Page 81 of Sins of the Son

“No,” they said in unison.

Turning on my heel, I stormed out of the villa and hopped into my Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio. There was only one place she felt safe.

* * *

Barone

I watched Cesare’s retreating back. “There is going to be hell to pay when he catches up with her.”

Amara reached for a raspberry. “Like you told me before. It’s between them.”

I watched her cute mouth as she crushed the berry between her teeth. “Okay. I did as you asked. I permitted Milana to leave the villa. Am I now forgiven for not telling you the truth about your stepfather and stepbrother?”

She laid her head on my shoulder and sighed. “I had already suspected the truth.”

I rubbed her back. “And how do you feel about it?”

“Honestly? Nothing. There was no love lost between me and them. I guess I’m a little bloodthirsty that way.”

I chuckled and hugged her close. She was the most innocently sweet, kindest little thing on the planet, but it was cute she thought she was cold-blooded for wanting those two bastards dead.

She lifted her head and studied me. “Does this mean you’re in the mafia or something?”

“Dolcezza, I’m a very wealthy Italian. We’re all in the mafia or something, but no. Not really. I’m just a man who's not afraid to protect what’s important to him.”

“Am I important to you?”

I pushed a lock of hair behind her ear. “You, babygirl, are the most important thing in my life.”

She smiled and snuggled deeper into my embrace.

I whispered suggestively in her ear, “Of course, there is still the matter of how you’re going to prove to me how sorry you are for eavesdropping at my study door….”

CHAPTER 29

CESARE

I pulled up to Sal’s leather shop.

The man himself emerged to greet me. He held out his hand. “She’s upstairs.”

I grasped his hand firmly. “I figured.”

He cocked his head to the side. “So she finally told you?”

I nodded.

His shoulders slumped as he shook his head. “Terrible sight to see. Terrible. Poor little thing. All curled up on the floor like a puppy who’d been kicked. Terrible. I wanted to say something earlier, but it wasn’t my story to tell.”

I released his hand and lowered my arm, curling my fingers into a fist. I had been deprived of beating Romolo into a bloody pulp. The pent-up violence was still pounding through my veins. I would not make the same mistake with the next man responsible for Milana’s pain.

I studied the man before me. The man who'd come to her aid. The man who had been there for her, cared for her, literally sheltered and protected her. The man who'd done all the things I should have been doing.

Sal met my scrutiny with the frank and open gaze of a man who had lived a long and honest life and who knew the evils and goodness of humanity… and the pride of man.

His tanned skin, as leathered as the goods he sold, crinkled around his eyes as he placed a hand on my shoulder, not unlike my father was fond of doing. “You’re here now.”

I lowered my head and nodded as I forced my hand to unclench. I didn’t need to say a word. He understood.

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