Angelo (The Marchesi Family 2)

“Devil, I want you and Marco to use whatever connections you need to identify the person responsible.”

Devil and Marco eyed each other for a moment, then Devil nodded. “We’re on it.”

My cousin hated Marco, but Marco had proven his loyalty to us in the last few months, so it wasn’t just that Devil mistrusted him. Something had gone down between them. I had a feeling it was something to do with a woman, but Devil wouldn’t give me any details even though he usually told me everything.

“There’s another thing,” Lucien said. “The bastard who’s doing this seems to want to play games. He’s left a note at every place he’s hit.”

“What do they say?” I asked.

“Cryptic bullshit like ‘two fish in the sea.’ I don’t know if the asshole’s writing a poem or giving us clues or fucking what, but we need to figure it out.”

He laid each of the notes on the table, but after several moments of staring at them, none of us had a clue what they meant.

“All right. We’re done for now.” Lucien looked around the table. “Keep thinking about this bullshit, and I expect a report from each of you tomorrow by noon.”

Everyone gave their assent.

“Then we’re done here. Vinnie, take Tom home and get him settled. I need some more time with my brother.”

“Yes, sir.”

Devil gave me a sympathetic look as he exited. When the room had emptied out, Lucien spoke in a dangerously soft voice. “Why didn’t you answer my call?”

“I was busy with Cameron.”

Lucien shook his head. “That’s fucking bullshit. We have the upper hand with Cameron in every way. There’s no reason you couldn’t answer your phone during a meeting with him.”

There was—I’d been watching him come when it rang.

“If he’s giving you trouble, I’ll send someone else. I need you focused.”

Cameron was absolutely not going to help me focus, but no one else would go near him. He was mine. I would figure out how to give Lucien the focus he needed from me and deal with Cameron. “Everything’s fine. I don’t need any help.”

“You told me you gave him until the end of the week. Why go back and talk to him today?”

Because I wanted a chance to seduce him, to make him give me what I wanted. Because I need to own him.

“Angelo?”

“I’m going to find someone else to handle the business that was running through the bakery.”

Lucien’s expression hardened. “And why is that?”

“I made a private arrangement with Cameron. He’s going to pay his debt off with me.”

“That wasn’t one of the options I put on the table, Angelo.”

The look he gave me would make a lot of men beg for mercy, but I stood my ground. “It was the option I chose. You told me to handle it.”

“I didn’t expect you to fulfill your high school fantasies and give me fuck all for it.”

“I fucking told you I’d reroute the business through somebody else.”

Lucien folded his hands in front of him and studied me. His judgmental expression made me explode. “You did the same fucking thing with Peter.”

As soon as I said the words, I knew I’d made a huge mistake.

Lucien rose, and I met him halfway between our seats. We glared at each other. I flexed my hands, ready to defend myself if I had to, but I knew I needed to try to fix my mistake. “I’m sorry. I know you love Peter.”

Some of the anger left Lucien’s eyes. “I do. I claimed him, but I didn’t force him. I even gave him the option of walking away. If you thought he was with me because he had no choice or because of his cousin’s debt, you’re wrong.”

The raw emotion in my brother’s voice got to me. I hadn’t thought he’d truly forced Peter. That wasn’t his style, but I also hadn’t thought he would give Peter the opportunity to leave him.”

“I gave Cameron a choice. I offered the options you gave me. I just added another one.”

Lucien’s brows rose. “And that’s the one he chose? Paying you on his back?”

I snarled. “He’s mine, Lucien, and I expect you to show him respect.”

Lucien smiled. “So it’s like that, is it?”

“I’m handling the situation. No one else gets involved. I need your word on that.”

Lucien inclined his head. “You have it, but are you sure you know what the fuck you’re doing?”

“You handed him to me. What did you expect me to do?”

“Hurt him by taking away his legacy. Punish him by forcing him to work for us when he refused to help you. I didn’t expect you to fuck him.”

“I didn’t plan it. I was going to do exactly what you said, hurt him by teaching him we owned his ass, then I saw his ass, and fuck, Lucien… I don’t know.”

Lucien drew in a long, slow breath. “How far will you push him?”