Page 110 of Bene

She often wondered if Mario dealt with the same shit from his father that he put her through on a regular basis. Senior expected his son to behave exactly right—no excuses. The next potential boss for the clan, he didn’t dare step out of line now, or risk facing the wrath of his father which was never pleasant for the man on the receiving end. It even stretched as far as Vanna because God knew if Senior found out the truth about her involvement with another man, he’d blame Mario before he came for her, too.

As for his mother …

Vanna fought not to roll her eyes.

That fucking sham again?

She didn’t pick anything for the wedding—the designer did it all. She couldn’t even be bothered to choose a goddamn color scheme, and now he wanted her to pretend like she was having the time of her life planning this wedding just to keep his mother happy?

Great.

“Sure,” Vanna said, sighing.

“Thank—”

“Mario, we got a problem.”

He swung around, and Vanna followed the same path, although slightly slower. A problem for Mario usually meant good things for her, if only because it got him away from her for a little while. Vanna wasn’t about to complain should that be what this was, too.

“What do you mean, a prob—”

Mario’s words cut off as a group of men flooded the entrance of the restaurant. Vanna’s heart stopped for a split second as her gaze landed on the man fronting the group dressed in black, tailored three-piece suits, their aloof auras spilling throughout the room and bringing the restaurant opening to a fast, silent stop.

All at once.

With just their presence.

“Bene,” she whispered.

Thankfully, neither man standing there heard her.

But God …

She felt Bene.

From all the way across the room.

Worse was the way she felt his gaze when it turned on her after scanning the large space. It was as though he just knew she was in the place, and he intended on finding her. The two of them stared at one another from across the floor, and she swore the room disappeared for a moment.

Everything else went away.

It was just him.

And that rage in his gaze.

It burned.

She deserved it.

Did he know now?

Had he figured it all out?

The hatred in his eyes said yes.

“What in the fuck are they doing here?”

Mario’s sharp question brought the situation back into sharp focus for Vanna. She tore her stare away from Bene, though it was the very last thing she wanted to do. Quickly, she counted the six men who accompanied Bene, two of which were his brothers … and the third, well, apparently his older brother’s—Christopher—twin came back into town because a third brother that looked identical to Chris stepped around from behind the other men to stand with his brothers.