Duty & Death (Foster Family Book 3)

by Zavi James

  “We are not cancelling on him last-minute without reason. It’s rude,” she said.

  Mia had the ridiculous notion of throwing a dinner for Franco as a thanks for doing what we paid him for and as a welcome back. I told her she should have just written him a card, but Mia got her way. She was prepared to play host and show her gratitude.

  “So?” I asked, not seeing the issue. I pressed my lips against her neck, feeling her pulse against my mouth as my hands wandered down her sides. “There are better ways to spend the evening.” I nipped at her skin and she sucked in a breath. Last night’s argument had left me frustrated in more ways than one.

  “So,” she said, clapping her hands over mine in an attempt to stop me. “I’m not having anyone say I’m rude, which means you need to make sure you’re home on time and on your best behaviour. Until there’s a reason not to, we need to carry on like normal.”

  My hands came around her wrists, pulling them up and pinning them above her head. “Carry on like normal?” I asked, pulling my face away from her neck and arching an eyebrow.

  “I also said behave,” she pointed out, biting on her bottom lip.

  “Tonight,” I told her, dipping my body and face towards her. “I have no intention of behaving right now.”

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Mia

  I’d seen Lydia off earlier in the afternoon, leaving the house to myself, Dom and Link. She’d pulled more than her fair share of work lately between looking after the house and helping me with my son. I could manage a single dinner, plus, I’d made sure Dom was being of use and helping me out.

  “What was she thinking? Vittoria’s losing the plot,” Dom said to me. I’d filled him in on last night, conveniently leaving out the reason Tori had stormed out of the house. “Stupid move in my opinion.”

  “No one asked for your opinion,” I said, not looking up from the recipe on my phone. “Hopefully, she won’t try anything like that again.”

  All day, a deep sense of dread followed me in everything I did, making me jittery. I had locked and unlocked my phone a thousand times, waiting for the inevitable flurry of messages and calls asking me to clarify what Tori had told everyone. It was late in the day and nothing had come through aside from Luc checking on me and Katia asking for tips to combat morning sickness. Rather than soothe my nerves, the silence amplified them, causing me to be a little snappier than usual and feeling uncomfortably nauseous all day.

  “I didn’t mean to snap,” I said, trying to smooth over my bad mood.

  “It’s alright. You can be graceless with me.” He grinned.

  “Maybe I should change it up and be completely unhinged with everyone.” I sighed, turning away and opening the cupboard above the counter.

  “How come you never throw dinners for me?” Dom asked as I climbed onto the kitchen counter and paused momentarily as the room swayed. My heart pounded in my chest and I clutched the cupboard doors. It lasted all of five seconds before Dom pulled me down and I was back on the floor. “Come here, Tarzan. Luc’s going to kill us both if you get injured. What do you need?”

  “Double zero flour,” I told him. “I thought we had some left, but I can’t find it.” Dom made sure I was steady before he started to look without the need to clamber onto a higher surface. “And I don’t throw you dinners because you’re here most of the time. Why am I throwing a dinner specifically for you when you eat with us whenever you’re pissed at Rodrigo?”

  “You’ve been taking lessons from Luc in how to be charming,” Dom said, pulling things out of the cupboard as he hunted. “No. You don’t have any.”

  I clucked my tongue. “Dante will have some. Pasta is the only thing he knows how to make from scratch.”

  “I don’t know how he manages to keep a figure like that with the way he eats,” Dom commented, closing the cupboard doors.

  “Aren’t you married?” I pointed out, picking Link up out of his seat so I could get him ready for the short trip. No one told you that having a baby added fifteen minutes in leaving the house. Fifteen was on a good day. On one of Link’s bad days, I abandoned all my plans rather than fight with my son who couldn’t even vocalise his argument into something I understood.

  “Doesn’t mean I can’t look and appreciate,” he replied cheekily. “And I can’t look at Luc anymore because we all know you’re a little psycho when it comes to things that belong to you.”

  “Are you scared of me, Dom?” I raised an eyebrow in curiosity.

