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I run the palm of my hand down my face, wishing I’d left this tidbit out. “Yes.”
“What are you doing tonight? Come to the restaurant, and I’ll make you all dinner. Matteo is coming.”
Hmm. I’m tempted to say no, because I need to limit the chances of all of us being seen together. But I worry about Matteo. “How does he seem, Luigi?”
“Not good. He looks stressed. His obsession with vengeance will be his destruction, Luca. It’s a bigger threat to him than the Messina crime ring or the Grasso family.” Sadly, I think he’s right. And I can’t watch one more family member ruined, whether he does it to himself or not.
Peering through the window, I stop pacing when I notice the boys are not in the office. “Luigi, hold on for a minute.” I fling open the door, wondering how they could’ve snuck by me without my noticing.
As I come closer to the desk, I notice a pile of something on the floor. Bending down, I lift one of the small colored papers up to examine it.Holy shit. Those little thieves have found my stash.
I start to walk away when I hear whispering.
“Why does he have all of these?”
“Unca Luca eats these instead of cigarettes.”
“Luca eats cigarettes?” Giggling ensues.
Bending down, I look under my desk where two pairs of dirty tennis shoes peek out, surrounded by candy wrappers. They’re everywhere. How many could they have eaten in such a short amount of time? I place my phone on the desk and grab each of their ankles and pull them forward.
“What the heck, Mimmo? I turn my back for one second. Hand them over.”
Both boys immediately deposit the sticky lollipop ends directly into my palms.Good grief.Wiping my hand on my pants, I reach for my phone.
“Sorry, Luigi. I’m dealing with a couple of wise guys.”
“So, I heard.” He chuckles. “Pack them up and bring them over. And bring your girl too. The more the merrier.”
I consider this. Jillian driving separately to Luigi’s is probably safe. Then his words hit me, and I step out of the office and close the door, keeping my eyes trained on the pint-sized petty thieves in front of me. “She’snotmy girl.”
Even if I’d give anything if she was.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Jillian
“Anybody home?”
I hear my mother’s voice downstairs and carry Truitt down with me to greet her. “Hi?—”
Expecting to find my mother and Myla down here, I instead find herfavorite, Ted E. “What are you doing here?”
“That’s no way to greet your brother.”
“It’s not bad enough I have to call Roger my brother?” Myla laughs, watching my mother and I taunt one another. “It’s warm out, Mom. Can he go outside? I really don’t feel like cleaning my floors today.”
She shakes her head. “Only until those awful hounds next door start up. They’ll give him a heart attack.” She walks over to the back door and slides it open, and that dog has the nerve to just stand there staring at her. “Come on, Ted E. Let’s go outside.” I watch while he plants his butt on the floor in defiance.
Going in for a sneak attack, I scoop him up and lightly toss him out onto the deck and shut the door. “Myla, don’t open thedoor if he scratches to get in. We all need to stop treating this guy like he’s running the show.”
My sweet, dutiful daughter comes over and takes Truitt from me and carries him into the great room.
“I’m making a cup of coffee, Mom. Want one?”
“Sure. But just one. I don’t want to be up all night,” she clarifies.
I have to laugh. I’ve worked in the ER for so long, drinking coffee is as basic as taking a multivitamin. Wouldn’t matter what time I drank it, I’d still be able to lie my head down to sleep afterward.
