Page 70 of Filthy Little Regrets
“It’s not you I’m worried about.”
“Don’t pull that manly bullshit. We can handle ourselves, and we can take Tony. He’s a good guy, you know? He could shoot any guy who tries to take it too far.”
I scrub my hand over my face. There are so many things wrong with what she just said. For one, Tony isn’t going with them, because I need him for Cassia. Zac, on the other hand, he knows how to discard a body. The bigger issue is Melody believes a bodyguard would protect the both of them from heartbreak, and she’s wrong. Melody would probably be okay, but Adalie is softer.
“What does Mom think?”
Melody crosses her arms. “She thought it would be a great way for Adalie to get out of the house.”
My hackles rise. “Why does she need to get out of the house?”
My sister focuses on Cassia. “I love your hair.”
“Oh, thanks,” Cassia says with a laugh. “I do it myself.” The admission is laced with an apologetic tone.
“Melody.”
She ignores me and rests her forearms on the bar top. “Ugh, and you’re cool. If I tried to dye my hair, I’d definitely mess it up. Have you ever been to the Med?”
“Mel.”
Cassia glances between the two of us, a hard line between her eyebrows. “Uh, no. I’ve never been.”
“Oh, Mace! You have to take her. It’s so beautiful, you’d?—”
“Dammit, Melody,” I growl. “Answer me.”
She recoils and glares at me. “Sorry, I thought you were smart enough not to ask stupid questions.”
My spine stiffens. Neither of my sisters realizes there’s more than one thing I’m trying to protect them from. I’ve done a shit job of shielding them from how Dad treats Mom. Now that I’m married, there should be no reason for me to worry about Dad marrying them off. If this last week showed me anything, though, it’s that Dad is still power drunk. He wants more. Aligning our family with the mafia in a formal arrangement would expand his empire. He’s conquered the tech world, why not the criminal world?
Acid in my veins, I take a steadying breath and ask the question I don’t want to know the answer to. “What’s he done?”
Cassia’s thumb smooths over my hand, and I realize I’ve stopped comforting her in my irritation.
“Things have been fine with Mom,” Melody says in a rush.
“But?”
“Dad’s been having...” She trails off, flicking her gaze around the room to make sure no one is around. “Friends over.”
Dread drops into the pit of my stomach. “What type of friends?”
Sighing, Melody grabs a glass and fills it with wine. “I think we both know.” She takes a big sip before I wrangle the goblet from her hands. She scowls at me. “I’ll pour another when you leave.”
“You’re not twenty-one yet.”
“You have to let this big brother vibe go.” She means more than me stopping her from drinking. I typically don’t care if she has a beer or a glass of wine, but she’s alreadybeen at it. She usually has better control. Her indulgence tonight sets off warning bells.
“What were their names?” I manage through clenched teeth. Anger rattles through me, and I force oxygen into my lungs, refusing to let it get the better of me in front of Cassia and Melody.
“There was Dom, Dante, Enzo, and Nico.” Melody ticks the names off with her fingers, pausing and meeting my gaze with a guarded expression. “And Vito.”
The air I managed to breathe is knocked out of my chest. He’s entertaining the Marinos and the Grecos. Melody said Mom felt that the trip to the Med would be a great way to get Adalie out of the house. I don’t pry into Melody’s love life, and I don’t care if she wants to have fun, but there’s only one reason Mom would be more worried about Adalie than Melody. My sheltered, kind younger sister has something made men covet. Virginity.
As ugly as it is, women in the world Dad has introduced us to are simply tools. Assets you can sell to gain power, or worse, kill to hurt your enemy. My sisters aren’t made for this world. They deserve lavish vacations. Some soft man that would let them walk all over him.
Not a made man.