  “You’re picking up bad habits from your fiancé,” he pointed out. “And I’m a little scared of him so, therefore, I’m a little scared of you.”

  “If you’re that scared of me,” I said slowly. “You’re not going to want to walk me down the aisle, are you?”

  “Woah! Woah!” Dom said, moving in front of me so I couldn’t leave. “I never said that. You want me to walk you down the aisle?”

  “Who else would I ask?” I asked. “You let me walk you.”

  Carry on like normal. That was what I’d told Luc this morning. In all of the chaos that was unfolding around us, I still had a wedding to plan and with only two months until the big day I needed to get things in order. Tomorrow, I’d call the designer and get the dress finalised. I’d dragged my heels enough and even if no one would turn up at the church, a scenario that wouldn’t be wholly unwelcome, I’d rather not march up the aisle in a potato sack.

  The smile Dom wore lit up his face and made my heart lift. “I’d be honoured to, Mia.”

  We left the house and took the short walk to Dante’s place, Link comfortable against me in his sling, discussing the happier topic of the wedding and it served well to distract me from the worries that had plagued me all day.

  As I unlocked the door, I asked Dom, “Do you and Rodrigo want kids?”

  “He does,” Dom answered. “I’m not so sure.”

  “Why not?”

  “It’s not the most ideal place to have and raise kids.” Dom then caught himself. “Not that I think you made a mistake or anything.”

  “Don’t worry. I’m not offended. I’d have waited a little before Link, but life had other plans.” Not that waiting would have made a difference. It was nice to think that once we were done with Xavier, life would be safe. Safer, yes, but not safe. There would always be a threat. With that in mind, still no part of me regretted having my son. He completed me even when he chose to be difficult. I couldn’t imagine life without him.

  “Imagine us trying to keep up appearances for surrogacy or adoption,” Dom said to me. “We’d be lying from the start.”

  “I’m sure you’ll figure out a way if it’s something you both really want.”

  “Maybe.” Dom shrugged. “For now, I’m happy with it just being me and my husband.”

  As we walked through the house and into the kitchen, I heard Angelo talking rapidly. Standing in the doorway, I saw that he had his back turned to us and was on the phone.

  “For all the work I’m doing, I deserve the rate I’m asking for,” Angelo said. “Double the original offer would be more than satisfactory. Keeping secrets is an expensive business.” When he turned around and saw us, he jumped, and I nervously raised a hand in greeting. “Think about it. I need to go,” he said down the phone and hung up. His next words were directed at me, “Has anyone ever told you that you should wear a bell?”

  “Yes. Your cousin said the same thing,” I told him, spooked by how similar Angelo was to Dante when he’d done nothing but prove the opposite since he’d arrived. “Sorry for the scare. I just needed some flour.”

  “Was the store closed?”

  It would be a lie to say that I wasn’t looking forward to seeing the back of Angelo. Unlike Dante, he had a permanent chip on his shoulder that made him unpleasant to be around. Part of that could be attested to the brash way he’d been dealt with since he arrived but something about Angelo made my skin crawl. Maybe it was time to ask Dante to move in with us so that he didn’t have to suffer in clos
e confines with his family any longer.

  “No, but I know my brother always has some,” I said, emphasising the word brother to prove how close we were. Ignoring him, Dom walked into the kitchen properly and searched for what I needed.

  “Is this how you function?” Angelo asked. His eyes flicked over to Dom and then settled back on me. “No knocking? No calling?”

  “His home is mine just like mine is his. I told you last time, I have a key.” From the back of the cupboard Dom had three bags of double zero flour. “One will do.” He placed the other two back and picked up what we needed.

  “His home is currently mine, so I’d appreciate some warning.”

  “So that I don’t have to hear you having to fleece Luc out of more money?” I asked him, referring to the conversation that I’d overheard. Angelo started to turn red. “If you have a problem with me having a key to this house, you need to discuss it with Dante,” I advised him. I would have paid to be a fly on the wall for that conversation. “Let’s go, Dom.”

