Page 246 of Cara & Gian: The Guzzi Duet

“It’s not always easy or pretty. I never thought it would be, though.”

“But love, right?”

Cara smiled. “Yeah, love, Tommy.”

“I haven’t decided if I like you yet or not,” Cara heard her brother say from down the hall.

She carefully closed the door to Marcus’s nursery, not wanting to wake the baby up after his before-bed feed. It was like the baby thought he suddenly needed another round of milk before he could go back to sleep. Cara’s well was dry for the moment.

“I don’t think it’s required for you to like me, honestly,” Gian replied with a chuckle.

Cara kept her steps light and quiet as she walked down the hall, heading toward the office where Gian had disappeared to with Tommas when she went to feed Marcus after supper. Just a foot from the opened doorway, she held back from going further where she could be seen, and listened to the conversation happening beyond the doors.

She knew better than to eavesdrop.

She couldn’t help it.

All evening, from the time Gian had arrived back at the penthouse, the two men had engaged in very safe conversation with one another. They almost seemed to be circling around one another, too, as though they were being careful about their words and actions, lest one offend the other.

Cara was not sure if that was because of their respective positions in their organized crime families, or for her.

“I like that you love her,” Tommas said, “and that counts for a lot.”

“I love her entirely.”

“And your son, too. That much is obvious.”

“He’s my greatest pride and joy, and she gave him to me.”

“But I don’t like the rest,” Tommas admitted. “I don’t like that she is pushed aside in the eyes of others, or given labels and names that she doesn’t deserve. I don’t like that it must hurt her to spend half of her week with you, and wonder the other half. I don’t like that there are nights she is alone, caring for your child, because you have distractions elsewhere.”

“Responsibilities—duties,” Gian corrected fast and sharp. “Distractions implies something that is not and has not ever been there. Use the right word, Tommas. It’s the least you can do if you’re going to insult me to my face.”

“I’m not trying to insult you, Gian. I only want to understand.”

“You’re like me, aren’t you? You sit in my spot, too. You know these rules, this life, and those people. Divorce would mean ruining my family’s legacy, at the very least. At the most, my life would be given up as a sacrifice. So here I am, doing what I need to do.”

“Certainly not what you want to do.”

“No,” Gian murmured.

“I heard you were having some issues on the streets, and with the police.”

“The police are expected, given what happened last year and before that. The streets, on the other hand … well, that’s just my bastard father-in-law trying to force my hand with my family and men. He’s been quiet the last month or so, surprisingly. And after everything he did, the issues he started, men he killed, and the threats … it’s concerning. He’s gone under the radar, too, making it harder to watch him. Even his men are out of sight for the moment. He wanted to make a point to me, or rather, make a point out of me. He didn’t succeed, but that does not mean he’s finished.”

“Why is that surprising? Maybe he finally came to the realization that you’re not going to give him what he wants.”

“You would have to know the man,” Gian said with a sigh. “Everyone always gives him what he wants, even if it takes a while. He simply has to find the right button to push with a man to get him to hand it over.”

“And so, the quietness and the disappearing act is a bad thing.”

“It is always bad when a man cannot see Gabriel coming, Tommas.”

Silence hung heavily between the two before Tommas spoke again.

“And all of this for what? Why is he causing these issues?”

“He believes I have a rat in my family, and he thinks forcing my hand to cull through my men indiscriminately will fix the issue,” Gian answered.