Page 132 of Where Dark Hearts Devour
He smiles. “Like a brother,” he says, then he catches himself. “Like a brothershould.”
I place my fork on the plate. “I wish I could have met him.”
“I wish you could have too. He’d have adored you.”
My chest warms at the thought.
“He certainly wouldn’t have forced you down the aisle with Savero.” He takes a long slug of wine.
I follow suit and sip at my lemonade.
“Poison,” he mutters. “The weapon of the weak.”
I place my glass down carefully. “I thought poison was known as the woman’s weapon.”
He brings a napkin to his lips and then looks sideways at me. “Frankly,” he says, “I find that an insult to women.”
I run a tongue over my teeth and grin. I like Cristiano’s underboss.
He places the napkin on the table. “It’s been a pleasure, Miss Castellano. And before I go, may I just say thank you?”
I peer up at him as he stands. “For what?”
“For bringing our boy home.” His eyes flick in Cristiano’s direction. “If it weren’t for you, he wouldn’t have stayed. Dead brother or no dead brother.”
“That’s not true,” I whisper, hoping Cristiano can’t hear me.
Augie leans toward me. “He is the rightful boss of this family, but he hasn’t taken that role out of some sense of duty to his father. He’s taken it to protect you.”
I blink. “Protect me from what?”
“The only way he can guarantee no one else will come along and try to take the port from under your father is to assume the deadliest title this side of Chicago. Theonlyway.”
My mouth falls open.
“But don’t misunderstand me, my love,” he says with a wink. “He was born to do it.”
He waits for the smile to form on my lips, then he walks around me to say a few words to Cristiano before darkening the doorway again as he leaves.
The rest of the night is filled with the sound of my sisters getting tipsy and Allegra rolling her eyes. Cristiano and Benito are locked in a conversation about things I probably don’t want to know about, but every now and then, I notice Benito’s gaze coasting to Tess. She’s utterly oblivious, which is probably for the best. Benito is possibly one of her least favorite people in the town, though I don’t quite know why.
It's almost midnight when Allegra gets unsteadily to her feet. “Our car is outside, girls,” she says. “Serafina, help me carry Bambi.”
My youngest sister is asleep on a sun lounger, having grown bored of the adult chat.
“I’ll carry her.”
We all turn to see Benito stride forward, not waiting for agreement or objection. He bends down and scoops Bambi into his arms as though she’s as light as a puff of air.
“We would have managed just fine,” Tess says in a tight voice.
He stops and drags his eyes over Tess. “You of all people shouldn’t be settling for ‘fine.’”
Tess’s brows knit together as we follow Benito through the house.
Cristiano threads his fingers through mine again and pulls me back to let everyone walk ahead. I’m drawn into the shadows under the veil of his gaze.
His lips brush mine, igniting every nerve ending. “I cannot stop thinking about you, Mrs. Di Santo.”
