56. Chapter 53
W e’ve been here for a total of twenty minutes, and I already want to crawl out of my skin. Charlie’s playing her part perfectly, the love-sick fiancé showing off her prize. I’ve been felt up by at least two older women who looked like they would eat me for my youth if they thought for a second it would work.
I catch Henry walking through the crowd, looking around as if he’s searching for someone.
Why the fuck is he alone?
Charlie tugs on my arm, turning us so we’re face to face with her father.
“Mr. Rossi,” he says, his voice louder than normal. “You two make a wonderful couple, ya?”
“Yes, sir,” I agree, playing his game.
“Well,” his predatory eyes slide to Charlie, and I wrap her arm tighter around mine. “Dinner’s ready, everyone. Please join me in the dining room.”
“I can’t imagine anyone’s dining room is large enough to accommodate all of these people,” I whisper in her ear, grateful that she’s as tall as I am in her heels.
She laughs, hiding behind her gloved hand. “He cleaned out the hall.”
Sure enough, a dining table set for no less than eighty people runs from the stairs all the way to the back of the house, with one chair set on each end. Mr. Romero takes one head while Charlie’s oldest brother, Roman, takes the other.
Charlie warned me that Roman’s not very social. He prefers to be alone, but even he couldn’t escape this dinner. Her other brother is around here somewhere, but I’ve only seen pictures of him. Finley’s tall and has a bad habit of snorting anything he can get his hands on–Charlie’s words, not mine.
Gold platters sit on the table, along with cutlery at every seat. Foliage runs the length of the setting, and literal diamonds refract the candlelight from the chandelier.
“Are you sure about this?” Charlie breathes as I pull her seat out for her.
I don’t have time to answer her as the doors burst open, and a woman I’d recognize anywhere waltzes in.
“No.”
My uncle Nile’s ex-wife just walked in the door, and Romero is smiling from ear to ear. My head swivels to look at Talon, but he and Cin aren’t here, and Toby is standing up and staring at the mother who abandoned him fourteen years ago.
Nile doesn’t move, along with the rest of the adults in our family.
They must’ve known she was coming, but why didn’t they warn us? Or at least Tal, knowing it would hurt him the most. My fists clench under the table, and Charlie whimpers beside me.
“I’m sorry,” I didn’t realize I grabbed her leg. But that wince makes me take my eyes off the woman Mr. Romero got out of his chair to greet. “Charlie,” I start.
“Don’t worry about it,” she hisses, “forget it.”
“What did he do?” I snarl, ignoring the looks from the guests around us.
When I look around, I find Creed, who nods.
Show time.
“The hell I will!” Charlie shouts, getting to her feet. Mr. Romero turns around so abruptly he teeters. “You promised me, Banks! I trusted you!”
She’s shouting, tears build as she pulls everyone’s eyes our way.
“I hate you!” She looks like she means it, and that should probably scare me.
“Lower your voice, woman.” I hiss, but make sure it’s loud enough to hear.
“If you didn’t want anyone to know, then you should’ve kept your dick in your pants!” She screams.
“Do go on,” I tell her loud enough that everyone can hear. “Tell me how I broke your heart. Better yet, tell your father here. After all, you wouldn’t be forced to marry me if it weren’t for him.”
“You’re making a mockery of me!” She cries and rushes from the room toward her father, who looks outraged. His eyes are narrowed on me, and I smirk, lifting my glass of whiskey. She falls into his body, sobs wracking her, and I wonder how much is real and what’s fake.
“You, boy! In my office, now.” He demands like we knew he would. “Excuse me for just a few moments, everyone, please, sit, drink.” He addresses his guests like a king holding court.
Dad stands from the table, “If you would like to amend the details of our contract, you’re going to have to deal with me.” Everyone stops talking, not a murmur is heard as my dad’s voice booms through the room.
Mr. Romero’s face is red, but he recovers quickly, whispering to his guest to sit and enjoy the first course. She smiles at Dad as he passes, but he ignores her. I wish I could see Nile’s face. My uncle hasn’t seen Delilah since she took off.
I have no doubt Mr. Romero invited her as some kind of jab at our family.
Standing from the table, I straighten my jacket and pretend to be the douchebag Charlie’s little stunt made me appear like.
We follow him through more halls to a set of double doors that are stained dark. The moment we enter, he slaps Charlie across the face.
Hard.
So hard she falls back, hits her head on one of the chairs in his office, and doesn’t get back up.
“Stupid bitch,” he yells. “Couldn’t keep yer mouth shut for one night.”
I try to take a step to check on her and make sure she’s breathing but Dad holds me steady. There are two men standing at our backs while Romero paces, pulling at his salt-and-pepper hair and muttering.
“We have a contract,” he starts.
“The contract doesn’t require the marriage to be faithful,” Dad reminds him, then gestures casually to Charlie’s prone body. “Seems unlikely to me you would care one way or another how your daughter feels.”
“That brat will learn to keep ‘er mouth shut, just like ‘er mother did,” he eyes her body on the floor where it hasn’t moved.
“That brat was to remain unharmed. That is in the contract,” I rumble. “And I believe I’ve already had to remind you of that once.”
He steps toward me, and I meet him in the middle. He’s a head shorter than me and smells like liquor. I hope the rest of the family has gotten everyone out. Including Delilah, despite the insidious way she looked at Nile.
“You think yer in charge.” He states, and I wait, chest heaving while he decides what he’s going to say next. “Yer but a boy, no better than a teethin’ pup. Go yap on back to yer mother… Oh wait…”
His smile grows, yellowing teeth showing through his thin lips. “Yer mother ain’t kickin’ anymore. I made sure’a that.”
“You bastard!” I shout, lunging for him.
Gunshots pop off somewhere in the house, and all hell breaks loose in the office. Romero pushes me into one of the men who was blocking the door in his haste to run behind his desk like the coward he is. The guard, thrown off balance, topples to the ground. Dad snaps the neck of the guy behind him, pulling a gun and firing a shot straight into the head of the one I knocked over.
Getting to my knees, I crawl to Charlie, placing my fingers on her pulse and praying he didn’t kill her like he did her mother. It’s weak, but it’s there. There’s another pop, and Dad grunts. I whip my head in his direction and see his shoulder bleeding, blood blossoms on the light-colored material of his dress shirt.
In the chaos, Romero decides to grow a pair and has a gun trained on Dad’s chest. I move without thinking, shoving Dad out of the way when Romero fires again.
Pain barely registers as I try to sprint toward a fleeing Romero, dead set on making that bastard pay, but my legs won’t work, and I stumble to my knees.
“Banks!” Dad yells, but it sounds far away, garbled somehow.
I can hear the panic in his voice. “It’s just a scratch,” I assure him.
His face creeps into my vision, but it’s blurry, and the more I blink, the harder it gets to see him. Black spots crowd my vision, until there’s nothing.