Page 135 of The Temptation

His eyes lock with mine as he crosses the room and gives me a slight tilt of his head, signalling for me to follow.

My eyes dart back to Lucia as I use the edge of the table to stand, and the smile she was giving her niece has now morphed into a look that could best be described as concern.

I give her a wink, letting her know all is okay, even though there’s a slow churn building in my gut.

I’m quietly confident he’s not going to whack me with everyone present, but I’ve never liked the unknown. Not when my whole life has been one long stretch of it.

We step out onto the back patio overlooking the pool area. “Wanna beer?” Dante asks, moving towards the bar fridge in his outdoor kitchen.

“I’m on pain meds, but I guess one won’t hurt.”

“Wise choice, you’re probably going to need it after you hear what I have to say.”

I wince as I take a seat. It has less to do with the pain shooting up my side and more to do with what he just said.

“I’ve been waiting for this,” I admit, taking the beer out of his extended hand.

“For what?”

“My punishment.”

“Is that what you think this is?”

I lift one shoulder. “Why else would you lure me out here?”

He frowns as he takes the seat across from me. “I lured you here,” he replies with a clipped tone, “because I figured you wouldn’t want an audience for what I’m about to tell you.”

I crack the top off my beer and take a long pull, letting the silence stretch a little. “What is it you’ve got to tell me that made you think that?”

“It’s about your mother.”

I hesitate for a moment because I think I know what’s coming, and as much as she deserves whatever is heading her way, the thought of it actually happening makes me feel sick to my stomach.

“What about her?” I ask hesitantly.

“I sent a few of our guys around to pay her a visit.”

“I figured as much. But you can spare me the details. I know she betrayed theFamiglia,betrayed me,and Lucia. And I mean no disrespect to you or the Cosa Nostra when I say this, but I’d rather not know the ins and outs of what went down.”

“It’s not what you think.”

I arch an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

“The men didn’t touch her; she was already gone when they got there.”

“Gone? As in, did a runner?” Because I find that hard to believe. She has nowhere else to go.

“No, gone, gone, as in dead.”

My bottle pauses halfway to my mouth. “How?”

“An overdose. They found an empty bottle of pills lying beside her.”

I place my beer down on the small table beside me and stand so abruptly that my head spins from the pain it induces.

“She killed herself?” I mumble under my breath as my hands rise to clutch either side of my head.

“It appears so.”