“Don’t go near them,” Ric said from my right. “They need this. Besides, he doesn’t want you hurt. They’re like wild dogs right now.”
Toma kneed me in the balls, and I let out a shout of pain as I twisted off him, and then he jumped on top of me again, punching me in the gut. I grunted and grabbed his arms, and we struggled.
“Get the fuck off me,” I snarled, the throbbing pain in various parts of my body making me angrier.
“Go to hell.” He managed to get an arm free and elbowed me in the eye. My head ached and I slouched, too tired and sore to fight him. If he wanted to attack a man who wasn’t going to fight back, he could have at it. This fury between us had been going on for too long, and I was exhausted by the need to defend myself against him.
He raised his fist, and Phoenix let out a furious scream. He tackled Toma, effectively knocking my cousin to the floor. Toma let out a loud grunt, and Phoenix sat up from where he was on top of him, clearly baffled his attack had worked.
Toma glanced at me in surprise from where he lay under Phoenix, and I couldn’t help it—I laughed. My boy had said he would kill for me, and this just proved he was ready to protect me, too. Toma’s mouth twisted, and soon he was laughing, too, while nodding up at a stunned Phoenix.
“Nice tackle,” Toma said.
Phoenix blinked toward me. “Uh....”
I groaned and raised myself into a seated position, then grabbed my balls, huffing. Fuck, they hurt. Toma was lucky I didn’t kill him for that cheap shot. I was sure even God would’ve forgiven me for that murder. I held out a hand to my boy. “Come here.”
Phoenix crawled his way off Toma and cuddled up against my chest. He pointed at Toma. “Don’t touch him again or I’ll make you regret it.”
Toma laughed harder and shook his head, then wiped at some blood on the corner of his mouth. “Fiery one, aren’t you? Now I see why Gian wanted you.”
“What’s your problem anyway?” Phoenix huffed. “Gian’s not hurting anyone by practicing his religion. He’s not like some of those Catholics who want us to stop being gay. My Daddy is a good man.”
Toma’s smile slowly disappeared, and he stared at Phoenix for a drawn-out moment before his gaze switched to me. “My problem... is that he chose religion over his family.”
“What?” I frowned at him, then looked at Ric, who’d taken a seat in one of the pews. His men were already dragging the body into a bag. I shook my head when I turned back to Toma. “What does that mean? I’ve been doing stuff for the family, haven’t I?”
Ric snorted. “Toma is talking about himself. You chose religion over him.”
Toma glared at Ric but sighed. He slowly got to his feet and stared down at me, face still bloody but less angry. “We were closer than brothers. We did everything together, and then you fucking went to the seminary school. You chose God.”
Realization was like a bat to the nuts, and Toma’s knee was nothing compared to that feeling. I’d suspected this was how he felt, but to hear him say it so bluntly, with hurt on his face, was painful. Fuck, I never thought Toma could feel that kind of betrayal except with Jericho, but I’d been wrong. Now I saw it, the sadness in his eyes as he stared at me. Why hadn’t I noticed before? Maybe I’d thought his dejection was for Jericho the whole time... or maybe we were both self-centered.
I opened my mouth, but he shook his head. “Don’t do that shit. I don’t want your apology.” He stuck his tongue against the inside of his cheek and winced. I guessed that was where the blood was coming from. He nodded at Phoenix. “I like him, he’s tougher than I imagined.”
“I’m good with numbers,” Phoenix piped up, standing, and then he helped me do the same. He slid his hands down my arm, as though checking for injuries, before he spun to Ric. “I’m getting a degree. I can help Daddy here at the church, help your... business here.”
“Really?” Ric smirked. “I guess you are family now.”
Toma got to his feet and stepped closer. He held out his hand to me, and I stared at his wriggling fingers for a moment before I slapped my palm to his. “Welcome back, cousin.”
I wasn’t sure how I felt about returning to the Sabbatini inner circle, but I smiled anyway. In a way, it certainly felt like I’d gotten my relationship with Tommaso back, even if we had work to do first. Toma left us to go help the boys with the body, and Ric stopped paying attention to us, texting on his phone. Malachi had disappeared, and even though I was curious, I chose not to acknowledge that he knew more than he should.
Instead I focused on Phoenix and the way he smiled up at me. I slid my thumb over his cheek and down his jaw. “I love you, boy. You did good.”
“Thank you, Daddy.”
“I worry about you—”
“Daddy, don’t.” He leaned into my touch and tilted his chin up. “Though, I would like a reward.”
“Really?” I chuckled quietly. “What kind of reward?”
He smiled shyly. “We could go on a date sometime in the next couple of weeks? I haven’t had one of those, Daddy. A real one.”
My chest squeezed with a kind of love and need I’d never felt. I would give him the world if he asked for it. “Tell me, baby boy, where would you like to go?”
His grin turned wicked. “I have the perfect place, Daddy. I’ve been researching.”
