Page 98 of Tempting My Mafia Monster

Aleksandr had been proactive, too. He’d sent fifteen Russian soldiers to join Max and Fabi to help with the search. He’d also used his contact in Ireland, who had secretly been keeping tabs on McKenna for years, to send us a list of every business and property McKenna owned. At least he seemed to have taken my offer seriously.

I opened my mouth to tell my brother exactly who that male prisoner was and what he had meant to me, when the dining-room door swung open, and Alessio stormed in unannounced.

“Alessio!” Liv gasped. “What are you doing here?”

“Sorry to disturb your family dinner,” he said, looking deeply unsettled. My hackles rose because Alessio hardly ever looked shaken. That he’d jumped on his private plane from Sicily without even warning Gio he was coming said as much. “But it’s important. Gio, a word. In private.”

Gio stood up from his chair immediately, kissed Liv on the head as an apology, then followed Alessio out, leaving Liv, Aria, Liliana and me staring after them.

“I wonder what that’s about?” Liv muttered, more to herself than to us.

“Maybe they found Sean,” Aria said hopefully. She was desperate to move back to Rome and be with Sani full-time, and I couldn’t blame her. She’d put her entire life on hold because of Sean McKenna.

“Let’s hope so,” Liv agreed, rising from the table. “I’m sure we’ll find out soon enough. I’m going to check in on Cecilia.”

“I’ll come with you,” Aria said, rushing after her.

I sat back in my chair, staring at the door as unease crawled across my skin. If they had good news about Sean, they’d know I wanted to be the first to hear it. Which meant it had to be bad news.

“You okay?” Liliana asked from across the table. I exhaled, grabbed the bottle of wine from the ice bucket, and picked up my nearly empty glass.

“Drink with me?”

“Hell yes,” she said with a beaming smile. We headed to my bedroom and sat on the window seat, filling our glasses to the brim.

“Were you about to tell my parents about Maddox?”

My head dropped back against the wall, and I huffed. “Si. Alessio had impeccable timing.”

“Merda.” She shook her head, then took a large gulp of wine. “I wonder what’s got him so worked up.”

“Whatever it is, it can’t be good.”

“Hmm,” she hummed. “I honestly don’t know how they do it.”

“What?”

“Their jobs. The stress, the drama, the danger, the impossible decisions. It’s constant. They live on the edge, and it’s always work, work, work. I can’t remember the last time Papi took a day off.”

“Gio’s always been a workaholic. It was drilled into him from birth.”

“I guess,” she sighed. “That must be where I get my inability to sit still.”

“Sure is.”

Liliana was always on the go. She loved being busy and helpful, always finding things to do around the estate, even when it was beneath her station. Gio had given up arguing with her about it and just let her be.

I finished my wine in record time and poured another glass. Lili tilted her head and watched me with pity. I shook my finger in her face.

“No. No, thank you. Not from you.”

“Okay, okay.” She raised her hand and a glass of wine. “But can I ask how you’re doing? I know it’s a stupid question.”

“It is a stupid question,” I replied, gazing out the window. I was trying to take my Mamma’s advice on board and take it one day, one breath at a time. But the pain was relentless. The memories came out of nowhere and crippled me wherever I stood. “I feel like I am living with his ghost. I don’t know how to do this. I don’t know how I’m supposed to move on. What happened in Ireland changed me. I don’t know how to be this version of myself without him.”

Lili reached for my hand. “I wish I knew what to say to make this better, but I know there isn’t anything that will right now. But you are strong, Raya. You’re kind of my role model. I’ve always looked up to you, and I couldn’t be prouder of how you’re dealing with everything.”

“I’m your role model?” I blurted out, because that was ridiculous. Of all the women in this family, I was the last person Lili should look up to. “Why?”