Chapter 19
“You want me to ask, what?” I stare at Marcus over breakfast in our suite. Cole has already eaten and is playing quietly in his room. Carter is at Roman’s bedside again. So this is a rare time where it’s just the two of us. And yet…
Marcus sighs as he sets his bagel down. “I know you probably don’t understand it.
But Lio…Lio struggles with emotions. What Il Padrone offered him worked.
Right now, he’s lost in his head, trying to punish himself.
Allesandro knows it. We took away Lio’s method for coping by ripping Il Padrone away from him.
He needs his Master. It’s not like it is with the rest of us Boys—although, admittedly, I won’t disagree with some of his punishments. ”
I snort, unable to believe Marcus is advocating that I convince, not just Sarah, but Hollis and Tennant, to entertain this idea. “I think having Doc find a qualified therapist is a better option.”
“Allesandro isn’t disagreeing with that. He’s always pushed for therapy for Lio. It was Lio’s decision not to see someone. But as a temporary…fix…using the old method can get him through.”
“You realize that although the Council chose to let Allesandro live, I cannot promise Tennant and Hollis won’t kill him if he brings this up, right?” I finish the last of my omelet and reach for my tea, hoping that’ll help prevent the incoming headache.
Marcus runs his fingers through his hair roughly, frustration pouring off him. “I don’t have an answer that’ll fix everything or make everyone happy. I wish I did! But my main concern is Lio.”
My heart sinks. I know he’s trying his best, and fuck if I’ll ever understand what used to be the Martelli way. Hell, the way Allesandro twisted Lio up, maybe that is the answer. There’s only one way to find out…and I just hope Tennant and Hollis don’t kill me as well.
“Very well,” I reply unhappily. “But I’m going over it with Sarah first before I bring Tennant and Hollis into it. If anything, Sarah needs to be read into the situation, as it’s likely to become volatile.”
Marcus nods, but doesn’t say anything. Instead, he works on polishing off his breakfast before finishing the last of his coffee. He stands up and checks his watch with a sigh.
“Then I’ll let you do that while I check in with Ely. I don’t know what the Senator has planned, but maybe she’s heard something. Until he makes a move, we don’t have much direction.”
Wincing, I add, “You should ask Leandro if he’s found out anything. If you’re meeting up with Ely, you need to take someone with you. I don’t trust the situation right now. Everyone goes in pairs from here on out.”
Marcus scowls at me. Whether it’s because he’ll need to talk to Leandro, or making him take a partner, I’m not sure.
I’d ask, but I’d prefer for it to not devolve into an argument right now.
The majority of us currently don’t trust the kid, but the truth is, he’s still a damn genius, and as long as he starts being honest… well, we may have a chance.
“Fine, I’ll take Antonio. He’s the only one not on the injured list right now. Although, I think he has an appointment with a plastic surgeon at some point today.”
Marcus shrugs, as if he doesn’t care, but I know he does. He wouldn’t mention it otherwise. Whatever issue those two have, they’ll figure it out. If needed, Jude and I will exercise our authority to assist the situation…
“Alright. Behave. Both of you.” I stand up and reach over, yanking him down for a hard kiss.
“I’ll check in with Sarah, and figure out where she wants to go with it.
Then I plan to check on Carter. Hopefully, Roman will be willing to let others in to see him today.
I’m not sure if I can keep Ignacio out much longer…
I did have the cook send him pancakes to try and cheer him up. ”
Marcus raises an eyebrow, but I merely shrug.
I pay attention. Despite Lio’s severe avoidance of pancakes—which is understandable—I know Roman has a soft spot for them.
I may have convinced the cook to send a few different varieties, and enough for Carter to have some as well. Someone has to watch out for him.
I take a moment to make sure I’m as put together as possible before following Marcus out.
Every step to the medical wing feels like a million, the sense of foreboding growing with each one.
Still, maybe I’m wrong. Maybe Sarah will not only understand, but be able to explain it to Tennant and Hollis in a way that doesn’t make them homicidal.
