Page 4 of Veil of Obsession

I only apologize because I don’t want to upset Ma any further. “Didn’t mean to piss you off, Mara.”

My sister narrows her eyes before huffing and turning back around to watch the movie. Everyone else does the same. I rock Bee a little, and she lets out small giggles, her head turned to look at me. She’s so cute I could just eat her. She has my brother’s eyes, and from the mop of hair on the top of her head, she has her Ma’s inky black hair. Her round, pink cheeks makes me want to bite them.

I don’t know how my brother can handle not being around this little cutie all day. I think I might be having an overload of serotonin because of how cute she is. But that all gets thrown out the window the moment Bianca starts crying, fat teardrops rolling down her chubby cheeks.

The movie is paused, and Valentina moves to get up, but Eli stops her.

“Is little Bia hungry?” he asks as he takes his daughter from me and rocks her from side to side, trying to soothe her.

“I think sheishungry.” Mara says, slowly getting up from her place on the floor. “If you’d like, I can prepare her bottle?” She directs the question to Val, who gives her a grateful smile.

“Thanks, Mara.” Valentina looks to Eli and says, “Bianca will probably finish half the bottle and then fall asleep. It’s probably best if we head home.”

Ma doesn’t look too happy about that. It has been a while since all of us have gathered and she’s more than likely feeling lonely.

“No pressure, but I would really love for you and Emiliano to stay for the night at least.”

Val looks like she’s hesitating for a second, but nods. “We’d love to stay the night. It’ll probably be better for Bianca anyways.”

Ma looks relieved. Her tense shoulders drop and the smile she gives Valentina is genuine.

It’s not long before Mara returns with the bottle of milk for Bianca, who’s still crying, and my sister hands the bottle to Eli. Bee latches onto the bottle instantly, drinking the milk as if it’s the last drop of water in a desert.

She’s finishes it so quickly we barely have time to blink, and when she’s done, she lets out a loud burp, causing everyone to laugh. Emiliano hands the bottle to Valentina before helping his daughter with her burps. The rest of the night feels lighter and while everyone settles back down, Eli heads upstairs to settle Bianca down to sleep after eating.

I roll my shoulders back,trying to ease the tension out.

“Are we going to tell Ma about what we’ve decided for Mara?” I ask Emiliano, whose focus is on his daughter.

Bee is yanking some flowers from their root and trying to stuff the damn things in her mouth.

Eli quickly snatches the flowers out of her hand as he says, “Yes. It’s why we’re here. I’ll tell her when she comes out.”

I look at Matteo to see his reaction, but his face is that of someone who just got some boring news.

“Nothing to say, Matteo?” Provocation. I love provoking my brothers.

He lifts a brow as if to say,Do you really want to play this game, Lucio?

“Is there a reason for me to disagree when I was the one to suggest this in the first place?”

Shrugging, I take a sip of my vodka before responding. “Eh, just thought you might have changed your mind on sending your twin across the ocean just because you guys think you’re incompetent at protecting our baby sister.”

Romiro butts in as if someone was talking to him. “It’s not for lack of trying. We just need to focus our efforts on protecting the Camorra’s interests, and we can’t do that while there’s a risk of the women being taken captive.”

I’d love to stick a knife in his throat someday. But it’s looking more like a daydream rather than a reality with the way his relationship with cousin Alessia is going.

I wave him off. “Semantics.”

Eli sits back down with his daughter in his lap, even as she fights to get out of it. Can’t wait to turn my little niece against her asshole of a father. That way she and I will change shifts to give him a headache.

“Can I tell Ma?” I ask him.

“Tell me what, Lucio?”

Shit.

Ma walks in with her wine glass, giving me that same look she used when I was thirteen and had just been caught stealing alcohol from the wine cellar.