Page 28 of Lies like Rubies, Part Two (Savage Jewels)

“You stupid slut,” Tony said.

Before he could blink, I moved between Tony and Sofia. To my utter surprise, the only person in the room who moved to defend the man was Luca.

Brave man.

Once again, Tony Russo disappointed me, attacking his daughter instead of looking harder at the men who surrounded her and asking himself why they couldn’t fucking keep her safe.

“You don’t deserve to breathe the same air as she does,” I snapped. “We’re done here.” I offered my hand to Sofia, who allowed me to pull her up from the chair. She winced at the movement, and I regretted that she’d shown weakness in front of her family.

Sofia sailed out of the room, holding her head high. The minute the door shut behind her, she slumped. Not even a second later, her watery eyes darted to me, and she straightened her shoulders.

“I need a moment,” she said.

Carefully, as if she were made of glass, Morelli draped an arm around her waist and led her to the small bathroom. Heat flashed through me as I remembered the last time I’d been in there with her.

I continued to the kitchen to gather Nico and Lizzie. “Are you ready to move in with your uncles?” I asked her, rubbing my nose in her stomach and eliciting peals of laughter from the child.

Patti Russo clenched her jaw, then ran her fingers over her knives with loving care. “If you hurt my daughter, I will murder you.”

Nico whirled around. “Perhaps you’d do better to direct your ire toward the man who actually did hurt her. Ma’am.”

Patti’s shark-like smile grew. “Don’t think for a minute that because I don’t speak in public that I’m not capable of ordering you gutted for your disrespect.”

My respect for Patti grew. Not enough to absolve her of the abuse she’d unknowingly heaped on Sofia as a child, or her cruelty when Sofia became an adult, but I suspected she’d be a worthy opponent. More so than her worthless husband.

Nico’s eyes flicked to Lizzie, then to me, humor lighting them up. “Hey, Lizzie, let’s go pack your bag.” His voice was light and unconcerned. Patti Russo didn’t scare Nico. Why the fuck not?

My phone buzzed.

Lorenzo

Meet us in the car.

“Mrs. Russo, you might want to think about why Sofia went to Lorenzo Morelli last night after she escaped, instead of coming straight here,” I said before making my way outside.

A few minutes later, Nico joined us as Ginevra helped Lorenzo install the car seat. The scene was frighteningly domestic compared to the leashed violence that crackled like lightning around us.

Sofia crawled into the back beside her daughter and clutched at Lizzie’s hand.

Morelli took the passenger seat, his face exhausted. Had he slept the night before?

“They’re not going to forgive me,” Sofia whispered to her sister, surprising me with her willingness to show anyone in her family any sign of vulnerability.

Ginevra frowned through the open window. “Who the fuck cares?”

That was the right answer.

Her sister continued. “You survived, baby sister. I don’t know what you went through or how you escaped, but you survived, and then you walked into that house with your head high and you told our parents to go fuck themselves. Go home to your men and figure out what you want to do next.”

Sofia scoffed. “Murder Sergio. Annihilate the Costas. Graduate.”

“World domination. I like it, sis,” Luca said, nudging Ginevra aside with his hip. He bent down to kiss Sofia’s temple before knocking on Morelli’s window.

Morelli rolled it down.

“You hurt my sister, and I’ll cut your balls off and feed them to you, do you understand?”

Morelli covered a yawn and looked back over at Luca. “If I hurt her, you’re welcome to do so.”

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