Chapter 10
Breakfast at the Marchetti compound should have felt civilized.
The formal dining room was drenched in soft morning light, pouring through the tall windows and glinting off polished silverware and crystal glasses.
A spread of food sat dispersed across the long table on individual plates.
Fresh fruit, eggs, pastries, thick-cut bacon, espresso, fresh-squeezed juice. Everything is immaculate.
Everything is expensive. And yet the air felt strange. Not tense exactly. Just…off.
Dimitri sat at the head of the table, dark hair still damp from his shower, shirtsleeves rolled to his forearms as he nursed a black coffee and read through a stack of printed reports.
He looked as severe as ever, though the faint line between his brows suggested he was already one inconvenience away from strangling someone before noon.
Killian sat on his right, massive body sprawled into a chair that looked too delicate to hold him.
His tattooed forearms rested on the table as he cut into a slab of steak like breakfast personally offended him.
He kept glancing at Nico every few seconds, his brow lowering further each time.
Nico was acting weird. Weirder than usual, anyway.
He sat stiff-backed across from Killian, a glass of orange juice in one hand, untouched eggs on the plate in front of him, with an expression men wore when they’d slept badly and hated themselves for the reason why.
His glasses were on, his dark hair neat, his face composed in that clean, polished way he preferred.
But his jaw was too tight. His eyes kept darting toward the doorway every few seconds.
And every time they did, Killian noticed. Dimitri noticed too. Neither of them had said anything yet but they were getting close.
Then Bea walked in and she looked entirely too pleased with herself.
Her dark curls were piled on top of her head in a messy knot, a few tendrils framing her face.
She wore soft black leggings and an oversized cream sweater that slipped off one shoulder just enough to suggest she knew exactly what she was doing.
Her cheeks were still faintly pink, her mouth curved, her whole body radiating the kind of loose, languid ease that didn’t belong in a house built on suspicion and violence.
She looked rested. Worse, she looked satisfied. “Morning, boys,” she said brightly, dropping into her chair like she owned the damned room.
Bea reached for a piece of toast and hummed under her breath. Bea looked around with mock innocence. “What? No one wants to know how I’m feeling this morning?”
Nico’s grip tightened so hard on his glass and let out a rough breath. Dimitri’s eyes flicked to him and Killian narrowed his gaze.
“I’ll bite,” Killian muttered, still staring at her. “How are you feeling this morning?”
Bea smiled. “Relaxed.”
Nico coughed into his fist. Dimitri lowered his papers by half an inch.
Killian’s eyes narrowed further. “Relaxed?”
Bea nodded, reaching for her water. “Very. I have a very special morning routine that sets the tone for the entire day.”
That made Killian sit up straighter.
Dimitri slowly folded the papers and set them aside, sensing entertainment if nothing else.
Killian dragged his eyes over Bea’s face, his voice lower now. “What kind of routine?”
Bea turned her head and met his gaze directly. The look she gave him was pure heat.
Slow, knowing, dangerous. “The self-help kind.” she said softly.
Nico choked. Orange juice sprayed across the table in a bright, humiliating arch. For one stunned second, nobody moved.
Then Dimitri’s head snapped toward him with murderous precision. “For fuck’s sake, Nico.”
Killian barked out a laugh, then caught himself when Nico shot him a look that promised death.
Bea took a very delicate sip of water watching the madness unfold.
Nico grabbed his napkin, wiping at his mouth and the table with jerky, furious movements. “I’m fine, thanks for asking.”
“You just spit citrus all over the dining room,” Dimitri said coldly. “You are clearly not fine. What the hell is wrong with you?”
Nico didn’t answer. Mostly because Bea got there first. She set her water glass down with far too much grace for someone about to commit psychological murder in broad daylight.
“You’re right, Dimitri,” she said thoughtfully. “He does seem a little wound up this morning.” Nico froze. Bea tilted her head, eyes wide and innocent. “Maybe he needs to partake in a little self-help of his own before breakfast.”
Killian went very still. Dimitri’s gaze moved from Bea to Nico and back again. The room held its breath. Then Nico rose so abruptly his chair scraped hard against the marble floor. “Shut the fuck up,” he snapped.
“Watch your mouth, Nico” Killian’s voice assertive.
Bea pressed her lips together, clearly fighting laughter.
Nico pointed straight at her, face flushed, eyes blazing behind his glasses. “You, are evil.” He bit out, and that did it. Bea broke.
She laughed so hard she had to brace one hand on the table, shoulders shaking, head tipping back as the sound spilled bright and wicked into the room.
Nico looked like he was two seconds from either strangling her or throwing himself into traffic. Instead, he turned on his heel and stormed out. The dining room doors slammed behind him. Silence followed.
Then Killian slowly leaned back in his chair and looked at Bea with an expression that was half suspicion, half raw interest. “What, did you do to him?” He asked carefully.
Bea wiped at the corner of one eye, still grinning. “Me?” she asked sweetly. “Nothing.” Dimitri didn’t look convinced and Killian looked even less convinced but somewhat amused.
Bea picked up her toast again, entirely unbothered. “Maybe he just needs more vitamins or to get laid.”
Dimitri stared at the closed doors for a long moment, then looked back at her. “You are a menace.”
Bea smiled around a bite of toast. “True, but that man has a very guilty conscience, maybe he saw something that he shouldn’t have seen. I, on the other hand, have a very peaceful conscience. I suggest you have a talk with your little brother.”
Killian’s mouth twitched. Dimitri muttered something in Italian under his breath and reached for his coffee, but both men were really watching her now. Because whatever had happened between Bea and Nico, it had shifted something and they were both dying to know what it was.
Bea just smiled into her water glass, looking entirely too pleased with herself, let them wonder.