Ruthless Empire: A Dark Mafia Collection

I nodded. “Yeah.” The doorbell rang, and I jumped up from my seat, frightening Anna. I gave her a quick peck on the head. “Sorry, baby. She’s here. What do I do?”

Molly put a hand on her hip. “I mean, I would suggest getting the door?”

“Right.” I rushed over to the front door and opened it, where Ricky and Willow were standing on the other side. “Hey.”

I wasn’t sure if they had planned it, but they were wearing similar outfits. Ricky had on his typical black t-shirt and dark jeans with combat boots, while Willow was wearing a black blouse with billowing sleeves, dark blue jeans, and black ankle boots. Even in something so simple and understated, she looked magnificent.

“Hey,” she replied.

Ricky shoved his head in between our faces. “Hi!”

I shoved it out of the way. “Move.” Ricky tripped around me and entered the house, and I stepped out, taking Willow into my arms and giving her a kiss. “You look great.”

“You do, too,” she responded.

I didn’t typically wear anything other than a suit, but we were having a laid back family lunch, so going full suit seemed to be a bit of an overkill. I still had on suit pants and a pair of shiny, black Oxford’s, but I’d settled for a maroon button-up, with the sleeves rolled up.

I led her into the kitchen, where Ricky greeted Molly with a kiss on the cheek before turning his attention to Anna. “Hey, that’s a pretty cool picture, Anna. What is it?”

She pointed at me, her freckled nose reminding me of her late mother. “Unco Sandro.”

“Pfft,” Ricky spat. “I don’t know why I didn’t guess it.”

“Screw you,” I growled. I pulled Willow over to the table. “Anna.” She looked up at me with a smile. “This is Willow.”

She waved cheerily. “Hi, Wiwwow.”

Willow giggled. “Hi.”

I put a hand on Antonio’s head. “And this is Antonio.” He was still aggressively rolling his crayons over the paper taped to his high chair table.

“He’s so cute.” She looked over at Luca. “He looks just like you, papa.”

Luca smiled back at Willow, and it was warm and inviting. He got up out of his chair and walked over. “Thank you. It’s good to see you again.”

He gave her a hug, and it gave me fuzzy, happy feelings. I wished it could always be like that.

When they released, I turned Willow’s attention to Molly. “And this is Molly, Luca’s wife and Antonio’s mom. Though to be fair, she’s a mom to Anna as well.”

“A damn good one,” Luca added.

Willow stuck out a hand to shake. “Hi. I’m Willow.”

Molly swatted Willow’s hand away and stepped forward to hug her. “Nice to meet you. I’ve heard lots about you.” She pulled back. “Lots about you. Like, lots. So much.”

“You done?” I asked.

She looked at me and then back at Willow. “Like, many things, all of the time.” Then she grinned at me. “Okay. Now I’m done.”

I rolled my eyes. “I was literally about to compliment your cooking skills.”

“You’re the one cooking?” Willow asked. “It smells amazing in here.”

“Thank you. I have a brisket in the oven and a braised tomato stew on the stove.”

“She was a chef before coming here,” I said. “We still have her cook for us from time to time, because honestly, you can’t beat it.”

Molly feigned coyness. “Aw, thanks, Sandro.” She turned around and noticed Ricky was already dipped over the pot and had a spoon inside. “Hey! Get away from my food!”