I licked at my lips, tasting the mint he’d put on his lamb, then shrugged. “I was just thinking about how far we’ve come in a few months. And the fact you find me completely irresistible now.”
“Is that right?”
“You’re the one kissing me, Mr. Winchester.”
As Shep’s lips tugged up on one side, I noticed Alessio’s attention fixed on us. His brow furrowed, his eyes darker than usual, and he quickly turned away.
“I’m gonna head out, if that’s cool,” he said as he pushed to his feet, and everyone stopped talking around the table. “Glad everything worked out, Theo. It’s good to have you back.”
He grabbed up his plate and wine, and before I could tell him I was glad to be back, he turned on his heel and headed out of the room. I spun back to face the rest of my brothers, whose eyeswere on the empty doorway. As Alessio’s sudden departure set in, I looked over at King.
“So, um, what are we going to do about that?”
King frowned and shook his head. “Honestly? I’d been hoping he’d come around once everything was sorted. When he found Ari.”
“Yeah, I don’t think that’s going to happen.” Lachlan looked at Alessio’s vacant seat. “And to peace out before we all go and see Father Vitale? That’ll be the second time he’s skipped out on our visits.”
Putain, that wasn’t like Alessio at all. If there was one thing he did religiously, it was to make sure we all showed up for our monthly confession. Unless, of course, one happened to be in hiding somewhere in a Brazilian jungle.
“Maybe I should go and have a talk to him,” Shep suggested, but King reached out to put a hand over his.
“Give him a minute. Let’s finish dinner, and if he doesn’t come back, then go.”
27
SHEP
WHEN ALESSIO DIDN’T return to dinner, I went looking for him. He wasn’t hard to find, holed up in his office surrounded by more gadgets, computers, and screens than I’d ever seen in my life. I didn’t know what half of them did, but that was where we’d always relied on Alessio. He always got us through any storm, any difficulty, any situation for which we’d need his expertise, but looking at him now where he stood adjusting one of his monitors, his food untouched, maybe that was the problem.
Maybe we relied on him too much. Put him under too much pressure.
He was, after all, only human.
Something I was sure he was kicking himself for as he glanced over his shoulder at me and went back to what he was doing.
“Dinner over already?”
“Just starting on dessert. Wanna join us?”
I knew what the answer would be, but I wanted him to know that I was here.Wewere here. His actions weren’t going unnoticed.
“I just got in a new shipment of toys from Stavros, so I need to get those linked to our systems and filed away.”
Not only was Dimitri Stavros the man in Benoit’s life, he was also an arms dealer that kept us supplied with all the latest and greatest weapons and tech. I could understand that being like fucking Christmas to someone like Alessio, but it seemed like an excuse as a distraction.
“That could wait until after the tiramisu, don’t you think?”
He didn’t answer, popping open a steel case and carefully picking up a tiny object that I had no doubt did something bigger than it appeared to. Like picking up a conversation miles away or shattering bulletproof glass.
“Alessio?”
“Sorry, I’m busy.”
“Too busy for dessert and bottomless whiskey?”
“That a problem?”
I crossed my arms and stepped farther inside, giving him a clear indication I wasn’t leaving. “Yeah. Maybe it is. Seems like King wanted tonight to be about the brotherhood, but you’re hiding in here, not eating and pretending like you’re okay.”
