14. Keegan
“ A lright, sis, tell me what’s going on?”
I frown at Sarah as she mutters, slamming her medical equipment in place. She stops for a moment, her fingers hesitating on a scalpel, before turning to face me, crossing her arms and glaring at me with those steely gray eyes—the same ones I see in the mirror every day.
“What’s going on? Let’s see here. The Amato doctor has an ego larger than the fucking moon.
I’m trying very hard to accept it. He still seems to think we could have treated Lio here, when I needed multiple surgeons.
Multiple! But I have to keep my mouth shut, and you know how much I love doing that.
“I’m pretty much bribing my staff to keep the police away, and I need to make sure Lio is transferred back here tomorrow, despite the very well-founded concerns of my staff.
“Not only that, if something happens to him, you know Il Padrone will lose all control. He’s barely holding it together now.” Sighing, she slumps and scrubs her hands over her face. “And to be honest, I’m not doing well either. Lio…”
I move forward and gather her in my arms, pulling her tight to me. “Ah, sis, I know you love Lio. You both had a tough time in the beginning, but you’re friends now. That whole love of stabbing really brought you together. I know it’ll be fine. I can talk to Il Padrone, if you’d like?”
She pushes me away, and I raise my hands for mercy, because fuck knows she can be evil when she's getting revenge. Yet another reason she pairs well with Lio. “Leave it be. I’ll figure it out. I don’t need you or Doc trying to take control of things.”
The alarm goes off on my cell phone and I quickly stop it. I send out a text and barely have to wait before getting a reply. Grimacing, I look at her. “Well, fuck. It appears we are having a family dinner after all.”
“Do you think the Amatos will be there as well?” Sarah bites her lip, worrying at it. We all know that it’s pretty much a powder keg right now, ready to blow up at the smallest issue.
I pat her on the shoulder and try to smile. From her expression, it doesn’t work. “Yeah, I’m sure they will be. After all, they are hosting us in their house.”
“You know…Doc never has to go to these things,” she responds hopefully. “I should probably stay back as well.”
I shake my head at her and grab her hand. “Not in this lifetime. You know you’re as fucked as I am with these Martellis.”
Groaning, she follows, but I don’t let her go until we get into the dining room.
Sure enough, it’s pretty much filled to the brim.
Il Padrone and Cristian are on opposite sides, at the head of the table.
Everyone else is arranged around them. Marcus gestures to me, and thankfully, there’s a spot on each side of him for me and Sarah.
When we sit down, he leans into me and whispers, “I let Cole eat in his room today with a maid. I thought it might be…safer.”
I nod empathetically. Fuck, yes it is. Until we’ve reached an equilibrium, I don’t want my son anywhere near this shitshow. The tension is so thick that despite the appetizing smells, I have zero desire to eat. I’m too on edge, worried that the whole house of cards will come tumbling down.
I cautiously watch Il Padrone as I try to choke some food down. He scans the seating arrangements constantly, stopping occasionally to check out certain dynamics, before continuing on. His knuckles whiten as he holds his utensils tight. I wish they hadn’t given us knives…
When Roman leans in toward Ignacio, whispering something, I swallow hard.
I cringe as I look back toward Il Padrone.
He doesn’t say anything, but at this point, he doesn’t need to—the disapproval emanates from him in waves.
I’m surprised Chaos is even able to eat.
Fuck knows I wouldn’t be able to if Il Padrone was watching me that closely.
Clearing his throat, Il Padrone speaks up. “Ignacio. Did you finish your job today?”
Ignacio startles, and quickly sits up straight. “Yes, Padrone. The building is down. I watched as the firefighters tried to save it. They couldn’t.”
I take a small breath as Il Padrone goes silent.
Normally, family meals are a way to reconnect, and to get a general update, but tonight, nobody is saying a damn thing that isn’t a direct response to a question.
And fuck knows I don’t disagree with that.
As we finish the main course, I desperately hope there won’t be any dessert, but, of course, we’re not that lucky.
“Were you able to get a rendering of the doctor?” Cristian asks, as various desserts are handed out, along with strong coffee, which I take. I need every bit of an edge while we wait for this hell to be over.
“Yes, your artist was extremely thorough,” Il Padrone responds, as he cuts into a piece of tiramisu.
There’s a lull in the conversation again, and I glance at the clock. We have to be done soon. I’d rather go through a root canal with no anesthesia than this. And then it happens. The screech of a chair and a shout.
Il Padrone doesn’t say anything as Hollis rushes out, with Benjamin on his heels. He merely quirks his head and sends a long look to Cristian, before finishing his dessert. Carefully, he moves his own seat back and stands.
“Thank you for dinner, Cristian. I’ll see everyone for breakfast.” With powerful strides, he exits the room, and it’s like half the people can finally breathe. Of course, there are plenty watching Cristian as well.
Thank fuck he finishes soon after, and he leaves with Carter. I don’t even check to see if Marcus and Sarah are finished. I pop up from my chair and grab them both, pushing us out of there.
“That…was not good,” Sarah says slowly.
“No shit,” I hiss, as we walk toward the suite Marcus and I are staying in with Cole. “We’re fucking screwed if things don’t get pulled together. We have enemies coming at us. If we’re fractured like this…”
“We’ll go down,” Marcus responds grimly. “Let’s see how things go with Lio tomorrow. If I need to, I'll talk with Il Padrone.”
As much as I want to tell him no, to assert myself as his Dom, I resist. If Il Padrone is going to be stubborn, perhaps sending him his War will help. Of course, that depends on if he finds out about Hollis and Lio first. We may not need the LEOs to destroy us. Our Boss may do it for them…