Chapter Nineteen
Olivia
I didn’t have huge experience of men, but the limited interactions I had had over the years were mostly with family. Roberto and Papa tended to be the same with everyone, generally acting like assholes, and treating people like shit.
Maximus confused me. There was the man who existed in our home, the cold businessman who never showed a flicker of emotion, and then there was the man sitting at the table beside me.
It was a family dinner, and the entire Rossi clan had gathered for the evening.
Maximus examined the glass in his hand, turning it in the light while Lucio talked to everyone and no one at the table, since he didn’t seem to require an answer.
There appeared to be some business deal he wanted Maximus or his father to give him advice on.
“This is a family dinner,” Maximus said, speaking over the top of Lucio.
Lucio waved his fork in the air. “I’m aware.” He continued to talk about his business, and I watched Poppy move her napkin about with her head down. There were times Poppy was confident and outgoing, but I’d noticed she tended to be quiet around her husband.
Maximus set his glass down, moving his attention to his father. “Any news on the vineyard?” he asked, ignoring Lucio who was still speaking.
“We are flying out next week,” Giovanni replied. “It can be the first stop on my retirement world tour. My sister is delighted we are coming to Italy.”
“She has sent me at least twenty messages today about the house,” Athena added, smiling at me. “My sister-in-law looks after our home in Italy when we are absent, and her husband oversees the vineyard as it runs adjacent to his.”
“It sounds like a beautiful part of the world,” I replied to my mother-in-law. “Are you looking forward to visiting?”
Lucio slammed his glass down to show his displeasure at being ignored. I flinched, too many years of Roberto threatening me triggering me. Maximus’ gaze narrowed for a moment at my reaction.
“I love going to our villa in Italy, but business got in the way so much in the past. Giovanni and I are going to travel, and see all the wonders on my bucket list.” Athena smiled at her husband. “We’re going to have a second honeymoon.”
Maximus groaned and shook his head. “Do you mind? Willow and I agreed a long time ago that we were delivered by the stork.”
“I’m sorry to disappoint, my son, but you were conceived the old-fashioned way,” Giovanni laughed, bouncing his eyebrows, and making Maximus cover his eyes.
None of us wanted to think of our parents bumping uglies in the throes of passion. In my head, they had always been my parents, sleeping in separate rooms, and almost living different lives.
“I’m scarred,” Maximus groaned. “You two disturb me on a different level. Can you not just be normal, and argue with each other?”
I laughed at his pained expression. “Everyone is young once, Max.”
“They can be young, but these are my parents. Yuk!” He shivered, and Poppy giggled, pointing at him.
“You are the worst villain I know, and you turn into a wuss when our parents hold hands in public,” Poppy said.
“We did more than hold hands before Maximus was born,” Athena said, laughing as Maximus covered his ears with his hands.
“Stop!” Maximus pointed at his parents. “There is no need to traumatise me, or I’ll resign, and you’ll have to take over the business again.”
Giovanni sat back in his chair, and grinned like the Cheshire cat. “The business is yours, my son. It is a young man’s game, and my name does not strike the fear in the heart of our enemies that yours does.”
Maximus rolled his eyes. “I’m a pussy cat,” he muttered.
My laugh bubbled free because he was the greatest predator I’d ever met. “So is a tiger.”
My husband’s gaze moved to me. “You’re supposed to be on my side,” he accused.
“I am,” I replied. “Tigers happen to be my favourite of the big cats.”
He winked, and returned his attention to his parents.
“As fascinating as this insight into the family is, we need to discuss this business deal,” Lucio said, gaining everyone’s attention. The atmosphere in the room turned icy cold, and I suppressed the need to shiver.
Suddenly, all the humour left Maximus and Giovanni as they stared at Lucio.
“This deal is important,” Lucio continued, seemingly oblivious to the scene he was creating. Poppy stared down at the table again.
“This is a family dinner,” Maximus said in a cold voice. “Business is discussed at my office, not over a roast and potatoes.”
Lucio drained his glass before setting it down. “Your diary has been full.”
“I’ve been on my honeymoon,” Maximus pointed out. “I was out of the country.”
“Which means I have had to wait, and now the deal is in jeopardy,” Lucio replied, and I realised he was drunk.
“That sounds like a you problem, not a me problem,” Maximus said, lifting his glass to study it again. He used a glass as a prop when he was at social events, and I was beginning to wonder if he used it to stop him throttling those who annoyed him. He only lifted it when Lucio was talking.
