Chapter 25
Chapter Twenty-Five
VERONA
The sunlight slices its way through the curtains, hitting my eyesight as I crack my eyes open.
“Ugh,” I groan.
A knock at the door simply nails the notice to my sleep, telling me I have to wake up. Pablo is against my back while Rosa sleeps on my pillow. I slept like a rock. If we’re all figuring things out, we may need to move out soon, though I hate the idea of returning to a soulless rental.
Wiggling around to escape him, I gasp as I crawl over feet until I fall onto the ground off the bed.
I need coffee before I can be graceful. My fingers find a pair of Pablo’s discarded joggers, and I have to roll down the waistband several times before it’ll fit.
Groaning softly, I stumble to the door and open it, not bothering to look to see who it is.
I trust Pack Mayor to keep us safe, and maybe that’s why I sleep better here than at the rental.
“Good morning,” I mumble, letting the door frame hold me up.
“Dario has an update for us. He and Ciro are at the main house, and Pack Tremaine is on their way to us,” Easton says, lips twitching at how disheveled I am. “I see Nico made it through the night?”
“His ass hung over the edge of the bed all night, but he definitely survived,” I say teasingly. “I’ll wake everyone up and get them moving.”
“There will be coffee and breakfast by the time you arrive,” he says easily.
“You all are a godsend,” I admit with a smile.
“Dario hinted he’s looking for property to buy. I like some of you enough to give him a lead on a house going up for sale on our street. It has everything he’s looking for, outside of the location.”
My brows raise, because I wasn’t aware they were looking to buy. “I was under the impression their presence in Savannah wasn’t permanent,” I muse.
“Some things change,” he says with a wink. “Savannah is in your blood, same as Rosa.”
“This is very true. We’ll see you soon.”
Closing the door gently, I turn to find several pairs of eyes on me.
“Time to get up,” I groan teasingly.
“I haven’t slept this well in far too long,” Nico admits, kissing Rosa’s shoulder as he sits up.
“Your brothers are at the house. Apparently, it looks like we may have trouble brewing.”
“I swear it’s always something. Does anyone mind if I take a quick shower?” he asks.
“It’ll only be fast if someone reminds you what that means,” Pablo teases, getting out of bed. “I also want to make sure you don’t fall asleep again.”
“Don’t mother hen me,” Nico complains, pulling off his clothes as he stands. The lack of clothing reveals toned skin with sinewed muscles, and his ass tenses and relaxes as he walks. There’s a few scars on his back and chest, which speak to a life full of violence.
Rosa and I can’t help but watch, and Pablo hugs me from behind when he notices.
“My favorite thing to do is watch that man walk around naked. I swear, he doesn’t understand how hot he is.”
“What’s with the scars?” I ask softly, though I wait until the water begins to run first.
“His dad was a bastard,” Pablo grunts. “Even before they found out he supplied kids to his favorite employees. Roberto Domino pushed his son the hardest to make difficult decisions. Protecting me was never one of those. Not for Nico.”
“It was never mine either,” Rosa says softly, her eyes on mine as Nico calls Pablo’s name.
Their lives aren’t as different as some would think.
Once the guys are done showering, Rosa and I put our hair up and get in there after brushing our teeth and laying out clothing. Nico gets dressed in a pair of jeans and t-shirt that’s in one of the drawers, and twenty minutes later, we’re ready and walking through the garden toward the house.
I noticed Rosa put on some of her alpha pheromone blocker cream since we’ll be around a lot more alphas, and I don’t fault her for it. She has zero immunity to them thanks to her father’s decisions to keep her in check.
I wouldn’t be comfortable in a large group of alphas if I were her either.
Thankfully, we find everyone on the patio, with fans blowing in one direction to push the various scents away from where they seat us. I can feel how appreciative Rosa is through our bond as she sits down, and Nico smiles to himself as he looks around at everyone.
“The kindness you’ve all shown to Rosa is incredible. Thank you for being so sensitive to her needs,” he says.
“It’s nice to see you’re pulling your head out of your ass,” Cassidy says.
“Bond sickness has a way of humbling you,” Nico drawls, shrugging. Yep, still has a way with words.
“Oh my god,” she whispers.
“He’ll survive,” Rosa snorts. Fuck yes. That’s my girl. “Dario, would you like to explain why we’re here?”
“After you have coffee, dear, sweet, Rosa,” he says, smirking.
“Did you fall on your head?” I ask, annoyed now that I put my hair up in a braided bun. I desperately need something to fidget with, but it would be a tell Dario doesn’t need to pick up on.
