“Why don’t you handle your wife as I expect instead?” the older man says coldly before dropping his napkin on the table and pouring his wine onto his plate to express his displeasure.
Once he has left, a thoroughly shaken Bibi pulls a crying Sofia from the room as the rest of us sit in stunned silence.
Alessio takes his seat again, softly stroking the back of my hand and sending electricity zipping along my veins. It’s the first time he’s touched me since I threatened him, and I’ll admit I’ve missed his touch. “Dinner is getting cold. Everyone should eat,” he says, evenly. Then, he continues eating his bloody steak as if nothing is the matter, so we all follow his lead.
18
Alessio
“Did you tell Caterina where we’re going tonight?”
I take my time checking my weapons for the raid before responding to Armando’s question, wondering why there’s a heaviness in my chest when I reply. “No. Why should I? Did you tell Gia?”
“Of course not, but Gia’s not my wife. Things could get dangerous.”
“Our lives are always dangerous, both inside and outside of our homes.” My father made that clear at dinner by throwing his knife toward Bibi. He’s a ticking time bomb that’s overdue to go off. Hopefully, he'll stop worrying about my bedroom habits with my wife soon. If he knew the truth, that I haven’t claimed my virgin bride at all yet, he’d probably shoot me in the head and do the honors himself.
I hated seeing that sheet on display in our dining room when I’d come down for dinner. Father’s been behaving like some fisherman with his prized catch ever since the wedding night. Itold the maid to burn it. I’ll make sure she does, or I’ll do it myself. Not even tormenting Nico is worth upsetting Caterina this way. Why am I so bothered at the thought of upsetting Caterina though?
“If she knew what we were up to tonight, my little Morelli wife would probably be hoping for my early demise,” I say to Armando. I’d finally admitted the knife thing to him after crashing in his room again. He’d had the audacity to laugh.
“I guarded her for two years before your marriage.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“She's a good girl. She wouldn’t have sliced your throat. Except maybe by mistake.”
“You’re instilling a lot of optimism in me regarding my future wedded bliss, asshole.”
“Well, maybe imagine how she’s felt about this marriage for the past two years. She was a pawn for peace, handed to a brutal man she didn't know without any say in the matter at all."
"I didn't choose her." Though, if I'm honest with myself, there's no other woman I could imagine wanting the way I want Caterina.
Armando is unimpressed with my response. "Maybe you didn't choose her, but you know you will always have more power in this marriage. Caterina could've been given to anyone, like Gia was. You need to get over her having the upper hand on you for a handful of seconds. Stop ignoring her just because she was jealous.”
“I am over it.”
I’d tried to express that earlier today after her family left town at last. I could tell how heartbroken she was, and I’ll admit that bothered me, too. I’m just not the best with words, so I’d chosen actions - the stuffed kitty, the hot bath with her fragrance filling the room, the pint of ice cream in the flavor Sofia said Caterina prefers all waiting for her. What else was I supposed to do?
“I didn’t murder Nico before he left town today, did I?”
“You’re a pillar of restraint,” Armando says, wryly. “She asked about your mother the other night by the way.”
My eyes narrow as my insides twist with uncomfortable memories. “What did you say?”
“Nothing other than she had died. It’s not my business to share it. You could share it with her though. If you wished to get closer to your wife-”
“I’m not sharing shit with a woman who holds a knife to my throat, whose brothers I’d like to skin! Nothing aboutherfate will make Caterina feel any better about being married to me. So, make sure you keep remembering that it’s not your business if she asks again.”
Armando shrugs, unfazed by my outburst. “Did anyone notice Gia’s or my absence after dinner?”
Shaking my head, I decide it’s my turn to taunt him a little. “Not that I’m aware of. Did you do anything you shouldn’t have with my sister in the basement, Armando?”
I expect an eyeroll or to be flipped off. It’s what he would’ve done when we’d first become aware of Gia’s crush on my friend. The poor girl had been pretty obvious.
Instead, Armando goes very still, his jaw clenching tightly. “I told you I want to teach her to shoot. That’s all. I wouldn’t dishonor Gia.”
“Fine. Teach her to shoot.”