“Not if the deal is secured using your name,” Lucio replied, shoving another piece of steak into his mouth.
Maximus was so still, panic started to rise inside me. I knew that body expression, and it meant danger for whoever was the focus of his attention, like a tiger ready to strike. Giovanni sat back in his seat.
“Why would you secure a deal on our family name?” Giovanni asked, his head tilting to the side. “You have your own name.”
“They wanted to deal with Maximus, but he was unavailable. We are family, and it was too good to pass up,” Lucio defended.
“If it was that important, then they would have waited for me to return from honeymoon. No one uses my name in a deal except me,” Maximus said, his tone ice cold.
Lucio waved his arm as if he batted the statement away. “We are family.”
Maximus twisted the glass in his hand, his fingers white with the tension of holding it so tightly. “You are married to my sister,” Maximus corrected Lucio. “If she divorced you tomorrow, you would be nothing to me.”
That got Lucio’s attention, and he finally set his knife and fork down, paying attention to the mood at the table. “We have done business before.”
“We have collaborated when I checked the deal, and decided to invest,” Maximus replied. “What is this business proposition?”
“Mateo Lopez,” Lucio said, a smirk on his lips as if we should all be in awe of who he was doing business with.
“Of the Lopez cartel in Venezuela?” Maximus queried.
“The same.” Lucio nodded, sitting back with his smile widening, his hands flat on the table.
He was supposed to know Maximus, he had been married to his sister, and able to observe him in close quarters for years. I had watched him for years, knew his expressions, the change in his eyes when someone displeased him, and then there was the moment he became a cold-blooded killer.
Maximus had flipped the switch tonight, and his humanity was gone.
“You do realise that the Lopez cartel was dismantled a few months ago, and Leandra Lopez is now in England with her ex-husband?” Maximus asked. “Diego was assassinated, and Mateo was allowed to flee only because he hadn’t been an asshole to his niece Lilianna.”
Lucio swallowed hard, but remained staring at Maximus. “How do you know all this?”
“I was on the team who tore it apart, along with the mess that Darius Ramirez made when he created the camps that Willow was in. He was funded by the Lopez cartel.” Maximus’ fingertips drummed a beat on the edge of the table.
Lucio shot a look at Giovanni. “How was I supposed to know?” he started, but Maximus cut him off.
“Did you try phoning Jake since he had been in South America with me? He would have been the first person to tell you we don’t deal with drug dealers. Never have, never will.”
“It’s easy money,” Lucio whined, and I witnessed the moment Maximus lost his careful control of his temper.
He lifted his steak knife and reached across the table to slam it into the fleshy part of the top of Lucio’s hand.
It all happened so quickly, I barely realised what was happening, and Lucio didn’t have time to react.
Blood pooled on the table, and Lucio stared at his hand for several seconds before he reacted, trying to pull the blade out, and screaming.
“Shut the fuck up, and listen to me,” Maximus said, a thunderstorm in his eyes. “You do not make assurances using my money, and you certainly don’t drag my reputation into bed with drug dealers who enjoy raping little girls.”
My gaze flew to Poppy who continued to sit with her head down, and her hands on her lap. Her eyes were closed, and something broke inside me to see this powerful woman shutting down.
“Who the fuck are you to stand on the moral high ground when everyone knows you have no problem dragging people into your bed? Your sex clubs are the talk of the city,” Lucio raged, spittle escaping as he spoke.
“You wouldn’t know as we vet the clientele,” Maximus retorted, sitting back to watch his brother-in-law.
“You’ll regret this,” Lucio snapped, pushing his chair back with a violent shove that made it clatter to the floor.
“I doubt it,” Maximus replied. “My greatest regret was letting my sister marry an asshole like you.”
Lucio grabbed Poppy by the arm, her eyes met mine at she was dragged to her feet, and there was fear there.
“Poppy is my wife, so you can keep your nose out of my business,” Lucio snarled, his top lip curling.
“Believe me, I’ve seen your portfolio, and don’t want to be involved in your business,” Maximus replied, pushing himself to his feet. “But let me assure you that if you hurt my sister, there isn’t a rock big enough for you to hide under where I won’t find you.”
Lucio spun and stormed from the room, dragging Poppy behind him.
“Why did you let her marry him?” Maximus asked, his gaze fixed on the door his sister had disappeared through.