“Not today,” Dario grunts, moving over to pick up the coffee carafe to begin serving our pack. He starts with Rosa, putting the items she’ll need to doctor her beverage with before continuing on. “Are you offering, micina?”
Silas hides a smile as he begins to set out food, and Rosa glances up to find everyone is waiting for her and Pablo to either serve themselves or be served. Southern runs thick in this household.
“Pablo,” she mumbles, reaching out to place toast, fruit, and a waffle on her plate.
“I see the alphas staring,” he mutters, making my lips twitch in amusement. They’re the only omegas at the table today, and I wonder how we’re going to fix our latest issue.
“Be a good girl and take a bite. Then I’ll start talking,” Dario says, pushing his luck.
I pull out the remote control from my dress pocket, while Rosa quietly pulls out her knife and lays it on the table.
“No bloodshed at the table, children,” Lyle murmurs, making Abbott chuckle.
Rosa pops a blueberry into her mouth and begins to chew, and Dario sits down next to me again, kissing my hair as he does so.
My lips part in surprise, and he shrugs saying, “I like your hair today. It reminds me of a fairy princess.”
Rosa shakes her head as she eats, and I can feel her disbelief and amusement. The Domino brothers are acting very oddly indeed.
“Please don’t give Verona a stroke,” Lyle grumbles. “I have a reputation to keep for not killing my house guests.”
“That’s what I get for trying to be nice,” Dario sighs. “Your uncle is a cunt, Rosalia.”
“Which one?” she asks, unbothered as she sips her coffee. “My grandparents were very fertile. Between them, there are many children.”
“Elio,” Ciro adds for context.
“Does anyone have any idea how his fingers are healing?” she asks. “I can’t believe Dr. Walsh managed to reattach them.”
“He didn’t have much choice from my understanding,” Pablo says. “I did some research on my computer on the video feeds, and he was held at gunpoint.”
“Sometimes, it’s best not to answer the house call,” I breathe, forcing myself to eat. Pablo and Rosa aren’t the only ones getting sidelong glances, and I don’t want to be the next subject of conversation.
“What is Elio up to?” Rosa asks, pulling the train back onto the tracks.
“He’s telling people your father has gone soft for not killing you yet,” Dario explains. “In his mind, you disappeared from the church, and haven’t been seen in public since. He’s telling the family you’re spitting in the face of tradition.”
“If my wedding was a normal one, and my father wasn’t batshit crazy, then maybe he would be correct. I’d go to people’s homes to visit and chat as a newly married wife. Instead, I am plotting my family’s demise in safety.”
“What’s his end game, and where did you hear this from?”
“Nico’s phone received a call this morning from one of Rosa’s aunts, demanding to know if this was true. Speaking of which, here is your phone, Nico. She was honestly kind of a shrew. I pretended to be my brother, and she couldn’t tell the difference,” Dario sighs, sliding Nico’s phone to him.
“I haven’t had much of a presence in the Accetta family outside of seeing them at the wedding, so it’s not any wonder she didn’t know my voice,” Nico says. “How much trouble is he stirring up, and if there’s a call to kill Renzo to replace him, do we save him?”
“Selfishly, I want to be the one to kill my father,” Rosa admits. “If Elio takes Papa’s place, it’ll cause enough upset that they may all boycott the charity event, citing it’s unsafe to attend.”
“We’ve discussed culling the family so we have less people we need to invite as well,” Silas says. “Should we begin now?”
“Yes,” Rosa says. “I want Elio’s head. I don’t much care how the rest of his men or his daughters are killed. He has an ex-wife who is currently living in his home, and Sheila is a miserable human as well. Unfortunately, his home is a large one. How do we feel about poison?”
“Like the kind the women in your family make?” I ask. “Isn’t there a way for them to know if they’re ingesting something that may be poisoned?”
“The cook doesn’t allow anything to pass through her kitchen that she hasn’t made.
She bakes all of the desserts as well,” Rosa explains.
“The best way to get poison into something would be in the milk or some type of liquid we know most of the household will drink. A maid would be the best option. Chef Etna can’t be in the kitchen at all times. ”
“Let us work on that,” Cassidy muses. “Shiloh, think we can blackmail one of Elio’s maids into this?”
“Oh yeah, Precious. I can make that happen. Give me a couple of hours, and I’ll start working off a list of those who need more money than Elio provides. We can throw one of them a bone,” he says.
“If it helps, Elio brings over his maids from Italy. He says it makes them more loyal because they’re in a country where they know no one.
My uncle has deplorable hiring practices, but having maids who can’t speak English, means they’re more likely to stay quiet when they see something they shouldn’t,” Rosa says.
“So they’re innocent,” I muse.