“Fine,” he said. “But it better be a good explanation, or I’m throwing his ass right out the door.”
Tati came over to hug me. “I’m so glad you’re okay. I hope those bastards rot in hell.” She glanced at my bandage, her brows drawn together. “How is your arm?”
Giggling, I hugged her back. “It’s fine. Barely hurts anymore.”
Amara hustled in next, and Tati passed me over to the comforting embrace of my aunt. “I was so worried about you. And your poor arm. I hope someone makes them pay for what they did to you.”
Pulling back, I smiled at her. “I’m fine. Promise.” And I realized that, as surprising as it may be, I was. “Why don’t we all sit down, and then I’ll tell you what happened.”
“I already know what happened. You’ve lost your mind,” Vlad boomed, then stomped to the kitchen table, dropping into a chair that seemed entirely unprepared to hold his weight. The wood groaned, and we all held our breaths, waiting for the inevitable.
But despite dwarfing the chair, it seemed to hold. We all released a collective sigh and took our seats around the table.
Liam was next to me and shuffled close, putting an arm around the back of my chair. Vlad glared at him but didn’t make a comment.
I piled three cornetti—which I was ecstatic to find out were filled with vanilla cream—onto my plate, not needing anything else.
Liam’s plate was filled with eggs, bacon, and one lonely cornetto.
Fixing me with a stare, Vlad pointed his fork at me. “Talk.”
“Can’t I eat first?” I stalled, wanting to delay more drama. “Besides, you probably know more about what happened than I do.” I pointedly looked at him, but he didn’t seem to care.
“You can eat and talk,” Vlad insisted. “Let’s start with why I’m currently having breakfast with a lying asshole.”
“Language,” Tati chastised. “You’re a guest. If you can’t behave, we’re leaving. I’m sure Quinn has a perfectly good explanation.”
With a harrumph, Vlad stopped whatever he was about to say and settled for glaring at Liam instead.
“Liam is no longer engaged, and his brother has taken over as head of the family.”
The loud clank of Vlad’s fork hitting his plate was the only noise in the suddenly silent room. Clearing his throat, he looked unsure for the first time this morning. “Did you just say he gave up his position? As the most powerful man in Chicago?”
Patting my lips with a napkin, I nodded. “That’s what I said. And now he’s here, and we’re working things out. That’s all I’ll say about it.” Vlad opened his mouth, but I continued. “Moving on to the next topic. My kidnapping.”
Mom had given up all pretense of eating. Instead, she blinked at me like an owl. I wondered if I should get the limoncello out. She looked a bit pale, but in for a penny and all that, so I kept going while I had everyone’s attention. Liam’s hand was on my shoulder, offering silent support.
“I was held in a basement, but besides the cut on my arm, they didn’t do anything to me. They wanted information on Liam, and when that didn’t work, they were planning on using me to blackmail him. And thanks to Vlad, I made it out.”
Liam’s hand tightened on my shoulder until it bordered on painful. “You had enough information to buy yourself time.” My head snapped to his, surprised by his growl. “You knew where I lived. You’ve been in my office. I know you saw thesafe. And you’ve been to my family’s home. You know what security we have. Why wouldn’t you give them something?” His voice sounded tortured, his attention focused on me, ignoring everyone else in the room. “Nobody would have blamed you.”
“They were greedy bastards who have a vendetta against your family. There was no way I’d give them anything.”
“Astéri mou,” he whispered, his head bent to the side, his lips brushing against the top of my head. “Next time someone kidnaps you, you sing like a bird.”
Shaking my head, I ignored the tortured note in his voice. “No way. Besides, who would want to kidnap me now? You’re no longer the boss, only a lowly second.”
Chuckling, he pulled back. “Nobody will so much as lay a hand on you again. Not after what happened to the last guys.”
Vlad was staring at us with disbelief, his eyes flitting back and forth between me and Liam. “You gotta be kidding me,” he boomed. “The cold-hearted bastard has fallen in love.” Then he full-on belly laughed. “You better not screw it up. She’s special. And if you hurt her, I’ll make you wish you were never born.”
My dad cleared his throat. “I second that.” He turned to Liam. “And welcome to the family.”
Covering my face with my hands, I groaned. “Can we have breakfast, please?”
Liam grinned, then resumed eating.
Everyone else took that as their cue to continue as well. The rest of breakfast was much more enjoyable. Tati told me about the new puppy they’d picked up yesterday, and Amara showed us pictures of all the things she’d ordered for the new kitchen.
