All of the men nod, “That’s a good plan actually,” Romero reluctantly admits.
“Who do you think would do this?” Alessio asks as everyone starts to eat their breakfast.
It’s me that answers as I have no qualms in telling the truth. The Bianchi brothers have no idea who Dante married, but Dante trusts them and in turn I’ll protect them. “I have a couple of ideas, but the ultimate question is, who’s fucking brave enough to get into bed with the Bratva?”
“Fuck!” Dante slams his hand on the table, his jaw clenched, as pissed off vibes surround him.
Alessio and Romero start talking but Dante cuts through them.
“Eat, we’ll figure this out. But now is the time to realize that you are alone. The only people you can trust are at this table and those alone can help us figure this shit out.”
The silence hangs around the table, as we all contemplate the fact that we’ve at least two traitors in our midst.
Nine
Dante
I see the look in Makenna’s eyes and realize that she’s ready to kill someone. There’s nothing I can do to calm her ass down. She was shot. Whoever orchestrated this shit, shot my fucking wife and almost killed my brother. Although, looking at Alessio you wouldn’t know he was bleeding out yesterday.
“Ready?” I ask Kenna once we’re all finished breakfast. She nods, and Romero gets up out of his chair. “Where are you going?”
He glances down at himself, he’s wearing sweats and a t-shirt, something that we don’t wear in public. “I need to get changed.”
Makenna’s shaking her head, “Nope, what you need to do is pack a change of clothes.”
I smirk at the grimace that crosses Romero’s face. He doesn’t like taking orders at the best of times, and having Makenna do it is pissing him off but he does as she says and walks off, no doubt grumbling about her.
“What have you got planned?” I ask and realize that she’s in a pair of yoga pants and an oversized sweater. She looks fucking sexy as hell, the pants showcase her phenomenal ass.
She shrugs and smiles, “I’m not sure what you mean.” She leans forward and kisses my lips. It’s quick and brief but fuck if it doesn’t mean something. “Alessio, are you sure you’re okay to come?”
She seems to have a soft spot for him, where she rides Romero, she babies Alessio.
He rolls his eyes, “Yes, fuck, I’m not an invalid.”
Her eyes narrow at his tone, “I never said you were, I asked a question.” She sighs heavily before turning back to me, “Oh and Sunday, we’re having dinner with my family.”
I blink, “Why the fuck are we having dinner with them?”
“Because…” she says slowly. “They’re my family and every Sunday we have dinner together. It’s the only day that we ever spend together. I’ve missed a lot. So, you’re coming, and you’ll be the buffer.”
I raise my brow, “Buffer between who?”
She grins and it’s fucking sexy yet satanic. “Between me and my mother.” She rubs her scar on her throat and it’s in that moment that it hits me. She’s never told anyone about what happened to her that night. But she hates her mom, more than I think she hates anyone. But she loves the rest of her family, all of them.
“Alessio,” I growl. “Go and see if Romero needs anything.” I dismiss him and without question he gets to his feet and leaves the room. As soon as we’re alone. “She did this to you.” It’s not a question.
“Leave it, Dante, please?”
I swallow hard, my head pounding as blood rushes from it. Fire fills my gut and all I see is red. I’ve never been so fucking angry before. “Kenna…” My voice is hoarse and tight. “I’m asking you to please, tell me what happened.”
She scowls at me. “Fuck you, Dante.” She whispers, “Why are you doing this to me? Hmm, do you get a fucking kick at trying to rip away at my walls?”
“Those walls you’ve built are fucking so high no-one can get in. I’m going to break them down one by one and, Makenna, when they’re down, you’re going to be mine. Now, tell me what happened.”
She growls and turns away from me, “I heard a noise and went to investigate. I was used to one of my brother’s coming home hammered and stumbling all over the place. I used to help them to their rooms and make sure they were okay before going back to my room.”
Anger flares in my veins. She’s been taking care of everyone and yet no-one takes care of her. That shit’s about to change.
“But it wasn’t one of my brother’s. The sound was coming from my parents' room.” She shakes her head, “I ignored it and went downstairs to get a drink, disregarding it as my parents having sex.” She scrunches up her face in disgust and I bite back my smile. “But when I went back upstairs I realized it wasn’t my da that was with her.”
Fuck, her mom was having an affair? Her dad mustn’t know otherwise he’d have gone mental. Women are meant to be faithful. In our world it’s a death sentence to cheat on your husband. When Makenna turns back to face me, the look she has on her face makes me brace. Whatever she’s going to say, I’m not going to like.
“I saw the man, he saw me and he fucking hated that I’d seen them together. I heard what he said to her. He told her that she had to get rid of me, that if my father found out it would mean a war between the families. Mom pleaded with him and that’s when he came into the hall.”
She balls her hands up into fists and I watch as the anger flashes through her eyes. “He punched me, told me that I should have been a good girl and stayed in my room.”
I’m going to fucking kill him, I don’t care who it is, he’s going to die.
“He kept hitting me until mom cried out and told him to leave before my da got home. I was lying on the floor and all I kept thinking was he’s going to kill me. But what shocked me the most was that he didn’t. Instead he told mom that she had a choice, she could get rid of me or he’d tell Da what happened.” She shrugs, “Mom made her choice, she wanted to protect herself, her marriage, so she told him she’d get rid of me. She’d never hurt someone before, it was new for her. So she messed up when she slit my throat, she didn’t do it properly.”
I stare at her in wonder, how is she so fucking blasé about this? Her mom tried to kill her because the cunt was having an affair and rather than protect her child, she took the coward’s way out and tried to kill her own daughter.
“I started to choke, she cut my throat too low, so the wound bled a lot. Thankfully Finn came home and mom hid in her room, pretending to be fast asleep. He got to me in time and I was okay.”
I slam my hand against the table and she gets to her feet. “You’re not okay!” I yell, fucking pissed that she’s acting as though this is normal. “Who? Who was your mom fucking that made her try and kill her own daughter?”
She shakes her head, her arms crossed over her chest. “You’ve heard enough, Dante. Leave it be now.”
I move, stalking across the room until we’re face to face. My chest heaving as I try and tamper down my anger. “Kenna, I’m fucking asking as your husband, who gave your mom the order?”