Jesus. Now I’m the delusional one. The last thing we needed was the homicidal teddy bear falling for those two… Combustible is an understatement with all of them.
Thankfully, I don’t have to track Sarah down once I get into the medical wing. She’s frowning at something she’s reading, which concerns me. Walking up to her, I get her attention by tapping on her shoulder. She glances up at me and narrows her eyes, which almost has me backpedaling.
“Yes?” she asks sharply.
“I need to talk to you,” I murmur quietly, glancing around in case anyone can overhear. “Privately.”
Sighing, she tucks the folder under her arm and gestures for me to follow her into a small break room. I hadn’t noticed it before, so it’s either new, or they’re rearranging things again.
“What is it this time?” she asks warily, taking a seat on the small couch that's shoved against the wall.
She gestures toward the mini fridge, and knowing my sister, I get us both a bottle of water.
I grab one of the chairs and drag it over to where I can sit across from her.
Pinching the bridge of my nose, I try to figure out how to word this without pissing her off.
Not to mention, while our relationship is better, I'm not exactly comfortable talking about anything sex-related with my damn sister.
“Alright,” I mutter, before taking a deep breath.
“This is…awkward, but I promised Marcus I’d talk to you about it.
He let Allesandro know about what happened with Lio.
Obviously, Allesandro wants to help. There’s one thing I don’t doubt and that’s his love for Lio.
However, his suggestion was…unorthodox.”
Sarah raises one of her perfectly manicured eyebrows at me when I stop short.
Fuck. I shift uncomfortably in the seat, not wanting to talk kink with my sister.
It must dawn on her what my issue is because she starts laughing.
I scowl and fold my arms, waiting for her to stop.
It takes way too long before she finally subsides.
“Are you done now?” I snap, my patience finally gone.
Breathing hard, she wipes at her eyes. “I’d apologize, but I needed that.”
“I’m glad one of us can find something to laugh about right now,” I grumble. At her scorching look, I cringe and put up my hands. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean you aren’t under a great deal of stress.”
Her lips press into a thin line and I keep my mouth shut, knowing it’s best not to rile her up further. With a sigh, she pinches the bridge of her nose, her manner so similar to mine at times that it makes my heart ache for the time we spent apart.
She drops her hand and straightens up, staring at me directly.
“I’m not surprised Allesandro reached that conclusion.
You weren’t with us when Lio was kidnapped by Peter.
What he went through…the asshole did far more damage than Lio prefers to think about.
Not only multiple rapes, but drugging him so that Lio thought he was an active participant—he was not.
“And he had another situation while escaping that affected him—a truck driver.
“I wasn’t overly familiar with Lio, aside from what I had heard. It wasn’t until after he came back to us—came back to Il Padrone—that I was introduced formally. In the beginning, it was difficult. He wouldn’t open up. Wouldn’t trust.
“He threw himself into hunting for answers. He…doesn’t do emotions well.
I suspect, even before Allesandro, he was stunted in that area.
Research made it clear he had no close friends, had never dated, etc.
His only relationships have been with those in the Martelli Family, and now, branching out to the Amatos. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
“Not…really? I mean, that’s concerning…and the poor kid must have been in for a shock when he was introduced to the Family, and er…the Martelli way.”
Snorting, Sarah doesn’t disagree. Crossing her legs, she leans forward.
“What I’m getting at is that Allesandro taught Lio a way to handle emotions.
I’m not going to say it was right or wrong.
To be honest, the one thing I can say for Allesandro is, aside from what happened with Lio that last time, he has never hurt any of his Boys out of anger.
Not after he got out from under his father.
The only explanation I have for what happened between them is that he must have been suffering from severe PTSD, something I did not catch. ”
“You can’t put it on yourself,” I protest.
“I’m not. Not truly. But there’s a reason I assisted in removing Lio, and everyone else, from the Martelli home.
He crossed a line. The question is…did he cross too much of a line for Lio?
Kink, as you know, only works if there’s trust.” She exhales deeply as she sits back, a frown marring her face.
