His parents really were the worst.
Yes. I despised them. Now I know I had very good reason, even more than I thought I had.
“A while ago we were having a family meeting regarding Nicoletta’s abilities as a shadow rider. The LA cousins were present as was Eloisa,” Taviano continued. “Something happened, and for the first time in years, I suffered a post-traumatic stress episode. It was very severe. Nicoletta cleared the room and took care of it. Everyone left, other than Stefano. That was when he found out. He was devastated and he wanted to kill Eloisa. Phillip was already dead, or I think he might have killed him. He blamed himself for going to France. He’s been fairly raw ever since.”
“I can understand,” Geno said.
“He didn’t share, not even with me,” Francesca said. “He wouldn’t. He feels only Taviano has the right to share.”
Geno understood what she was trying to convey to him. “Naturally Stefano believes that only Taviano can give permission to share his personal story.” He needed to breathe.Go outside and breathe fresh air. Instead, he persisted in gathering information. “What happened to the Boutler brothers?”
“I believed that Eloisa killed them. A few months later, I overheard her telling Phillip they were found dead. He was angry and demanded to know if she went behind his back and had the Archambault family investigate, and she denied it. I took that to mean she killed them. I told Stefano she did. I thought that might make him less angry with her. I didn’t want him to end up in jail, stripped of his rider status, or worse, have the Archambaults sentence him to death, all of which could happen if he took matters into his own hands.”
“Do you think Eloisa really killed them?” Geno asked.
Taviano rubbed his forehead as if it would help him to remember. “I did when I was a kid, but then I wanted to think she would do something like that for me. Just one thing. Now, I’m not so certain. I don’t remember her taking any trips abroad. The more I’ve thought about it, the more I doubt that she would have bothered.”
“We know for certain Stefano didn’t kill them because he didn’t know anything about what happened to you until recently,” Francesca pointed out.
“And it wasn’t the Archambaults because no one informed them,” Amaranthe murmured, her tone thoughtful.
“I don’t see how what happened to Taviano eighteen years ago could be connected to the murders now,” Nicoletta said. “That makes no sense at all.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Whoever is committing these murders hates the Ferraro family,” Geno said. “That’s without a doubt. That man tonight looked at me with concentrated venom in his eyes. I’d never seen anything like it. They wanted Stefano dead. They were determined to kill him. They made it clear they wanted to wipe out every member of our family, even the children. They want us gone from the face of the earth. Every last one of us.”
There was another silence. Geno found himself watching Amaranthe as she twirled her spaghetti around her fork. She ate her food with enjoyment, although she was refined about it. He recalled trying to teach his brothers table manners, stressing how important they were. He didn’t like the Archambaults’ way of instructing his brothers, but he knew manners would be essential. All the little refinements that they would need to fit in and be able to maneuver with ease in whichever circles they traveled.
“Do you believe these murders are connected to those despicable Boutler brothers, Geno?” Francesca asked.
“If so,” Nicoletta continued, “how?”
“Eighteen years ago, my mother woke me and took me to their suite.” Geno told the others in detail everything he remembered about the night his father had turned over leadership to him. “There were several shadow riders in the suite, but they hid their identities from me. At the time, with my father’s blood everywhere and both parents acting so strange, the priest and surgeon acting as if my father was going to die, I didn’t give it much thought. I had time to go over the details later. I don’t forget details. They stay in my mind.”
Amaranthe turned her face up to his.You’re frowning, Geno.
He wasn’t. He made every effort to keep his expression a blank mask. “It took me a very long time to sort out that there were many riders in that room that night hiding in the shadows. The car they claimed was in an accident was perfectly fine. I saw it. Later, it was damaged. My parents didn’t care that I knew they were lying to me. They withdrew not only from us”—he indicated his brothers—“but essentially from everyone they really knew and cared about.”
Amaranthe rubbed her palm soothingly along his thigh with one hand while she continued to eat as if she weren’t aware he was in any way agitated. He knew he didn’t appear so on the outside. He’d cultivated that calm look even when he raged inside. The mere mention of his parents could make him rage.
“They changed radically, became cold and distant. They wanted nothing at all to do with us. They went from loving parents to strangers overnight. If I didn’t know better, I’d think aliens took over their bodies.” He glanced at Salvatore, for the first time looking uncomfortable. “As time went by, I accepted that they weren’t coming back to us, but I resented the way they treated Lucca and Salvatore. Salvatore is the youngest, and he didn’t give up the way I did. Lucca had backed off as well, but Salvatore would seek them out. They made it clear they didn’t want him around.”
He didn’t try to hide the grim loathing he felt for his parents. It was there in his voice. He’d disassociated from them. They’d hurt his brothers. That cut deep and wasn’t something he could repair no matter how hard he’d tried.
“I went to them and told them as head of the family if they ever spoke to Salvatore or Lucca in such a manner again, if they hurt them like that, I would banish them. I meant it, too. I let them see I meant it, that my feelings for them were gone. I just turned and walked out. I didn’t want their explanations even if they were going to give them to me, although I knew they wouldn’t.”
He didn’t look at his brothers. He couldn’t. He dropped one hand under the table to thread his fingers through Amaranthe’s. He’d just confessed one of his gravest sins. He’d turned on his own parents. Now they were dead. Murdered. He’d move heaven and earth to find their killers and get justice for them, but he wasn’t certain he could ever forgive them.
Salvatore cleared his throat. “I knew you threatened them.”
Geno’s gaze jumped to his brother’s face. “You did not.”
Salvatore nodded slowly. “I did. Geno, I followed you everywhere. I was terrified of losing you. We both were. And you were so pissed that day. I shadowed you to their suite. You didn’t even knock. You just walked right in, and you didn’t close the door.”
He lifted his head and grinned at his cousins. “Geno seriously pissed is a thing of beauty. Scary as hell but still beautiful, especially when he’s standing up for you. I realized for the first time that I may have lost my parents, but I had Geno and Lucca. Geno was going to be there for me no matter what. He didn’t care if he had to go up against an adult. He took on our instructors and he took on our parents. I think that was the first day I began to feel I might be safe again.”
Geno’s gut clenched hard. He thought Salvatore would be angry at him. Salvatore, as a boy, had been very sensitive.He had wanted his parents to love him. He’d needed that even more than Lucca and Geno. Both Geno and Lucca had been very protective of him, especially when their parents had been unbelievably cruel in the things they’d said to turn him away from them. The way his parents had deserted his brothers had only made Geno even more determined to watch over them and to create loyalty that would never be broken among the three of them.