  “I’m beginning to see why people would be happy to see the back of you,” Angelo said, and I turned on my heel to face him.

  “I haven’t done anything to you.”

  “But you’re the one who pulls the strings. That’s easy to see.”

  “Mia,” Dom said firmly. “Don’t waste your breath.”

  I wanted to though. I wanted to let rip at Angelo and ask him where he got off thinking he knew me well enough to think people had the right to wish me dead, but I had better things to do than get into a petty argument with him. “Have a good night,” I told him, but my usual pleasant chirp wasn’t laced around the words.

  “Luc is not paying him one extra cent,” I said as we left the house, and Dom snorted.

  Dom stayed with me as I worked through preparing the rest of the dishes, proving to be more of a hindrance than help. He declined my late invitation for him to join us, instead taking a stack of tupperware of food home for him and his husband to feast on.

  My mind barely had time to stray when Dante’s voice thundered down the hallway. “Fuck, it smells good in here.” He walked into the kitchen, nose in the air, Luc behind him and trailing behind Luc was Franco.

  “Franco,” I said with a smile. There had been a doubt in my mind that he’d turn up, but it looked like we were continuing to build on our weird relationship.

  As I wiped my hands on a dishcloth, Luc made his way over to me, wasting no time in planting his lips on mine. “Careful, Mia,” he mumbled against them. “I’ve been told I’m the jealous type.”

  I threw the cloth onto the counter and playfully shoved Luc, but he barely moved from the spot. “Don’t worry,” I assured him. “You’ll always be my favourite.” Dante made a retching sound, and I stuck a middle finger out to him. When I looked past Luc, Franco watched the scene awkwardly. “Sorry,” I said to him, slipping out of Luc’s hold. “I’m still trying to get my house in order.”

  “Good luck,” Luc said under his breath. “I’ve been trying for years. Dante makes it an impossibility.”

  “Drink, Franco?” I asked, ignoring Luc’s grumble.

  “Sure.” He nodded.

  I walked to the other end of the kitchen as he took a seat at the table, but I’d acquired two shadows. “What are you two doing?” I asked them quietly. “Have you heard anything today?”

  “No,” Dante said. “Looks like we might be in the clear.” I didn’t hold the same optimism. Twenty-four hours of silence felt less like freedom and more like waiting for someone to make a move. Dante picked at the bowls on the counter. “You know, Mia, it’s not like we’re friends with Lurch so it’s awkward that you’re making us spend time with him.”

  “Can I remind you that you’re not required to be here?”

  “How else am I getting fed?”

  “Can I swap out?” Luc asked optimistically.

  “No. It’s one dinner,” I told them both. “Be nice.”

  “Between Lurch and Angelo, I need an extended sabbatical when all this is over. You guys better be sending me Maui for my birthday,” Dante mused.

  I pulled a face. We would all need a break when this was over and that was exactly what we wouldn’t get. Work began the moment Luc took over the role, cementing our status. A vacation was not on the cards.

  “I’m surprised you’re both in such a good mood,” I commented. The fact that shit hadn’t hit the fan had obviously worried them less than me. “Especially after dealing with Angelo today. I hope you told him no, Luc.” I held out a bottle of wine and the corkscrew to him so he could open it as I grabbed some glasses.

  “No to what?” Luc asked, stabbing the corkscrew into the mouth of the bottle. “Why were you speaking to Angelo?”

  “I needed to borrow flour from Dante’s,” I explained before I ended up in trouble. “The raise he asked for. You told him no.”

  “Angelo didn’t ask for a raise.” The cork came out of the bottle with ease under Luc’s guidance and made a satisfactory popping noise.

  “He did,” I argued and then dropped my voice because Franco had looked over with interest. “I heard him on the phone asking you to double the amount. He said keeping secrets was expensive work. I know he’s more mouth than action but—”

  “He hasn’t asked me for anything, Mia. I don’t think he’d be stupid enough to ask for double when he’s barely going to get the agreed rate.”

