Page 46 of Blood Ties

Unwilling to disturb the rest she needed in order to finish what Angel had started, I tiptoed out of her room and put her cord back where I found it. Nosy, I wandered around, looking over her studio area. I stopped in my tracks when I saw her current work in progress.

It was me.

Down to the barely visible scar at the end of my right eyebrow.

A chill skated over my skin that was soon followed by warmth. Then I noticed there were two more. One with my signature smirk, the other… Jesus, had she caved my face in with herfist?

With a grin, I shook my head. My girl was a savage.

On the walls in between the huge windows were prints of her art sculptures. Everything from images of her work in progress to the completed image in its final location.

When I’d started digging into her, I’d seen she was a talented artist, but seeing these candid images blew me away. My favorite one was of her with a welding hood on as she welded the frame for a sculpture. She looked like such a badass, and even though her face wasn’t visible, she looked sexy as fuck.

My phone buzzed in my pocket. When I pulled it out, I saw my oldest brother’s name.

“Hello, Big Bossman,” I answered.

“Really?” Gabriel drily asked me.

“Well, you are. Right?”

“Yes, I am, but I’m not your boss,” he replied, and I could hear the smirk. “I was calling to see if you were still in town and if so, would you want to come over for dinner?”

“I am, but I’ll have to take a raincheck. I’m dealing with some things right now.”

“Everything okay?” The humor was instantly erased from his tone.

Knowing my call was secure, I explained the situation.

“Jesus fucking Christ,” Gabriel muttered when I was done. “As long as you and your girl are okay. I’m assuming she’s your girl, anyway.”

A grin stretched unbidden across my lips. “We still need to iron out a few things, but I certainly hope so.”

“That’s a yes. And little brother, I couldn’t be happier for you. I truly never thought I’d see the day. Now if we could just get Leo to settle down,” Gabriel grumbled the last part.

“Have you talked to him?” I asked, staring out at the darkening sky.

“No. I’m assuming you haven’t either?”

“No. He was still in Europe the last time I talked to him. He hasn’t answered my calls in weeks. I know his ass is still alive because he paid his half of the utilities about a day ago,” I said with a sigh.

“He’s getting out of hand. It’s time for him to pull his head out of his ass and figure out what he’s going to do with his life.” Gabriel had been just as worried about Leo as Vittorio and I had been since Francesco died. As his twin, Leo took it the hardest. At first, none of us blamed him for going off the rails. It just hadn’t gotten any better, and in my opinion, it was getting worse. I was afraid we would get a call that he was dead somewhere too, but not from an enemy. At least not one that wasn’t himself.

“I’m thinking of taking some time off. Maybe I can get him to spend some time with me and Niv,” I mused. Someone tried to call me, but I let it go to voicemail.

“Good luck with that. Anyway, I’m sorry about all the shit with your girl. You let me know when things are better for her and we’ll arrange a date to have dinner with all of us. We’ll invite Leo, but I doubt he’ll come,” he sighed.

“Yeah, I know. I’ll keep in touch.”

“Sounds good. Love you, little brother.”

“Love you too.”

We ended the call and I saw I missed a call from Facet. I called him back. “Sorry, I was on the line with the big man.”

“No worries, bro. Just wanted to let you know that the Mystery Machine is on its way to you. We’re hopping in the truck and heading to you, too. See you shortly.”

They arrived after fighting traffic and got to work. I was surprised to see Venom had ridden along with Ghost.

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