Page 230 of John + Siena: The Complete Duet

Greta blinked. “No. What?”

“Let’s just say you should be grateful that Kev and Darren’s anger and hate is focused on me now. Being called the shame of this family is moderate and pleasant compared to what they would do if your older sister suddenly showed back up. So, she won’t. Not today, anyway.”

“Someday, maybe?” Greta whispered.

“Maybe.”

Giulia frowned as she pushed past Siena, and her sister. “Okay, can we go now?”

“Yeah,” Siena said, never taking her gaze off Greta, “we can go.”

Outside at the bottom of the steps, was the enforcer who Siena had skipped out on the week before when she went to see John. The man still wasn’t very pleased with her, but as far as she could tell, he had not yet run to her brothers about what she did.

Actually, Kev and Darren still hadn’t come home from wherever they went.

Like cowards, they were hiding out. Likely hoping that the Marcellos would have gotten all of their violence and retribution for Cella’s husband’s death out of their system, or something like that.

Problem was, this couldn’t end so easily. It was going to continue. It would grow. So was the way of war.

“Where to?” the enforcer asked, moving to open the back door of his black town car.

Siena gave the man a look. “I will be driving my car, thank you.”

She didn’t get to use her Lexus very often, anymore.

“Your brothers prefer—”

“I am taking my car,” Siena said. “And when Kev and Darren get home, I will go back to riding with you. Okay?”

The enforcer’s jaw tightened before he muttered, “Your ass, I guess.”

The most her brothers would do was yell. Siena cared little about that. Yelling she could handle, and besides, their focus was elsewhere at the moment.

Plus, they weren’t even home.

“Could we get gelato first?” Giulia asked as she slid into the backseat. “Before the beach?”

Siena nodded. “Actually, that sounds great.”

Greta glared at the enforcer before she slipped into the car, too. Siena smirked to herself, and closed the door to the Lexus, shutting the girls in.

Poor kid.

Greta just couldn’t help herself. She was a lot like Siena in that way. Hopefully, it never came back to bite her.

It wasn’t long before Siena had navigated the streets of Brooklyn, grabbed them all some gelato, and headed for Jacob Riis Beach. The three sisters sat in the parking lot of the beach with the doors of the Lexus thrown wide open while warm wind blew through the vehicle.

Silent, mostly.

They people watched. Kids squealing, and parents chasing. Water flying, and music blasting.

It was both nice, and sad.

For a moment, they could pretend to be normal people, doing normal things. And yet, they were far removed from all of that.

This was just another illusion.

One soon to be shattered.