  “But if he wasn’t talking to you, then...” I trailed off, thinking of the conversation Angelo had. “Oh God...” My blood ran cold as I realised the possibility of who else he could be speaking to. Teamed with the other comment he’d made about people wanting to see the back of me, it made sense to jump to the conclusion that Angelo had found Xavier and was looking out for himself before the rest of us. “Luc.”

  I wasn’t the only one to make the mental leap. Dante straightened up so quickly that he knocked a bowl of the counter and it fell to the floor, smashing to pieces and scattering the contents everywhere. “He wouldn’t dare,” Dante said.

  “Is everything okay?” Franco asked, getting to his feet.

  Luc put the bottle of wine on the counter and pulled out his phone, but Dante was already striding out of the kitchen.

  “He wouldn’t fucking dare!” Dante roared.

  “Luc,” I whispered, worried about what Angelo had done and where it left us.

  “Stay here,” he instructed firmly, following Dante from the room. “Stay with her,” Luc ordered Franco. “We have some business that we need to deal with.”

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Dante

  I ran down the streets back towards my home, Luc's footsteps sounding behind me. Blood meant nothing. Blood family was nothing but circumstance and timing and a shitty tool for emotional blackmail. It was lines drawn in the sand that could be washed away when the tide came in and forgotten with ease. Family, true family were the people you made your own. The people who would die for you and who you would die for.

  And yet, I thought Angelo might just be worth taking the chance on. A mutual agreement where we both got something we so desperately needed. We needed Xavier's location and Angelo needed a hefty paycheck that would get him on his way out of his black hole of debt. Angelo's price was high, but Xavier must have offered him more than we'd agreed on. If only we'd known. Greed was a sin that we were all guilty of, but Angelo’s day of reckoning had arrived.

  Throwing the door of the house open, I yelled his name, "ANGELO!"

  There was a scrambling sound of movement and I ran through to the kitchen, where he opted to work most days, to see the room empty. I walked through into the living room to see Luc had Angelo pinned against the wall, forearm pressed tight against his throat. Angelo's phone laid on the floor next to them, having fallen during the scuffle. He must have been on a call when Luc caught him.

  "Where do you think you're going?" Luc asked him, spittle flying with the words. "I think we need to have a little chat."

  Angel
o writhed against the wall, red in the face as he struggled to take in enough air. I pulled my gun and aimed it at him ready to kill. It had been years since I'd felt such white-hot anger hit me. I had no desire to ask questions but would rather be done with the traitor because I couldn't bear to look at him. Couldn't bear to believe that I manifested from the same gene pool as this rat. He'd been willing to put my true family at risk.

  "Brother, wait," Luc told me, looking over his shoulder. He'd need to move if I wanted a clear shot. Part of me hoped Angelo would run just to give me a chase. It was never fun to shoot a sitting duck. "He knows more than he's letting on," Luc said. "I want that information first."

  I looked between them both, trying to contain the violent anger that felt like it would split my skull. Angelo was clawing desperately at Luc's arm. His nails caught and broke the skin in small patches.

  "Fine," I spat the word out.

  Luc let him go and as I predicted, Angelo made a break for the door, but Luc anticipated the move and caught him. He pinned Angelo's hands behind his back and swung him around to face me. Angelo wasn't a fighter. He was barely a man.

  "May as well work some of that anger out," Luc said to me with a twisted smile.

  Putting my gun away, I rolled up the sleeves of my shirt.

  "Dante! Dante!" Angelo said. The fear and panic made his voice waver an octave higher than usual. "Think about this first," he pleaded desperately. "I'm your family."

  "You're pathetic," I hissed at him.

  The rest of his pleas were drowned out as my fist connected to his face. Punch after punch. He struggled at first but he took the impact of each blow, Luc holding him as steady as possible. He had one job to do for us, get paid and leave. It should never have led to this, but greed had made him sly and he could choke on it.

  "Enough, D," Luc told me.

  Blood dripped down Angelo's face and was smeared across my knuckles and the back of my hand. He hung limply in Luc's arms. "Warehouse," I said. "I'm not cleaning up his shit from this house." I refused to mess up my floors for the likes of him.