Semua Bab Amatucci Family: Bab 281 - Bab 290

As if all the warmth of the sun had been ripped away, the room plunged into the arctic. At least it felt that way. I rubbed my hands up and down my arms as I fought not to grab onto Massi's shirt. If someone needed to kill Rafe, I would do it. Spare this man-this family-the horror of killing one of their own. I could hold that weight. Put it where I put all the other deaths. Deep inside where it didn't bother me. Remorse wasn't something I felt, at least not in terms of killing. It was simply an action. Like buying some coffee or helping an elderly person across the street. But it would break Massi. Any of them. No. If Rafe needed killing, I would be the one to steal the life from his eyes. Turo grabbed handfuls of Rafe's shirt, jerked him up to his toes. "Did you not learn your lesson this morning? Are you aching for more attention and you think this is the appropriate way to get it?"Rafe spat in his oldest brother's face. "Fuck off, Turo. You don't know shit.""Then

I almost felt bad for Rafe. Almost. But the fact that he'd been hedging his bets and Amara's life was the prize... I shook my head. Even that small mercy was swept from my heart. He was nothing but an overgrown child in the body of a man. Petulant and privileged, he walked through this life as if it owed him something. Not that he had to earn it. Not that he had to train or work for it. But that it would be given to him out of some skewed sense of familial beneficence and entitlement. I shook my head as he struggled to his feet. Crossed my arms as he lurched from side to side with blood loss and a wounded thigh. When the color drained from his face, leaving him a ghost in his own skin, I rocked back on my heels.We all waited in heavy silence as he made his way out of the room. When the doors finally shut behind him, I heard Momma tell Nico to send a couple guards after him. Nico nodded. "With pleasure." He turned and jogged towards the door. He stuck his head out. His voice

As the ambient light of the room began to darken, some of the kitchen staff started to bring in tables and chairs. They set them up against the far side of the room. Once the tables were in place, they started bringing out plates and bowls and servers and platters and everything else that looked more suited to a large buffet style restaurant. "Eat," Dante, the head house manager, said. With a quick smile and bow of his head to Momma and Papa, he and his staff slipped to the sides of the room. Momma stood up again. Clapped her hands. "Everyone, it is time to eat. Tech crew, you call out what you want, we will serve you." So saying, she walked over to Nik. Bent down so she could hear the younger woman. Momma smiled as she nodded and straightened. "I'll get it for you, figlia." She pressed a kiss to Nik's hair and moved down the line of tech team members. When she had a couple orders, she moved to the line. Handed plates to a couple of the security team. Told them what to put

Between the twelve of us, we piled into two SUVs and started up the coast. The moon was full and bright. A killing moon, if there ever was one. It was so bright, we wouldn't even need to use the NVGs we'd brought. We would just need to set up and get in place. I rested my head on the seat back. Closed my eyes. Just like I did for prep on any target takedown, I ran through everything one last time in my head. Every step, every action. Every possible reaction. When there were no surprises, the mission ran smoother. Not that I could account for every imaginable possibility, I did try to mitigate the most obvious and the somewhat possible. You couldn't be in my line of work and not learn a thing or two about contingencies. Every good death dealer had a system. This was mine. The low chatter of the men around me was a comforting background noise. While I'd learned to travel alone and do solitary work, I had to admit that having my brothers-both blood and bond-around me was nice. Mo

Eden's body was stiffer than I would have thought possible after such a brain-bending orgasm. But I knelt at her feet and helped her put her pants back on. With her tattered panties in my pocket, I made sure the evidence of our lovemaking was cleared out before we left the room. I wanted to hold her in my arms. Smell her unique fragrance as we tumbled into sleep. Walking beside her on our way back to our cottage, I couldn't help but notice that her shoulders were stiff. Her gait agitated. I'd never known this woman to have anything but a fluid walk. My brow furrowed as I ran over what just happened in the mission ops room. Had I done something to hurt her? Upset her? Bruise her feelings? Nothing came to mind, but it wasn't my mind I had to worry about. It was hers. The tension in her shoulders had me gritting my teeth by the time I ushered her into our temporary home. We were going to talk about it. Whatever it was. She stopped just inside the room, turned around. Her head