and releasing a big cloud of smoke.

The hairs on my neck rise. "Fat Tony's? Tell me I heard that wrong."

"That motherfucker," Tristano mutters.

"You did not hear it wrong." Luca scowls, taking his Glock out of his pants and checking the chamber.

"When did Fat Tony turn?" Tristano asks.

"We had our suspicions about a month ago," Papà informs us.

My stomach dives. Fat Tony is Tristano's and my guy. We recruited him, trained him, and convinced the family to allow us to do so. I seethe, "And you didn't bother to tell us?"

Papà calmly sits at his desk. He takes a mouthful of sambuca then rises. He pours another tumbler and stands at the window, gazing at the night sky.

Tristano angrily shakes his head at me then questions, "Papà, what's your reasoning for hiding this from us?"

Another moment passes. He finally turns and declares, "I'm the head of this family. I watch everyone. All our men. All the time. It's my job."

"But you should have informed us," I insist.

Papà grunts, finishes his drink, then sets the glass down on his desk. He crosses his arms over his chest, replying, "Youshould know your men. If you were watching them, you would know. I kept waiting for you to come to me with this information, but you never did."

I sniff hard, shifting on my feet. He's right. I hate that he is, but it is Tristano's and my responsibility to watch our men and know what they're doing.

"So what was it, Papà? A test? You should have disclosed your suspicion. That's unfair," Tristano states.

Papà's eyes turn to dark slits. He steps in front of Tristano and jabs him in the chest. "Unfair? Don't you dare talk to me about disclosure! Or did you already fully inform your brother of your personal affairs?"

Tristano's eyes widen, and his cheeks turn red. His face hardens, and he stays quiet.

Papà puts his hand on Tristano's cheek. "You need to grow up. Real men don't hide things from their family—especially a woman."

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