Page 86 of Harbor

Slowly, Lucia turned in her seat to face her brother who was just one aisle over. Dressed in a three-piece suit, with his hair combed back and his hands resting in his lap, John didn’t look like someone who only a few hours before had stormed an apartment, watched as a man got the hell beat out of him, and then dragged his sister down a flight of stairs before shoving her into a car.

They were funny that way.

The Marcellos, that was.

They could show the parts of themselves that made them horrible, and in the next breath, be right back to the polite, God-fearing, upper echelon beings that allowed them to get private invitations to charity balls and got their pictures splashed in the society rags. No one truly understood the masks a Marcello wore quite like another Marcello.

“Why are you still talking?” Lucia asked him.

John blinked. “I beg your pardon?”

“I haven’t replied to you once since you put me in that car. Wasn’t that clear enough for you that I don’t want to speak to you right now? If I have my way, John, I won’t ever talk to you again.”

“You don’t mean that, Lucy. You’re angry with me right now because of all of this. In a few days, once your head clears and you get some distance between you and that man, you’ll come to your senses—”

“And I’ll still tell you to fuck off, John.”

Her brother stiffened.

Lucia smiled coldly.

But that was the thing about John, a lot like the rest of him. He was quick to bounce back because he had to in this life. Nothing could keep him down for too long.

“Fine, if you don’t want to talk to me, then you can listen,” John said, fixing his jacket and turning his gaze on her again. Instead of spinning back around in her seat to stare out the window once more, Lucia chose to stare right back at her brother. She hoped and prayed and fucking wished all that hate she was feeling shone through in her eyes. She wanted him to see it, and to know. Nothing would hurt her brother—once, her best friend—worse. And right then, that’s all she wanted to do. Just fucking hurt him.

He’d hurt her, after all.

He did this to her.

Took her away.

Took away what she wanted.

Hurt Renzo.

Scared Diego.

Her list could go on and on. That was the problem. Add onto that with the fact John didn’t seem to be aware of how he’d hurt Lucia by doing what he did, and she just wasn’t interested in having this conversation with him. He thought he was right; she knew he was wrong. It would only led to more heartache for her when she told him again and again what he’d done, and he continued to give her excuse after excuse for it all.

A dead fucking end.

Kind of like her life right now.

John never once thought to listen to her, or cared about what she wanted. All he cared about was doing their father’s bidding. That was a whole other problem to deal with at another time. Soon, likely. Probably the moment she stepped off the plane and was faced with her waiting father.

Lucia couldn’t say how she was going to react, then. Figure it out when the time came, she supposed.

“Listen,” John repeated. “Listen to me, okay? I know that the two of you thought you got off scot-fucking-free, but here’s a reality check, Lucia … you didn’t. His face was on the news. His name is being spread around the fucking country. Do you get that? The police were coming for him. What do you think would have happened when they finally caught up with Renzo, and you were there with him, too, huh?”

Lucia said nothing.

John didn’t seem to care as he continued on with, “How many steps do you think it would have taken them before they figured out your involvement in his mess, too? Is that what you wanted? We’re fucking helping you here. Or … trying. I’m not going to say it’s a bad thing that I got you away from him, too, because clearly, you don’t think about anything when you’re with him. You make stupid choices and do equally stupid fucking things. Jesus, are you even listening to me right now?”

Oh, she heard him.

Loud and clear.

Lucia would rather be locked up because she stayed with Renzo than free without him because her family came behind them to clean up any evidence of her involvement with him.