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“Mrs. Innocenti–” She started.

“None of that, honey. Call me Dawn. And you call this ol’ lug here Ian.” Mom interjected, patting my father’s chest, my father wrapping his arm around her shoulders.

I stood away from the group just a bit, watching them welcome her back into our family like she belonged there. I wasn’t sure how much longer I could stand it. None of them seemed to care that everything we’d lost and been through was Victoria Bristol’s fault. If Az had just let the crowd trample her during the gala fire, Rich would still be alive. She wouldn’t have been around to spread her poison through our family so thoroughly. To think I’d nearly fallen for it completely was enough to set my teeth on edge.

I wanted to recoil when Victoria’s eyes finally landed on me. That warm brown had once been comforting and drawn me in. But now I knew better. All of her “misunderstandings” and “mistakes” when it came to the rules we’d put in place for her, thathe’dput in place for her, were coming under a whole newlight. She was more like a siren tempting sailors to their deaths rather than a princess we needed to save.

I forced myself to stand still as she approached, but I couldn’t bring warmth or receptiveness to my face. It was all I could do not to push her away.

“Joey…” She said softly, holding her arms out as she got close.

“Don’t.” I hissed.

“Joey,” Az’s voice was a warning. My eyes narrowed on his hand gently taking her arm to pull her back. “He needs time, Love. He’s not in a good place right now, and I don’t want you taking the brunt of it. Why don’t you go with Dawn and Ian, get Craig settled in? I’ll bring you to him when he’s ready.”

“It’s fine, Az, I’ll be okay. It wasn’t all that long ago that I lost my mom. And we’re all grieving right now. I know what it’s like to be where he’s at, I understand that dark place.” She said, her voice softening as she got almost close enough to wrap her arms around me. Her words felt like a slap to the face, and I jumped back, unable to help myself, as I pushed her away from me hard enough to make her fall off her heels.

“Thefuckdo you think you understand,Princess?” I spat at her, finally letting go of the iron fist I’d kept around my emotions since she’d stepped out of the car that had dropped them off. “It’syourfucking fault that my brother is in a casket in there right now, a bullet between his fucking eyes!” My voice started rising until I was shouting, and I couldn’t bring myself to care about the scene I knew I was making. “And everyone here is a fucking idiot for letting you back into the fold like it’s anything other than your own machinations and plans that got us here in the first fucking place! It’s like Rich said, when I was stupidly fighting for what I thought was your fucking honor, how many of us have to fucking die for everyone to get the fucking point?! You’re a fuckingpoison, Victoria.” I curled my lip into a vicioussneer as I stepped toward her. “Stay away from my family. Stay away from my brothers. Stay the fuck away from me!”

“Joseph Dario Innocenti!” My mother screeched, making my attention instinctively snap to her.

Leighton shoved past Az, planting himself between me and Victoria, his face twisted into a snarl as he jabbed his finger into my shoulder. “I’m not going to do what you deserve in front of your mother because I fucking love Dawn, but that’s one mother fucker.”

“What the fuck, Joey?!” Craig said, trying his best to help Victoria up in his injured state.

“This wasn’t her fault, Little Brother,” Az said, his brows furrowed as he stood beside Leighton. “We could have walked at any time. Wechoseto be there.”

I felt my collar pulled sharply as my father stepped into view, his soft baritone carrying a note of finality as he spoke. “That’s enough, boy. Not here. Not now. To the car.” He shoved me forward, not hard enough to make me stumble but sufficient to get the point. “I’m taking him home. Get Dawn to the cemetery; I’ll meet you there.”

I shoved my hands in my pockets and started heading for the car, my father on my heels. For a moment, I almost felt bad for my display, not because of the snake everyone was protecting but because of my parents. I knew they were going through it, and none of it was fair to them. I just wished they could see I wastryingto protect them from a similar fate. Because I wholeheartedly believed that if Victoria Bristol had her way, we’d all be joining Rich sooner or later.

Chapter Four

Craig

Somehow, I made it through the graveside service without leaking through my bandages or passing out. The Devils' doc had done a hell of a patch job on me, but the damage inflicted by Melissa's little protege was extensive. By the time Az pulled the SUV into the Innocenti's driveway, I regretted not adding that amateur to the deal I'd sealed with the Devils. I almost felt bad that I couldn't be as emotionally present as I would have liked for Victoria and my brothers during the service, but I was focusing every ounce of will I had into just getting around upright. I was in far too much pain to have room for anything else. I would grieve on my own time.

The Innocenti home was large but not lavish. Every room had a touch of Dawn, and the warmth the woman exuded filled the space and made coming here always feel like coming home. Even though the air was thick and the mood was somber, it hadn't lost that feeling. I let Victoria' help' me to my room; arguing with her would have only distressed her more, and if this was the comfort I could give her, then I was happy to let her fret for a moment.

My room lacked some of my creature comforts, but like all of our rooms, it stayed made up for us if we ever needed them.A large, mostly empty, desk took up one wall, a bookshelf stood by an overstuffed armchair, and several frames with preserved butterflies and moths hung on the walls to distinguish my room from the others. I would have to rebuild my entire setup in the coming days; the spare laptop that Leighton grabbed for me on our way back wasn’t going to suffice for long. I situated it on the desk and sighed heavily, still feeling Victoria hovering over my shoulder.

“Bunny?” I asked, turning to face her.

“Do you need anything else? I’m sure your bandages probably need to be changed, or at least looked at. If you want anything for pain, we can probably get something from Dawn… or have someone bring something by if you need something stronger. I—” She was wringing her hands as she spoke, and I could see her desperately looking for something that would keep her from being left alone with her thoughts.

“I’m fine, Bunny. I have to gather the guys for a debrief, they need to know what happened.” I said gently. “Maybe you can go check on Dawn. I’m sure she could use the company.”

“But, you’re injured! You need—”

“Ineedto do my job, Victoria.” I cut her off again, grabbing her by the shoulders and moving her toward the door to my room. “I understand what you’re trying to do, and I appreciate it. But right now, I don’t have time for comfort or care. Don’t forget you attached yourself to gangsters; this is part of the job. Now, go check on Dawn.” I sat her outside my room and cupped her cheek for a second to let her know I wasn’t angry with her before jerking my head to the side, silently telling her to get going.

“I just want to help.” She said lamely.

“Then call Harrison while you’re down there. This patch job is almost as bad as the torture itself.” I offered, looking past her to spot Az in the hall. He nodded to me as he headed downthe stairs. “I love you, Bunny. But for right now, for the love of god, just stay out of our way and let us do our jobs.” I kissed her cheek and moved past her, slowly making my way back down the stairs.

Ian was sitting back in his chair in the large living room, looking toward the television's black screen. He seemed to be staring into the middle distance and not seeing anything, and my heart ached for him. I couldn't imagine what he must have been feeling.

“Ian,” I said by way of greeting. He didn’t answer, simply motioning toward his ‘man cave’ set up off the living room in what was supposed to have been a study. I nodded my thanks.