“To be honest, I don’t think the trust was irrevocably damaged.
Not knowing Lio as I do. The strength it took for him to leave…
I can’t imagine. This is a man who truly was devoted to Il Padrone, and while the Amatos may not see it this way, Allesandro was equally devoted to his Boy.
It’s why what happened never made sense.
But Lio is very black and white with how he thinks.
There’s no middle ground. To him, Allesandro proved to be untrustworthy by breaking his rules.
So…again. The question is: did it break all of his trust.”
“I would think so based on what you’re saying,” I reply slowly. “I can’t imagine forgiving that.”
“Nor would you. But you’re very different from Lio.
Lio has a capacity to forgive that, to be honest, is immeasurable.
The only thing he won’t forgive, from what I’ve seen, is someone hurting a loved one.
Hence, Luca being persona non grata for the longest time.
Although that now seems to have been fixed, to a certain degree.
“But it wasn’t because Luca tried to kill him. Lio placed Luca on the never forgive list because he assaulted Benjamin and almost killed Il Padrone, and never gave a true apology.
“Lio wouldn’t have had such a severe reaction to Allesandro not doing well if the love wasn’t still there. For there to be love, there must be trust. Did it splinter? I’m sure it did. But shatter completely? I don’t think so.”
“Is it enough to take a gamble on this working?” I stare at her doubtfully, my mind already contemplating the multiple ways it could go wrong.
Sarah shrugs one shoulder. “To be honest, everything is a risk. Putting him with a therapist is a risk—mainly because I hope Doc doesn’t pick someone he’d be sorry if they were killed.
I would trust Allesandro in this. If, for some reason, Lio isn’t reacting properly, Allesandro will back off.
He won’t risk his Boy. And yes, I know I’m advocating that you ignore evidence to the contrary.
But we’ve all done things we’ve regretted—haven’t we? ”
I shift at her pointed stare, unable to defend myself. Hell, I’ve even made a mistake with Marcus, reacting in anger before. Granted, I never raped him, but I certainly didn’t treat him right all the time. Plus, I should have made sure Amy was safe before that situation devolved… Fuck.
“Allesandro wanted to bring it to you directly…and to Hollis and Tennant.”
Sarah’s lips quirk up at the mention of the two Amatos. “I can see that being fun.”
“I’d prefer not to be killed. I’m assuming you don’t want Allesandro on your table either,” I retort pointedly.
“Relax. I’m sure it’ll be fine. If you’re concerned, I’ll attend. However, if Tennant and Hollis love Lio, they’ll understand his needs and act accordingly.”
“Uh…I’m just going to state for the record, I highly doubt those two are going to be willing to trust Allesandro with their Boy. Especially, after just getting him back. And then almost losing him again.”
Sarah smiles evilly. “Then don’t worry, I’ll take care of it. Because Lio deserves to be happy and well. This is only a short-term fix—if it works, which I do think it will. If those two want to put their attitudes and feelings ahead of my friend… Well, I have a scalpel with their names on it.”
Swallowing, I blink at my sister. Breathing out, I shake my head slowly. “Fuck. The Bratva is so not ready for you.”
Sniffing, she replies, “David assures me that they are. And if not…it’ll be fun. They’ll learn not to underestimate me.”
I swallow the last of my water and stand up, keeping a cautious eye on Sarah. “Alright, let me see if Hollis and Tennant are available. Maybe you can make sure Allesandro is ready?”
Sarah stands up too, waving her hand in acknowledgment before marching out the door.
I drop my head back and stare up at the ceiling for a moment.
If I was the type to pray, this is when I’d do it.
Because…fuck. Somehow I have to keep Hollis and Tennant from killing Allesandro, and keep Sarah from killing Hollis and Tennant.
I should have added alcohol to my morning tea…
Squaring my shoulders, I take a deep breath and get started.
It needs to be done sooner than later, because we need our Council working, which means Lio and Roman need to get back to work.
Not to mention, what happened to Lio set off a fucking domino effect that led to everyone else breaking. So we need to fix this now.