Page 116 of Tempting My Mafia Monster

“Over four hundred hours,” Maddox answered.

Raff whistled. “You must have had a lot of time on your hands.” Lili kicked him under the table again. “Ow, what!” Maddox didn’t look up from his plate. “I love the rose on the side of your face.”

“For my sister,” he answered curtly. “Roisin. Means Rose in Irish.”

My heart squeezed in my chest, knowing what had happened to her.

“I’m going to get a face tattoo,” Raff added.

“No, you’re not,” Liv berated.

“What if I get a Lily flower? For my sister.”

Lili laughed. Liv shook her head with a smile. Maddox carried on eating.

“So…” Lili tried to change the subject. “Maddox, how do you like Italy?”

He finished chewing his mouthful, leaving a long pause before answering. “It’s fine.”

Gio scoffed, insulted by the weak adjective, no doubt. No one loved his home country more than my brother. “Fine?”

Maddox glanced at him. “I haven’t seen much of it.”

“Well, we need to change that,” Liv said, her eyes sparkling with excitement. “Did Raya tell you I’m originally from England?”

“I, er, don’t know,” he said, his eyes flicking to me with an awkward glance.

“I did,” I answered for him, because, of course, he didn’t remember any of our late-night conversations. He’d asked how my English was so fluent, and I’d told him about Olivia, my nanny and then sister-in-law.

“When I first moved to Italy, I was overwhelmed by how beautiful the country is,” she continued. “There is so much to see and explore. How long do you plan to stay in Italy?”

My heart raced. He shrugged. “Until we find McKenna.”

My stomach dropped. That’s really all he was here for.

“And what about after that?” Gio asked. “What do you plan to do once McKenna is dead?”

Maddox froze. The tension in the room seemed to thicken out of nowhere. He slowly set his knife and fork on the plate and sat back. “I haven’t thought that far ahead.”

“You should stay in Italy,” Lili said, smiling widely. “Like Mamma said, there’s so much to see here. I think you’d love it. There are piazzas full of amazing food, bars and clubs. The history and architecture speak for themselves, and they do say Italy is the place to fall in love.”

Maddox took a long sip of his drink. “I’m not interested in any of that.”

I picked at my nails under the table, sucking in my bottom lip to hide the sharp sting of his words. He wasn’t interested. In Italy. In love. In me.

I could feel Liv and Lili’s eyes on me, and it made me want to run out of there before any tears fell.

“Alessio and I have been talking,” Gio said, unaware of my pain. “Once Sean and his highest-ranking men are dealt with, we will have to dismantle his empire.”

We all stared at Gio, unsure where he was going with this.

“It’s mafia politics; if an entire family is wiped out in a mafia war, all their assets, businesses, and investments pass to the victors.”

“I know,” Maddox hissed, and my spine straightened at his tone. He glared at Gio. “You let it happen to my family.”

Gio paused, locked in a staring contest with Maddox. Liv paled. Lili held her breath. Raff narrowed his eyes, sensing the hostility. I’d been dreading this conversation, but I knew it needed to happen. I just hoped Gio handled it the right way. My brother was unpredictable and hot-headed on a good day.

He ran his hand through his hair and sat back. “What happened to your family was a vile act. McKenna didn’t fight fair and earned no respect for how he gained control of Ireland. He was blacklisted by the Italian Mafia as soon as we heard.”