Page 60 of Till Death Do Us Part

If that remark had been even a subtle insult toward Roma, I would have taken one of the glass bottles from the shelf and hit him over the head with it. I was already in a bad fucking mood.

It hit me hard after lunch that my time with Roma was limited. She'd be out of my house and bed in a few hours. The anger I couldn’t dispel showed up in the tension in my jaw. Cassio had only said it, though, to lead us into this conversation.

“Don't worry about it,” I said, getting the jump on him.

He worked his jaw back and forth. “Don't worry about it?”

“That's what I said.”

“You're putting me in a bad spot, John. Corvo is going to go to Tommaso. He already made a comment about you showing yourself to his backyard, talking to his youngest daughter.Ah—” he waved a dismissive hand, his voice sounding like Tommaso’s “—he only wanted to check on her.But Tommaso was pacifying him. I was there for the conversation. Corvo leaves, and Tommaso asks me if I know anything about this. I tell him all I know is that the boss,him, sent you in his place on Thanksgiving.”

“I’ll deal with Tommaso.”

“If it was anyone else, especially when it comes to Alfonso Maggio and what he wants, I'd say go for it. Not this time. Not when it has to do with Corvo. You know the deal between him and Tommaso.”

“Jack's not getting what's mine.”

“Is that what this is about? Giving Alfonso and his son shit, like they've always given you, while also sayingfuck youto the man who refused to save Uncle Sal? Killing two birds with one stone?”

I’d never put my hands on Cassio before, but I grabbed him by the shirt and slammed him into the wall. Bottles fell and crashed to the floor. So did glasses. Alcoholic fumes bloomed in the air.

His heart pounded against my grip. His nostrils flared. Our eyes were locked. He'd understand what she meant to me, or fuck him too.

My phone rang once, twice, three times before I let him go.

Ms. Lang.

“Maggio,” I answered, heading out.

Cassio’s mother looked up from icing cookies with Adelasia and looked right back down. I didn't acknowledge her. Even if Cassio didn't belong to my old man, I had a feeling she had slept with him. It never sat right with me. It was one of the few things I held against my old man. It wasn’t fair to my Ma. She thought of Cassio’s mother as her sister.

“John?” Ms. Lang’s voice rushed out. She was whispering. “We have a problem. Isabella showed up at my house. I'd gone shopping. My mom was outside talking to the roofers and my dad opened the door. You know he has dementia. When Isabella asked for Roma, my dad told her we'd gone shopping. He didn’t even remember Roma wasn’t there. My mom only caught the end of the conversation and told her where I’d gone.

“Isabella's going from shop to shop, looking for us. Or looking to catch Roma in a lie. Damn. Roma must be the luckiest girl alive. I ran into a friend of hers. Penelope. She ran for Miss Illinois and was runner up to Roma. She's diabetic and wanted to bring light to the disease. Anyway. She's building a house out this way and invited me to check out the land and have a late lunch with her. I left with her. I told her I had to use the bathroom so I could call. Roma's not answering.”

“Text me the name of the restaurant and stay there.”

We hung up, and Roma called a second later. I told her I was five minutes out and to be getting her coat on. She was waiting by the door, Ma behind her, when I pulled up. She held a baggie Ma must have packed for her. Something in me boiled over when I thought about her not getting to take it home. The tension in my jaw felt like fire.

I didn't even shut the car off. I got out, kissed Ma on the cheek and thanked her again for lunch. Roma did too. Then we left.

Roma was quiet, not really saying much. The feeling from her was colder than it had been outside.

“Where are we going?” she asked.

“To meet Ms. Lang.” I gave her the gist of the conversation. “We're going to stop at the penthouse first to pick up your dress and bag.”

She nodded. “I talked to Elsa a minute ago.”

“I’ll drop you at the restaurant. You'll ride back to the market with them. If Isabella sees you, you have an alibi. You ran into Penelope, and she invited you and Ms. Lang to see her land, then you had a late lunch.” My voice matched her mood. Chilled.

I was getting sick and tired of the fucking games when it came to her. This entire situation would have pushed me over if it wasn’t for one thing: I despised a rat. Isabella was a rat. Nothing I enjoyed more than catching them in a trap.

“What's your problem, Maggio?” She turned to face me, ready to square off. “You've been acting like an ass since dinner! Was that totally necessary? To bring up who my father is?”

“I don't keep secrets, Dino. I'm not a coward.”

“I am?”

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