Page 40 of Till Death Do Us Part

And his daughter?

An innocent creature, being threatened by my nature.

I got it, but he’d have to kill me to keep me from mine. And if he could see straight through me, like he’d claimed, there would be no true reason for it, except for his dislike of men in my line of business.

He liked what I did for his daughter, though.

I killed in her honor.

I’d always kill for her.

Something he needed to keep in mind.

I’d kill to keep her.

Couldn’t have one without the other.

He sat back in his chair, relaxing, probably realizing he’d been primed and ready to jump over the desk to strangle me. “You are no longer welcome here, John Maggio.”

I stood, fixing my suit. Tommaso would have to deal with the problem with Gino’s brother and the coffee shops. Tommaso wouldn’t be happy. He’d talk to Emanuele and then the order would come down to me again. I’d hand it to someone else to deal with. I’d only get involved again if the problem wouldn’t go away.

A big fucking waste of time, and to Tommaso, time meant money. It was the one thing he loved more than turkey. It was the bottom line. That was why he liked me so much. I’d always brought in a lot.

Corvo’s eyes moved with me as I reached over and grabbed the whiskey bottle and a glass from his setup. I poured myself a small amount and downed it, keeping my eyes on his as I did. I set everything back as he’d had it. All neat and tidy. In order, like he pretended his life still was.

I tipped my head to him, then left.

Chapter14

Felice

For a second, I thought my eyes were deceiving me, but the sound of Cassio’s deep laughter proved they were being truthful.

We were at the museum, doing a walk with the event coordinator, Kerry Hall, when Roma exploded out of her office and went running toward a group of kids. That by itself wasn’t funny, but she was dressed in a blow-up T-rex costume, and the short arms were flailing as she ran.

Even Adelasia was laughing, and she wasn't the type of kid who laughed a lot. Cassio felt it was because she'd lost her mom, and she was too young to understand the hurt she felt.

When Ms. Hall noticed, she grinned. “That's Roma Corvo. She's going to be assisting me for the event. Not in costume, though.”

Even after I stopped laughing, a grin lingered on my face. My little herbivore was exactly like Lolita had said. Different in such a refreshing way. And the more time I spent with her, the more time I craved with her.

After the scene at Corvo’s house, we started our routine again, and I'd agreed to give her more time. It was important to her to keep the peace before her sister’s wedding. She said Lolita had been through a lot, with the attack and losing her eyesight in one eye, and she didn’t want anything to ruin this special time in her life.

There was no way to be with Roma without causing a war, but I was as serious as a heart attack about making the decision for her if she didn’t. And we both knew how serious the heart was. We'd both lost a parent to massive attacks on them.

It always seemed like poetic justice that Corvo's wife died of the same thing that took my old man. Especially since he refused my old man the treatment that could’ve saved his life. It felt like karma, but looking at Roma, I took it back. Poetic justice would have been Corvo trading places with his wife.

Adelasia started to pull Cassio toward the office, but he was trying to talk her into going on the tour with Roma. She was shaking her head and repeating,no, no, no.

“Take her.” I chucked my chin toward the office. “There’s something in there she wants.”

His eyes turned hard. “We’re here for the foundation, John.”

“What else?” My eyes dared him to say it. He knew me better than to interfere in my personal life, but Cassio knew the situation, and sooner or later he’d try to talk to me about it.

“Fuck, John,” he muttered, and then he let Adelasia pull him away.

I turned back to Roma and the group of kids. She was animated about the facts she knew by heart, and she was trying to talk with her hands. The short limbs of the costume jiggled whenever she did.

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