They were all fucking lying, but Carlos kept his gaze on Paolo, who looked furious.
“I wasn’t aware you had a sister,” Paolo said.
“Yes, but she died many years ago,” Leonardo said. “Garofalo was … distraught.”
Carlos looked toward Sebastian, whose jaw was clenched.
He needed to delve deeper into Sebastian.
The rest of the meal went by without a single hitch. The men, apart from Paolo, adored Raven. She kept up the act, even as they insulted her intelligence and spoke to her breasts on several occasions.
Not once did she break.
Again, his cock was hard just thinking about it. He had a feeling she was imagining beating the crap out of all of them, but she kept her shit together.
When it was time to leave, the men left first, shaking their hands. Once the restaurant was empty, Sebastian pressed a finger to his lips and took them through the back kitchen and straight into the fridge.
“What the hell is going on?” Raven asked.
“Paolo saw right through your act. Now that could mean that he knows you’re MC,” