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"Better than that, I’ve already asked her to come to meet you later today."
"Why can’t I go to meet her?"
"Because the Capo has left instructions that you are not to leave the house."
I blow out a breath. He doesn’t want me to leave the house and yet...he doesn’t want me to stay with him. The man is seriously making my head spin.
"What’s wrong?" Cassandra peers into my face, "Everything okay?"
"Peachy," I murmur, "what time is Theresa coming?"
8
Michael
"Capo."
I glance up as Luca strides into the room. He glances around at the assembled faces. Sebastian and Christian are sprawled in chairs in front of my table; Adrian leans against a wall; Massimo is seated in the middle of a settee on the far side, with his bulk taking up most of the space. All of them stalk him as he comes to a halt in the middle of the floor. He meets my gaze head on. "Is this going to be an inquisition?" he murmurs.
"What do you think?" I lean back in my chair. "Our father thinks it’s a mistake that I took you in."
"And you?" He folds his arms across his chest, "What do you think?"
I rise to my feet, lean forward and place my palms flat on the table, "I think it would be a mistake if I didn’t."
His chest rises and falls, "I am sorry, Michael." Luca looks around at his brothers. "I never meant to hurt any of you."
"And yet, you did." I curl my lips, "I am not interested in your apologies, Luca."
"What then?" He shuffles his feet, "What else do you want from me, Michael."
"Information."
"Ah," his forehead smoothens, "of course, you do. I should have known that this, too, would be a transaction for you."
"You didn’t think I would simply let you walk back into thefamigliawithout paying a price for your indiscretions."
"Of course, not." He chuckles, "There’s more of the old man in you than you’d like to admit, Michael."
I set my jaw, "Who was behind the attack, Luca?"
He blinks. "You think I know who was behind it? Don’t you think I would have stopped him, then?"
"I don’t know, Luca, would you have stopped him?"
He shakes his head, "Do you really have to ask me that question, Michael?"
"You tell me, Luca." I look him up and down. "Last I knew, you were helping my wife escape. You watched, you even encouraged her to take the oar to my forehead."
"I saw my opportunity and took it, Michael."
"Why would you do that?" Christian springs to his feet, "Why would you go against one of us? You showed our enemies that we are not invincible. You exposed a chink in the armor. It’s why they dared place a bomb in the car. It’s why they dared try to harm us. You are responsible for Xander’s death as much as the person who actually planted that bomb."
Luca’s jaw tics. He lowers his arms to his sides, "I would have done anything to protect Xander. I never would have hurt him, or one of you."
"And what do you call what you did to Michael?" Christian glares at him. "How can you stand there and claim what you did wasn’t to hurt us when all the evidence points to the contrary? In fact, how dare you think you can simply walk back in and pick up where you left off, after everything that happened?" He lunges toward Luca, but Massimo jumps up to his feet, and with a litheness that belies his bulk, Massimo grabs Christian around his chest and yanks him back. Christian growls, strains in his hold, but Massimo doesn’t let go.
"Take him out, until he’s cooled down," I order and Christian snarls.
