Page 13 of The Lies We Tell

“All in all, it was a perfectly executed raid,” he said.

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.” Dom snorted. “At what point in our perfectly timed plan did we add kidnap the enemy’s daughter? I must have missed it.”

“I made a judgment call,” Matteo replied.

“A fucking terrible one,” Carina added. “You can’t just bring the enemy into our home and expect us to be okay with it.”

“You live in Marsala now.” Matteo bit back a sigh when Carina narrowed her eyes. Definitely the wrong thing to say. “Antonetti was clearly using his daughter as a punching bag. I wasn’t just going to leave her there.”

Carina softened, leaning back into Alexei when he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “That doesn’t make her less dangerous. We have no idea where her loyalties lie. Or what Antonetti might do to get her back. She could put the entire family in jeopardy.”

“We have everything on the line here,” Luca added. “If anyone can bring this whole thing crashing down around us and wipe out every bit of the work we’ve been doing since the summer, it’s Antonetti.”

Matteo scrubbed a hand over his face. “I know.”

“I thought you were the least likely to think with your dick,” Luca said.

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Matteo sighed. If he had a good reason, he might actually give it to them. But he didn’t, and really, an explanation wasn’t needed anyway. He was the one in charge. He was the one who bore the weight of the burden and responsibility for keeping this family afloat, for taking on their enemies, for building an empire that would last long after they were all dead.

He’d never made a single choice that wasn’t in the family’s best interest. Not before he left, and not since his return. His decision today might have been impulsive, but it had already been made.

He would do his best to make sure Tessa Antonetti wasn’t a problem for them. He wouldn’t jeopardize everything he was striving to build, not even for a woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life exploring.

“Like I’ve been doing every day for the last eight months, I will continue to make sure this family’s best interests are at the forefront of every decision I make. Whether you agree with it or not.”

“Except for this one,” Dom pointed out. “You can’t tell me you’ve thought this one all the way through to the end, Matteo. She could be a fucking spy!”

Matteo nodded. “An idea I’ve considered.”

Granted, one he should have considered much sooner than halfway from Syracuse to Palermo. Like before he said yes to her desperate plea to be rescued.

“That’s it? You’ve considered it?” Luca threw up his hands. “All the shit you’ve been giving me for the last few weeks about Sienna, as if I somehow betrayed this family because I didn’t tell you my contact was related to Gallo. As if that fucking mattered,” Luca spat. “And you do this?”

“Luca,” Sienna said, voice low and soothing.

“No. You were helping. You never did anything but help us. And we cannot say the same for this girl. Can we?”

“It’s not as if I plan on keeping her in my confidence and telling her our strategy.”

“She’s got fucking ears, Matteo,” Carina said with a roll of her eyes.

“Then I guess you’ll have to stop complaining about meeting at the office. I’m done discussing it,” Matteo said firmly, pushing away from the desk and crossing to the door. “I’m going to wash this blood off me. The staff is preparing a nice dinner for New Year’s Eve, and you’re all welcome to stay if you choose.”

“Emilia and I are leaving with the twins,” Dom said. “I prefer my family doesn’t break bread with hypocrites and traitors.”

Matteo clenched his jaw but kept his expression neutral. “That’s your choice.”

“Sienna and I are going out,” Luca replied, voice tight as he wrapped an arm around Sienna’s waist.

“We’ll stay.” Carina shared a meaningful look with Alexei over her shoulder, who nodded. “Carlotta’s cotechino and lentils are my favorite.”

Inclining his head, Matteo stepped into the hallway. He made it exactly two paces before the arguing started up again.

“This is hands down the most insane thing he’s done so far,” Luca said, and Matteo couldn’t disagree.

He was not a man who made rash decisions. And taking Tessa was as rash a decision as he’d ever made. They wanted an explanation he couldn’t give. He had no idea why he’d said yes to her. She was not his to protect, however much he might want her to be.

And that alone was a thought he certainly shouldn’t be having. Whatever her reasons for asking to leave with him, he would find them out and then send her on her way. Somewhere safe if she didn’t want to stay in Sicily. He had plenty of contacts she could stay with until she found her footing. Even if the idea of shipping her off to the continent twisted sharply in his gut.

---