He disappeared.
I sighed. “He’ll do something stupid.”
“He’s a teen, they’re supposed to do stupid things.”
“There is stupid, and then there is Amo’s kind of stupid, and the latter is always bad news.”
Maddox chuckled. “I like your big sister mode.” He wrapped an arm around my waist and I tensed. His brows pulled together and he began to pull away, but I stopped him. “Stay. I was just surprised. This public togetherness is still new for me, and we shouldn’t overdo it in front of my parents before I could clear things with my dad.”
“Good luck with that. Your parents still haven’t returned to the party.”
My heart sank. I’d have to talk to Dad. I hated if he was mad at me, but eventually he’d have to allow me to live my own life and make my own choices, even if he considered them a mistake.
As a mother, I’d always wanted what’s best for my daughter. I’d tried to protect her to the best of my abilities. Of course, Luca had taken control of the details of her protection. When Luca had told me about the kidnapping, my heart had shattered. Our world wasn’t kind on women. But I’d thought Marcella would never be touched by the vile sides of our life. She was supposed to be safe from harm, even in a marriage.
I’d noticed that things between her and Giovanni had been off, but I’d hoped they’d miraculously find what Luca and I had. Maybe I’d turned a blind eye to the reality of the situation because my wish for Marcella’s safety had been too strong. She would have been safe in a marriage with Giovanni, not happy though.
Now as I watched Marcella kiss Maddox in front of everyone, I realized she was now old enough to fight her own battles, and she fought them in her own way. Marcella was too strong to hide or back down. She was like Luca. She only knew one form of reaction and that was attack. This kiss was a declaration of war to all the people who waited for her to cower or to bow to their rules.
Luca and I had wanted Marcella to be as strong as the Goddess we named her after, and she was. Only it was hard for Luca to accept.
One glance at his face told me he was about to explode. I quickly touched his forearm to calm him down. His furious gaze darted to me and some of the anger disappeared but not all of it. To people who didn’t know him like I did, his anger would be well hidden beneath his cold public mask.
Amo muttered something under his breath and walked off.
“Let’s go outside for a bit of fresh air,” I said to Luca.
He didn’t move, still watching Maddox and Marcella as if he considered to kill the former right here before everyone’s eyes.
Luca had a good grip on his monster—most of the time, but when I or our children were involved, his protectiveness sometimes made him lose control. One of these moments had led to the feud with Tartarus and ultimately to Marcella’s kidnapping. I’d never truly blamed Luca for it, except for brief moments of utter despair, because he and I were both part of this ruthless world, had chosen to stay in it even with our children. If anyone was to blame, then we both.
Now was one of those dangerous instances again.
“Luca,” I said firmly, my fingers digging into his arm through the thick fabric of his suit. “Let’s go outside.”
He finally allowed me to take his hand and lead him through the vast French doors to a secluded part of the huge rooftop terrace. He propped his forearms up on the banister and glared at the city below us. “I knew he was trouble. I should have killed him when I had the chance.”
“Marcella would have never forgiven you.”
“She would have gotten over it. She would have found someone else, someone better.”
“After seeing them together, do you really believe that?” I asked softly, linking our fingers. Luca was good at reading people. It was what made him such a good and respected Capo but with Marcella he sometimes preferred to block out certain things. But Marcella’s feelings for Maddox were unmistakable.
He made a low sound deep in his throat. “Maybe it would have been better to have her hate me for the rest of her life than to allow her to destroy her life by being with White.”
“Marcella didn’t destroy her life. You ruled over the bloody sheets tradition for her. You wanted her to have choices, and today she made a brave choice. It’s our duty as parents to support her and protect her from the people who want to condemn her for her choice.”
“Oh, I’ll protect her against everyone. My personal thoughts about what just happened are just that, for a discussion behind closed doors. Marcella will have our full support.”