Devil (The Marchesi Family 3)

He smiled. “They are. They want to meet you when you’re ready to talk to them.”

“I’m guessing they actually want to interrogate me.”

Devil frowned. “Yeah, some of that too, but the same thing happened to Cam and Peter. It’s not only because you’re a cop.”

I’d thought being a cop was part of my identity, but now I wasn’t sure. “How can I go back to my job after what happened?”

“No one will know what happened last night. If you want to keep doing your job, that’s what you should do.”

“I’m not sure what I want.”

Devil stroked my back as we lay there in silence for several minutes. Then his phone rang. He insisted I stay where I was when he answered, and I heard a woman say, “Are you coming to breakfast?”

“I haven’t asked Joe yet. He just woke up.”

“I hope he’s feeling better.”

“He seems to be, at least a little. I’ll let you know in a few minutes.”

“Who was that?” I asked when he ended the call.

“My aunt Sabrina. Are you hungry?”

I thought about it for a second and realized I was starving. “Yes.”

“I can bring a tray up here. I’m assuming you’re not up to meeting my whole family at breakfast.”

I wasn’t, and I had a feeling I wouldn’t be for days. “Should I just get it over with?”

“You don’t have to. You can take all the time you need.”

“Okay. I think… I think I need to stay here for now.”

“Tell me what you want, and I’ll bring it up for you.”

“Whatever is fine. I don’t want to make more work for anyone.”

“Lola usually makes a big spread for breakfast, and truly if there’s something special you want, she’ll make it for you.”

“Surprise me.”

He grinned. “All right. I’ll be back soon.”

The door creaked a few moments later, too soon for Devil to be back, and I looked up to see Angelo. I’d never met him in person, but I recognized him from his picture and from the fact that he looked very much like Devil.

“How are you this morning?” he asked.

“Better, but my head still feels like somebody’s banging around inside it, and my right hand’s not much use.”

“I’m sorry we didn’t get to you soon enough to prevent you from being hurt.”

“The injuries happened when they took me, and you got there before Swain got around to torturing me, so thank you for coming. I know you probably didn’t want to.”

“Devil trusts you. That’s good enough for me.”

“I trust him too. Were you looking for him? He went downstairs to get some breakfast for us.”

“No, I stopped by to welcome you to the family.” Angelo’s menacing smile made me shiver. I was sure that wasn’t his only motive for being here.

“Thank you.” I managed to keep my voice from shaking.

“My cousin loves you, but if you screw him over, you’ll be as dead as those men last night.”

“Angelo. What the fuck are you doing?” Devil stepped into the room carrying a tray. The delicious smells of bacon and coffee almost made me moan.

Angelo snorted. “I know you said shit like that to Cam.”

Devil shrugged. “I’m telling you not to say it now.”

Angelo smiled at me, a more genuine one this time. “Take care of this asshole.”

Devil huffed, and Angelo laughed as he walked away. I breathed a little easier until I realized Lucien now stood in the doorway.

“If you’re coming in here to posture and interrogate Joe, don’t,” Devil said.

Lucien gave him a dismissive look. “I came to see how our guest is doing.”

“I feel better. More clearheaded. And… I’m alive.”

“I’m damn glad. I don’t think any of us could live with Devil if you weren’t.”

I glanced at Devil whose cheeks had gone red. “I told you I wasn’t going to let you die, but I was… scared.”

“We took care of it,” Lucien said.

“All right, you’ve seen that he’s fine. Now get out and let us eat.” Devil waved toward the door.

Lucien turned to me. “Let me know if Devil gives you any trouble. I’ll take care of that too.”

“Fuck off,” Devil said, and Lucien laughed, a bright happy sound I never expected from a man like him.

When he was gone, Devil set the tray on the bed, and I stared at my plate with wide eyes. Instead of choosing something—or a few things—for me, it seemed he put every breakfast food in the house on my plate. I had bacon, eggs, sausage, pancakes, a bowl of fruit, a muffin, and a chocolate croissant.

“I don’t think I should eat all of this even if I could.”

“Eat what you like. I just wanted to be sure you had plenty of things to choose from.”

“I like most things. I’m not a picky eater.”

“Sometimes you’re not much of an eater at all. You need food if you’re going to heal.” My stomach growled, and Devil nodded. “See? Your body agrees with me. We take breakfast seriously in this house.”