Page 207 of The Consequences of Love and Vengeance

“He killed his own wife. In Caprice’s mind, what would prevent him from killing you too, or her, or even me? Back then you idolized Dad.”

Luca’s eyebrows furrow, casting his eyes to the ground for a split second. Popping them up, he asks, “Are you sure she saw what she told you she saw? We all know Mom fell down those stairs, but Dad wasn’t close enough to catch her. I remember him saying she grabbed her chest.”

“Of course he would have said that,” Eric answers. “He couldn’t cover up a fall, but he could make up a heart attack, or in this case something similar, like an embolism. Like J said, it would have been easy for him to pay someone to sign off on a lie rather than the real cause of death.”

“Luca, I get it’s hard to fathom, but if you think about it, is it really?” Drago asks, a serious expression on his face. “Sometimes I wonder if I’d still be alive if I weren’t his son.”

“No truer words ever stated, brother,” Eric says, and I catch the look between Drago, E, and Justin.

“What am I missing?” Luca asks, obviously seeing the same thing I just did.

“Nothing.” Drago shakes his head as Justin gives me a pointed look. “All I’m saying is that Dad would take out any of us if there was a chance he thought we’d turn on him.”

I’m not sure how I feel about Drago leaving out the part where he’s an undercover DEA agent, but I get it. I do. The least amount of people that know, the better and safer he is. But Luca is his brother. He’s family. Blood.

“If he killed our mom like you said he did, then I’d put a bullet between his eyes myself before I let him hurt someone else I love.” His head turns to the side, peeking around the corner to the living room where his daughter, Mia, is giggling at something on the television.

“And there you go.” Drago crosses his arms. Luca’s eyes come back to land on his brother. “That’s why I never told you. You always act before you think.”

“Bullshit,” Luca calls out. Drago raises an eyebrow but otherwise keeps his mouth closed.

“Look,” Justin says, pushing his back away from the counter. “You can’t take out your dad any more than D can. In case you’ve forgotten, murder is against the law, so we need to figure out how to get him back to the states. Wouldn’t you agree?” Justin turns to face Drago, placing his hands down on the countertop.

“Yeah, but—”

The front door closing, making a loud slam, followed by the sound of something heavy hitting the floor silences the room, leaving only the sound of the TV filtering into the kitchen.

“Mia! My favorite person,” CC squeals from the living room. “What are we watching?”

“PJ Masks,” she sing-songs.

“Hey, big bro,” CC calls out, yelling to get Drago’s attention. “Where’s Uncle D?”

“In there with Daddy, and Bee, and Uncle J, and—” There’s a long pause as if she is thinking. “Someone else too, but I don’t know him. Oh, and little baby Gabe.”

“Who’s baby Gabe?” I hear CC ask, confusion and curiosity laced in her tone.

Drago turns, stepping into the living room, crossing his arms over his broad chest. I follow, wanting to put Gabriel down so that he can sleep restfully without all the noise from everyone talking to disturb him.

“He’s my—”

“You’re supposed to be in class right now. Why aren’t you?” Drago stops, before walking in front of the television, blocking it.

“Good to see you too, brother,” she mocks, not taking her eyes off the television.

“That wasn’t an answer.” He crosses his arms.

She huffs out a loud breath of air as I ascend the stairs, but before I reach the top, I still, gripping Gabriel tighter to me.

“Dad’s home.”

CHAPTER FIFTY

DRAGO

Bri disappears upstairs with Gabriel and I’m thankful for the reprieve. I don’t know the first thing about being a parent. It probably makes me a shitty father to be glad my son is out of my sight.

What the fuck is wrong with me?My niece is easy. Everything about Mia always has been. Simple things make her happy. And even when she was a baby, I wasn’t worried about her every second of the day like I am Gabriel.

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