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“All right. That’s all for today, but I may have more questions later.”
I rose from my seat as he did the same. “I’ll see you out.”
As soon as I locked the door behind him, I pulled my phone out of my pocket and called Angelo. Once again. No answer. I took a slow, steady breath and called Lucien.
He answered on the second ring. “Cameron?”
“I just spoke with a Detective Daniels from Boston PD. He didn’t ask any questions about what happened here last night, but he said there’d been a suspicious house fire. He was asking about your family, and he has a ring like Angelo’s and Devil’s. I need to talk to all of you.” I didn’t want to say anymore over the phone. “Are you at home?”
“Yes. Have Six bring you here.”
“Is Angelo still passed out?”
“Considering how much he and Devil drank last night, I would assume so. I’ll throw some cold water on them and have them ready. Come to my office when you get here.”
When I ended the call, I realized Lucien hadn’t sounded the least bit hung over. Maybe Peter was right, and he was magical.
When I entered the bakery kitchen, Nick and Maria both looked up. Had they heard my discussion with the detective? “I’m really sorry. I know we need to go over our final list, but something else has come up, and I need to go talk to Angelo. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
“I can handle things,” Nick assured me. “But are you all right? Was that a detective out there?”
“Yes. There’s been… some vandalism in the area.”
“Like the fire at the sandwich shop?” he asked.
“Yes, like that. He just had some questions for me, wondering if I’d seen anything.” I got the feeling they both knew I was lying.
“Are you sure you’re all right?” Maria asked.
Fuck no, I wasn’t all right. I’d just lied to the police to protect my mafia boyfriend whom I’d told I hated in high school because he was part of a crime family. I didn’t regret it, though. I’d made my decision. I wanted to be Angelo’s. I wanted to be a Marchesi.
“I’m fine, just nervous about the opening.”
Nick grinned. “It’s going to be awesome.”
“I sure hope so.”
“You worry too much,” Maria said.
I might worry too much about the bakery, but not about what I’d just done. I hoped to hell my lies hadn’t fucked anything up.
When Six escorted me into the Marchesis’ house, I headed straight to Lucien’s office like he’d asked.
I wasn’t surprised to find a very hung-over looking Angelo and an equally bad off Devil there, but Sabrina and Peter were in the office as well. Angelo didn’t say anything when I entered, but he gestured to the seat beside him, and I sank into it.
“We need to know everything that happened when you talked to Detective Daniels,” Lucien said.
“Joseph Daniels?” Devil asked.
That had been the name on the badge. “Yes. Why?”
Lucien’s attention shifted to his cousin. “Is this the detective you had a run-in with?”
“Yes, but—”
“Fuck, Devil. You’ve got to be more careful.”
“He’s good at his job,” Devil said. “Really fucking good.” He ran a hand through his hair, looking uncharacteristically off-balance.
“Were there any hints he knew something had happened at the bakery last night?” Angelo asked.
“No. Nothing.”
“Thank fuck. What did he ask you?”
I recounted our conversation up until the point where I’d said I’d spent the night with Angelo. “What I said next… it just came out. I hope it was okay.”
Lucien visibly tensed. Angelo reached for my hand and asked, “What did you say?”
“I told him I was with you all night and that I knew Lucien and Devil were home until at least twelve thirty. I based that on Sabrina telling me she’d seen you all downstairs after midnight. I knew that you were home by then, so I hope I haven’t said anything wrong.”
27
Angelo
I stared at Cameron. Why had he…. “You lied for me?”
He squeezed my hand. “I wasn’t going to set you up to be convicted for murder.”
“But you… That’s why you wouldn’t have anything to do with me before.” I opened my mouth again and then closed it. I couldn’t seem to make my voice work.
“I made a lot of assumptions that were wrong,” Cameron said. “I still don’t like the idea of you killing people, but you saved me last night, and you went after the person responsible, so yeah, I lied for you. I’m in this now too.” He turned to Lucien. “Have I fucked up your story?”
My brother smiled at him, a rare genuine smile. “No. None of us have been questioned yet. They know we’re not going to talk.” He glanced at Peter. “If anyone approaches you, you say nothing. Refuse to speak without a lawyer present. Not that I intend to let you out of my sight.”
