Page 3 of Protecting Charity

Luca drove his fist into the wall and yelled. “Deal with her before I do.” An empty threat that didn’t have Max or me worried. He slammed the door, leaving us to resolve this.

“How many times have I told you not to provoke him?Hmm, Charity?” Max cradled his swelling jaw. “You took it too far this time.”

“Ahh. He is the one that keeps reminding me I’m expendable,” she screamed. “One can only handle it so many times from someone you…” She flung her hands in the air. “Forget it.”

“He doesn’t think you’re disposable,” I said, trying to calm her.

Luca had a well-known anger issue. In fact, it was a Moreno family trait that I am thankful not to inherit. However, it was one thing to take his anger out on his men, but not to her. That was too much.

Max should have known better. Calling her out like that in front of others was just asking for a beating.

“Could have fooled me. That’s the second time he’s threatened to blow my brains all over the wall in front of someone.”

“Well, we are telling you here and now, you aren’t replaceable,” Max said. “So, how are we going to fix this?”

“We?”

“Yes, we. We are by your side to help you,” I said.

She huffed then looked away from me. “Like you helped me when you walked in, right?”

“We will not overrule him, Charity.” He stepped forward as she backed away. “Don’t pit us against each other again. We’re on the same team. We just go about things differently sometimes.”

“Can we stop this bickering and move on now?Weneed to focus on finding the girl and your brother. Understand?”

She nodded. “Can I leave now?”

I nodded, then pulled her through the door, and out the back door of the restaurant to my car while Max went to take care of the bruise forming on his face.

It should have never gone this far. Just when I felt we were making progress with her, now we were two steps back, starting all over again. Luca needed to stop making her feel like a pawn in the game of Mafia Life. It wasn’t helping matters to win her over or otherwise.

The aching silence was chilling as I dropped her off in her driveway. I couldn’t afford another blow out between us. I had enough on my plate the way it is. I didn’t have time for damage control.

She screwed up and put all of us in a tight bind. If Pops ever got wind of her insolence, who knows what he’d do. He regarded her as the daughter he never had. He placed her on this pedestal where he could adore her from afar.

The best thing about being a lawyer for high-class clients… I had connections. To add to it all, I had the Moreno Family connections that dug in deeper than my clients ever could.

I needed to reach out to my detective friend in the department and find out exactly what the police suspected Morgan of doing. Then, when I finished, I’d need to contact the head of the Sabinas Cartel—Elias Hernandez. He was merciless. Worse than my brother, and that was saying something.

We would move on from this. It couldn’t end this way between us. I wouldn’t allow it.

Chapter 2

Charity

Whoever came up with the saying, “it’s better to ask for forgiveness than permission,” was a liar or never had a Luca in their life. Cannoli was lucky pre-planning, and preparation was a key proponent in my life. When I opened the door, he wrapped his fat body around my ankles, then stretched up my thigh and dug his fucking claws in, showing me just how much he didn’t care for my absence. Tiny puncture marks from his claws marred my flesh with crimson dots. Little shit.

“It’s not like it was my choice to not be here!”

Great, now I had another male mad at me.

He put his tail in the air and swayed away, satisfied with his level of assholery. I dropped his wet food in his bowl, then headed for the shower to wash the grime from my body.

The scalding water burned my skin a cherry red while I scoured my limbs with the lilac-scented scrub. Flowery aroma filled the room, making me sigh with familiarity. I couldn’t get my mind to come away from the events of the last few days. Normally, I would frolic in a meadow full of lilacs and sunshine during my showers, but this time, Hell pinned me in this realm.

This little girl consumed my thoughts. What terror she must be experiencing, all because her older sister concocted some rationale in her head to make her actions acceptable. Of all the regrets to have in the world, this one was a doozy. If I could go back and fix it, I would, but I can’t, so I need to figure out how to resolve it.

Water streamed down my face while I wracked my brain tirelessly, thinking of a solution. I don’t regret killing Morgan, just the timing of it all. Now I have Luca breathing down my neck and not in the way I wished he would.

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