Page 2 of Veil of Obsession

“I said. Fuck. You.” My voice is steady, but my fists are clenched, knuckles turning white.

Emiliano’s smirk deepens, taunting, daring. The bastard is enjoying this.

Romiro tries to defuse the tension in the room and says, “It’s not like we need to report to you, Lucio. Don’t worry, the time will come when you will know the ins and outs of what happens here.”

I open my mouth to tell him to fuck off as well, but Nicolo cuts in.

“I’m not here to waste my time or to watch you clowns argue. I want Helen, so hand her over.”

“Like I fucking said, no.” Emiliano moves his attention back to Nicolo.

Silence thickens in the room, a suffocating pressure. And then Matteo, the quiet one, speaks.

“There’s a way for everyone to get what they want.”

All eyes snap to him. I know my brother. He wouldn’t open his mouth unless he was sure. Unless he had already run the numbers in his head and knew we had no choice but to listen.

“Emiliano, we all know it’s best if Mara gets out of the city. Nicolo wants Helen.” He pauses just long enough for the tension to coil tighter. “We use Helen to secure Mara’s safety. Nicolo takes his revenge, and in return, he protects Mara at his hidden estate.”

Silence. Then Nicolo runs a hand over his stubble, assessing. Calculating.

My fucking genius of a brother, of course, came up with something so fucking calculated. I’m not even surprised he waited until everyone felt like they wereat a dead end to suggest it.

Nicolo’s eyes narrow. “What do you say, Folonari?”

“I don’t fucking trust you, but since we both have something to gain, I think this might work.” Eli pauses. “For now.”

“For now,” Nicolo echoes.

1

Lucio

It’s Friday night, which means it’s movie night at Val and Eli’s apartment. At least that’s where we used to have it before my niece, Bianca, was born. Now we do it at Ma’s townhouse. A guard stands at each side of the door; I don’t acknowledge them as I pass by them and push the door open into the entrance. The smell of popcorn floats around and another smell follows behind. I don’t know what it is.

“Hey, Ma. How ya doin’?” I ask as I step into the kitchen, where she’s standing by the brass sink, rinsing a cup.

“Don’t ‘hey, Ma’ me. You and your brothers never visit me anymore.” Wiping her hands on her apron, Ma moves toward the tray on the brown marble counter, the accent lantern lights above it adding a soft glow.

“Ma, you know I’m busy and can’t come around often.”

She narrows her eyes. “Don’t give me that bullshit. You have time to go drinking and clubbing, but you don’t have thirty minutes to spare for your mother?”

Ma lifts her hand, stopping me from speaking, before she continues.

“At least Emiliano has an excuse. He needs to help his wife with Bianca. You and your other brother are both little shits who can’t even come up with a decent excuse. I can’t believe I birthed a bunch of self-serving assholes,” she mutters under her breath.

I have to cover my mouth with my hand because if she spots me smiling, she’ll whack me with her wooden spoon.

“Ma, he’s laughing.” My little sister, Mara, says as she walks into the kitchen, her blonde hair in a high ponytail.

When she brushes past me, I take the opportunity and yank her back using her hair. She’s in a pink tank top and black shorts, her face makeup-free.

“Nobody likes a rat, Mara.” I tug at her hair before letting it go and patting her head.

She takes that opportunity to smack me on my arm and wrinkles her nose when I laugh at her sad attempt at hurting me.

“Fuck you, Lucio.” She flips me off to add salt to the wound.