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“I had a tail today. I thought they were for Gia, but they weren’t.” A tick in his jaw was his tell, though what it told me was unexpected. “You didn’t know,” I mused, pretending I wasn’t as confused as I felt. “Never thought I’d see the day the four of you broke ranks.”
He gritted his teeth. “It’s not like that, Lessia. They’re just worried about you.”
“And you’re not?” I questioned, curious to know where he stood.
“Of course, I am,” he snapped, “but I also know the harder we try to hold on, the more you squirm away from us, and I like you home.”
I startled at that. “I don’t—“
He cut me off. “Do that? Hell yeah, you do. The more we try to be there for you, the farther you run. You’ve always done the opposite of what was expected of you.”
That hurt, I wouldn’t lie, but damned if I would let him see he drew first blood. “You ever stop to think that my choices have nothing to do with the rest of you?” I shot back, unable to keep my temper in check as I lashed out. “Do you make all the decisions in your life with the thought of the rest of the family? Feel like taking Gia on vacation—I better consult with the family. I think I need a new car—better ask everyone what they think. Hell, I think I might marry the woman who’s pregnant with my child—I better ask the family’s feelings about it.” My anger was in full swing, but I kept my voice from rising too much, not wanting to wake Gia. “I do not make my decisions to spite you. They aren’t personal. I’m sorry you don’t approve of my job, but you know what—I’m good at it. It gives me a sense of purpose, and I’m proud to do what I do. Just because it wasn’t in your plans for me doesn’t make what I’m doing wrong or something to sneer at me over. You ever think that I stay away, not because y’all get too close, but because I get too smothered?” I pointed at the driveway. “No one even bothered to consult me before saddling me with a protection detail. Would you have done that if any of you got a threat or two? Hell, you probably have more security concerns than I do, but no one makes any of you get assigned under someone’s watchful eye without input.”
His eyes turned black, and I knew I’d succeeded in getting him riled, but before he could speak, we both heard Gia call out.
“Be right there,” he said, and I took a step back, needing the space.
“You might not have known what they were doing,” I whispered. “But I don’t hear you all outraged on my behalf, either. You four are normally as thick as thieves. I don’t know what’s going on with all of you, but if you don’t get them in hand, they’re going to push me more than they realize, and not a single one of us is going to like the results.”
With that, I spun on my heel, stomping back to the living room. “Ready to go, kiddo?” I asked, noticing she had cleaned up while her father and I were talking. The blanket we were wrapped in sat neatly on the back of the couch. Pillows that had littered the floor were back in their normal spots, and she had even thrown out the empty containers of ice cream.
Gia nodded, looking at her dad carefully, and I realized she’d been more affected by their discussion that morning than I’d known. Gideon, of course, clued into his daughter in a way he still hadn’t with me and walked to her, enfolding her in a massive hug that pulled her up with him as he rose. “Sorry, baby,” I heard him say against her hair. “Give your old man some time to get his head on straight, all right? We’ll talk again about it in a few days.”
I swallowed because, damn him, Gideon always tried so hard to do right by everyone, and there I was, placing him in the middle of yet another family squabble between my brothers and me. Granted, usually, he was leading the charge, so the change was unexpected. I studied him, a tender look on his face just an instant before his usual stone face replaced it. Maybe not so unexpected after all. Maybe he was starting to connect Gia’s troubles with my past ones.
Chapter 6
Alessia
IarrivedatMatteo’sbright and early the next morning. Too keyed up to sleep in, I’d already gotten my workout in and replied to a few emails from my agent regarding upcoming travel arrangements—including the bodyguard I’d promised to allow. I’d expressed my desire for Hammer, but that hope was dashed. The replacement was supposed to be just as competent, my agent swore, and I almost laughed at what their idea of competent was, but overall, I didn’t much care, agreeing to whomever they’d chosen in his place. We ditched my protection detail by hoofing it down to the basement of Matteo’s apartment complex into the underground tunnel system. We then walked three blocks to what looked like an abandoned warehouse that was actually a combination of a safe house and storage unit—if a storage unit could be the size of a professional football stadium. Besides the gun range, we had a medical room, library, a room used to create fake documents, an armory, and a few bedrooms, among other things. It was the range I needed if I was going to make it through family dinner.
Several hours, about ten pounds of ammo, and a shower later, I strutted into my father’s house, dressed in open-toed wedges that allowed my red toes to peek through. I had vetoed stilettos for two reasons; first, because the wedges were more comfortable, and second, because I really didn’t need a viable weapon within easy reach. The silverware was enough of a temptation—I didn’t need to add any others. The tan shoes complemented my cream white sundress, and the pearls Daddy gave me when I turned twenty-one hung from my ears and neck. As much as I loathed applying makeup, I made an effort for the formal meal, swiping my eyes with mascara and adding some lip gloss. The rest of the week might be informal, but God help you if you showed up for Sunday dinner without putting forth an effort to look civilized.
“There she is,” my father said as I entered the drawing room. Every Sunday, come rain or shine, we all gathered at Daddy’s for drinks and dinner if we were in town—yet another reason I traveled so much. Give me yoga pants and a home-cooked meal, and I’d be happy. My father’s version of proper conduct—before dinner drinks, a four-course dinner with chillingly polite conversation, followed by the men retiring to the study while Gia and I had our version of a drawing room—wasn’t the family day I preferred.
I let him gather me in a hug, his enormous frame swallowing mine, despite the fact I was anything but tiny. Bull Accardi earned every bit of his nickname. Even his sons, all warriors in their own right, failed to match his incredibly wide shoulders and massive bulk. He was a bit softer around the middle than my brothers, but he had too much pride to let himself go completely. I smelled his jacket, his cologne mixing with the faint hint of tobacco—his cigar habit a poorly kept secret.Home, I thought, taking in the comfort of his arms. It didn’t matter how old you were or how independent you could be— your father’s arms would always revert you to a time when your daddy could vanish monsters under your bed and take away nightmares without breaking a sweat.
“Hi, Daddy,” I said, hugging him for all I was worth and ignoring my brothers for the time being. “I missed you.” The truth sometimes sucked because I did miss him.
He pulled back, looking down at me. “You wouldn’t miss me so much if you came home more often. We miss you, too, darlin’.”
I couldn’t argue that point, so I only smiled at him.
“But then Mrs. Mallery wouldn’t make me all of my favorites for dinner,” I joked, and his laughter boomed, echoing across the room. I reached for the glass of wine Keene offered, not so much as looking in his direction. Gideon and Gia weren’t there yet, but the other three had been there long enough to have gotten a drink and made themselves comfortable.
“You going to say hello to your brothers?” Daddy asked, sitting back down in the gigantic wingback chair I had specially made for his six-foot-six frame a few years ago.
“Nope,” I popped the “P.” “I’m mad at them.”
He chuckled again. “You haven’t been home a few days. What could they have done so quickly to make you angry?”
“Assigned me security personnel without asking or telling me about it.” I snorted. “They’re lucky I was feeling mellow and didn’t shake them on purpose.” No one needed to know I’d shaken them, at least long enough to get my head on straight.
“You have threats against you,” Keene said, sounding aggravated.
“Which are nothing new. Just because you want to act like the sky is falling doesn’t mean it actually is,” I countered, sipping the wine, hiding my curiosity at how much they really knew about what was going on.
“And you’re so used to them,” Royce piped up, “that you don’t even realize they’ve escalated. You’re a frog in a pot of water—completely ignorant of the fact that it’s boiling you alive.”
