Atonement (Master's Protege 2)

“Don’t yell at her.”

He looks at me in disbelief. “I was defending you.”

“No, you weren’t defending me, you were getting all bossy and telling her what to do, which, I might add, is like your favorite thing to do anyway, so I shouldn’t be surprised.”

“Oh for the love of fucking God,” he grumbles.

“Ew,” Skylar says, pinching the bridge of her nose. “Watching you two fight is like when someone throws one bone to Romulus and Remus.”

“Did you seriously just make that analogy?”

“It is! They growl at each other and act like they’re going to snap each other’s damn heads off and gouge their eyes out, but you know they’re inseparable and will end up sprawled all over each other come bedtime.”

I grimace at the mental image of me sprawling all over Cain. I don’t want to even look at him, much less touch him.

I’ve got something to say. “Okay, so I’m here for a reason, and I shit you not, it has literally nothing to do with getting relationship advice or even discussing anything that doesn’t have to do with our meeting with the Rossis. Got it?”

Skylar nods and Cain sighs. “What she said.”

Cain’s phone rings. Henri.

“Answer it on speaker.”

Normally, I love Cain’s commanding attitude. Hell, I crave it and even find it hot. Right now? He is pissing me off.

“Anything you say, Mr. Master,” I mutter in a singsong voice. Apparently when I’m angry I get petulant, too. Skylar shakes her head slowly from side to side, and I finally just flip her off to shut her up. I hit the speakerphone on Cain’s phone.

“Henri here. I need to fill you in on the Rossis.”

“On it,” Cain mutters.

“Family home north of Boston, not far from here. Oldest brother’s Romeo, youngest Mario. Father’s Giorgio Rossi, nicknamed The Iron Fist, do with that what you will.”

Excellent.

“Mother’s Tosca Rossi, seems she’s tight with her kids and her husband, but she has a reputation as a flirt. Those should be the only ones you see today, if my intel can be trusted.”

“Got it. Thanks for that, Henri.”

“Sir, you know I don’t like to give you advice.”

“Right.”

“But this time, just one quick word of warning, sir. I think you should have Skylar reach out to her connections. I’ve only researched the Rossis briefly and updated our files on them, but they are not what one might call approachable by any stretch of the imagination.”

“Excellent,” Cain mutters, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “Anything else we should know?”

“They have guard dogs by the front gate. Bring the treats Violet keeps in the truck for our boys.”

Cain looks at me. “You keep dog treats in my truck?”

“‘Course I do.” I pull the dog bones out of the glove compartment.

Cain exhales audibly. “Thanks, Henri. We’re not far out, so text me with any updates.”

Skylar taps her foot on the floor, her fingers flying over her phone. She mutters under her breath.

“Any luck?”

“Marialena just woke up, she isn’t going away with her family. She says it’s fortuitous for me to reach out to her, she read her cards last night and found she would be approached by an old friend.” Skylar smiles. “D’aw. Isn’t that sweet?”

Cain rolls his eyes. He has no use for anything outside of the physical realm, placing all things spiritual and otherwise in the same category as the Loch Ness Monster or the Boogeyman.

“Very sweet,” I say, placating Sky. “Can she get us in?”

Sky frowns. “Unfortunately, she’s finishing up her classes and won’t be home until later. She isn’t going with the family to Tuscany because she needs to finish a few finals.”

“Got it. So that leaves Loverboy?”

Cain makes a choking sound I dutifully ignore.

“On it,” Skylar says in a singsong voice, apparently very excited that she has been brought into this. She taps happily away on her cell phone, and at least I'm relieved that she isn't trying to interfere in our fight.

We drive in silence for long minutes, as Skylar waits to hear back, and Cain and I have nothing to say.

So this is it. We’ve come this far with one purpose in mind, and if everything goes well with the Rossis, we’ll close in on finding the people I’ve come for. The answers we need.

Skylar’s phone chimes. “Score!” she says with a grin, making Cain flinch. Apparently, he doesn’t like the idea of his sister scoring anything. If I wasn’t so fucking furious with him, I’d reassure him. Right now, I am more than happy to let him handle this on his own.

We’re over. We are through.

I want to sob and break things into little pieces. I want to run to the cliffs that overlook the ocean and scream until the wind carries my anger and hurt away.

And that’s it. There’s the rub. I’m more hurt than I am angry. I trust hardly anyone in my life. I can count those I do on one hand, and Cain was one of them.