“Of course,Piccola. We’ll be in the kitchen. I’ll make some lunch,” he agreed after a heavy clearing of his throat.
I knew it made him angry to hear about the men who had hurt and terrorised me before. It made them all angry, but I didn’t want to lie to them. They deserved honesty, just as I hoped I did in return.
***
Rafe was pacing back and forth before the sliding glass doors, which led out to the garden, when I walked into the kitchen, a short while later. He was still wearing the black trousers and white shirt from Gia’s funeral the day before, both of which now looked heavily rumpled. He had rolled his sleeves up to his elbows and his shoes laid haphazardly at the side, as though he had kicked them off in a hurry.
Dio was still in his clothes from the funeral too, only he had not only removed his jacket, but his black shirt was also unbuttoned, showing the close fitting undershirt he wore beneath.
They both looked exhausted and unkempt, but I didn’t see any injuries as I scanned them closely.
Dio glanced up first, from where he was stirring something in a pan over the hob. I looked to him questioningly and he just nodded to Rafe who hadn’t even noticed I had entered the room yet.
“Rafe?” I started to cross the room to go to him, but as soon as I spoke, he abruptly spun my way and pinned me in place with his worried stare. “What’s wrong?” I asked as I fought not to allow panic to grip me.
Rafe continued to stare for a very long and uncomfortable minute, before giving himself a shake. I saw the moment he placed a mask on - this one showing a relaxed and unconcerned front - but it didn’t fool me. I had seen the unease in his facewhen he first looked at me. Something was wrong, and my brother had just decided he was going to try and spare me the details.
“Nothing, sweetheart. I was just worried after leaving you to deal with the wake yesterday. How did it all go?” he asked, his voice perfectly smooth and measured.
It really was terrifying to see how good he was at wearing the masks Marcello had taught him to always hide behind. What was it doing to him, to always have to be someone he wasn’t? I didn’t want him to have to live that way.
He had been through his own version of hell throughout his life to that point. From a younger age than he probably remembered, he had been raised as the heir to the De Santis empire, and that had come with some brutal and violent training. He’d been subject to constant abuse, belittling, and control from Marcello, then he’d had to send his own mother and me away to protect us from that monster. Now he was trapped in a criminal life I was fairly sure he didn’t want a part in, and he’d lost Gia – his only full blood relative left living. He, more than anyone, deserved a fucking break from the existence he had been born into.
“Don’t do that,” I told him tiredly. “Don’t try to protect me, Rafe. I know something happened. Just tell me. I can handle it.”
“Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should have to,” he breathed out, exasperatedly.
“No. Being a part of this family means that I have to. Don’t try and shut me out. I know you just want to protect me, but we’ve already established that’s not going to happen. I need to know what’s going on,” I pushed. “Did you find Mikhail Kozlov?”
“No. The lead was a dead end last night, but we’re getting closer.”
“Then what? Are you both alright? Are you hurt?” I asked as I looked between him and Dio.
“It’s nothing like that, Carr. We’re both fine,” Dio hurried to assure me, and I let out a deep breath of relief.
“Then what? Just bloody tell me, Rafe!” I growled, losing patience as my anxiety notched up.
“Dario and I were out most of the night. We chased down the lead, then when that was a bust, we went to talk to some of our associates. We didn’t get anywhere really though,” Rafe explained.
“Oh. Is that all? It’s annoying that fucker’s out there, but you’ll get him eventually.”
“No,Gioia. God, I wish that were all,” Rafe rasped, sounding completely exhausted. “When we got home the security team outside were on alert. Someone tried to get into the house this morning, in the early hours. They hacked our cameras and Dom thinks they also tried to get access to our security system. Thankfully, they weren’t skilled enough to tamper with the alarm, but they still tried to access the house. Took down two of my men around the back and made it onto the property before a patrol caught sight of them.”
“Did they catch whoever it was?” I gasped. I had lost the fight not to panic. My heart raced as a sweat broke out all over my shaking body.
“No. They chased them up to the high street, but lost them when they jumped in a car. I have my tech guys working on trackingthe car down and getting us more details, but for now we have no clue who it was.”
“Do you think this is Kozlov?” I forced myself to ask. The question came out wobbly and in little more than a whisper.
“Come and sit down,Piccola,” Dio spoke up, and I startled badly. I had forgotten he was even there, in the moment. “Steady. It’s just me,” he whispered as he came closer to me and wrapped an arm around me.
“Sorry.” I blindly reached for him and he gripped my hand in his as he led me over to the counter and lifted me into a stool there.
“I shouldn’t have told you. I knew this would upset you,” Rafe cursed as he appeared at my side. As Dio disappeared back to the food he was cooking, Rafe took my hand in his and held it tightly.
“No, I…I want to know. I’m okay. I just…I freaked a little, but I’m okay. Do you think it’s him? Kozlov?” I asked again.
“It seems the most likely scenario right now. He knows I’m coming for him. Could be this was a last ditch attempt to save his neck. He likely sent some of his men to take me out,” Rafe explained.
