Page 3 of Arranged Obsession
“Did she call the police?”
“We’re working on it, don’t you worry.”
I nod once, jaw tightening. I hear a lot of awful things in this place, but kids getting hurt never fails to fuck me up. Which is probably good. If I’m ever numb to that, I’ll probably have to quit for my own sanity. At least I know I’ve still got my soul intact.
“I hope that piece of shit rots.” I push back from her desk and stand. “Anything else you need?”
“Nope, just the kids for now. You’re my favorite volunteer, you know that?”
“Better be. I’ve been hanging around here for too long now.”
“You’ll get sick of us one of these days.”
I give her my best smile. Even if I’m hurting inside, I can grin straight in the face of hell and keep on going. Because no matter what happens, Grace House is my penance; it’s the penance my whole family deserves. It’s small, but it’s something, and I won’t ever quit, not unless I’ve got no other choice.
“Doubt it. I just love singing nursery rhymes and cleaning toilets way too much to walk away.”
I’m drainedsix hours later. My back hurts from stooping down and picking up little Jennie and chasing after her little sister, Tracie. Those girls were adorable but an absolute handful. I could tell their mother needed a little break, though, and it was my pleasure to give those girls a little normalcy for a few hours. We went for a walk, got ice cream, watched a movie together in the rec room, and did some crafts. My fingers are sticky with glue.
“They’re gonna saint you one of these days, you mark my words,” Jacque says as I head out through the small front lobby.
“Doubt it. Pretty sure only good people get that honor.”
“You’d be surprised!”
I wave and step out into the late afternoon. It takes a second for my eyes to adjust to the sunlight. I look down and pause, surprised to find my brother Adriano leaning against a car parked halfway down the block. He waves at me as I slowly approach.
“I thought we agreed to no rides?”
He shrugs slightly. Adriano’s a big guy with dark hair and our father’s sharp looks. Most girls thought he was handsome growing up, which always drove me crazy. He took over as the Don of the Marino Famiglia two years ago, and he’s been growing the organization like crazy ever since.
Life’s been prosperous for this little mafia crew.
Which is good and bad. Mostly bad for the world, but great for us.
“I thought it’d be nice to spend some time with my sister.”
My eyebrows raise. “The Don himself, gracing me with his presence? I always thought you weretoo busy.”
“Never too busy for family.” His smile is charming, and I almost believe it.
“Seriously, Adriano, what’s up?”
“Can’t I just want to see you? And we can leave it at that for a little while?”
“Look, if I’m going to get punched in the face, I want to get it over with. Don’t draw it out. Why are you here?”
He sighs and gestures at the car. “Get in. We need to talk.”
“Business or personal?”
“Let’s call it both.”
That leaves a stone in my gut. I hesitate and glance back toward Grace House. There are so many women in there, too many if I’m honest, and they’re all suffering in their own ways.
While my life is easy. I have a personal suite in a massive mansion and plenty of money to buy me whatever I need. I’ve been given a lot of leeway over the years and basically allowed to use my time however I want without any obligations to the Famiglia. It’s an extremely rare privilege in this life, and I’ve taken advantage of it for a while.
But for some reason, I feel like that’s all about to change.
