Page 101 of Brutal Devil

It’s not as if it matters. I have no hold on my husband. I never did. And after last night’s revelations, I never want to.

“He didn’t say,” Saint tells me quietly. “But if you’re worried he’s cheating?—”

“I don’t give a fuck if he is,” I interrupt coldly. “In fact, he may as well get used to finding his amusements elsewhere. After this meeting with my cousin, I want a divorce.”

“Luna,” Saint says, his tone earnest.

“No.” I hold up a hand, irritated with myself for the way it trembles. “Just save it, Saint. Save it for someone who cares.”

“But youdocare about the families, don’t you? You were born into this life. You know better than most what’s at stake—it’s everything your father built and everything my family has worked for. If you walk away, you’re forfeiting it to a snake like Amedeo. Someone who may have killed your father to get it.”

“Someone who’ll probably kill me too,” I say, feeling numb. “But none of you care what happens to me, do you? I’m just…what? Collateral damage? That’s the whole reason I’m here, because I’ve been more useful alive than dead. But once the Revello capos are happy that I’m still alive, what then? You’ll all have everything you want. I don’t matter any longer.”

“It’s not like that, Luna.” Saint reaches out and pats my back with brotherly affection.

We’ve grown close during my time here, but I’m so disillusioned by everything that’s happened that I don’t even know what’s real and what’s not. Maybe he was also putting on an act.

I shrug away from him. “Don’t touch me. Please.”

“All right.” He sighs, actually sounding forlorn as he passes an inked hand over his cheek. “I get it. You’re pissed, and you have every right to be. But listen, over the short time we’ve spent together, I’ve come to respect you. And I love you like a pain-in-the-ass, too-smart-for-her-own-good sister. So I hope you’ll hear me when I say that I’ve known my brother for twenty-nine years, and I’ve never seen him the way he is with you.”

That hurts my heart, even though it shouldn’t.

I sniff and blink, forcing those stupid, weak tears to stay away. “I don’t want to hear it. And I don’t believe it either. But if your TED Talk is done, I probably should eat breakfast so I don’t starve on the way to my next jail cell. Have to keep myself alive for the sacrificial ceremony, don’t I?”

I don’t wait for Saint’s response before I brush past him, heading to the kitchen.

Priest

I’m waiting for my wife in the G-Wagon, Rocco in the driver’s seat. After what felt like a fucking eternity, the door opens, outside light and fresh air slanting in. It’s a cool, windy day, a tropical storm having passed through the night before with its accompanying deluge, leaving a brisk autumnal breeze inits wake. Wind whips at her dark hair, and she looks pale but beautiful.

It’s been mere hours since I saw her, but it feels like far too long.

She moves to get in and stops when she sees me.

Without saying a word, she turns to Saint and the two guards flanking her. “I want a different car.”

“I’m sorry, Mrs. Andriani,” says a guard apologetically, “but the boss only has one car here to take you home, and this is it.”

“Then kindly make sure the boss gets out of it so that I can get in,” she says, her voice cold.

I deserve her anger. But I can’t allow her to disrespect me in front of my men. So I yank open my door and get out, rounding the back of the G until I reach her. Luna doesn’t bother to look at me.

“We’re going home together,amore mio,” I tell her in a tone that brooks no argument.

She still won’t glance in my direction, pretending I’m not here.

“Tell your boss that I want my own car,” she says to the other guard.

They’re made men, men I trust implicitly, but it’s embarrassing to have this show going on before them. If I’d have realized she was still this furious with me, I would have instructed Saint to escort her on his own. No one knows where she is or when she’s leaving, so the danger isn’t very high here. Three armed men is likely overkill.

“Luna,” I growl. “Baby. Get in the car.”

She purses her lips and makes a show of looking around, at everything except me. “Did you hear something?”

I grasp her elbow in a firm grip, my patience already thin from staying up all night. “Get. In. The. Fucking. Car.”

“Or what?” she demands.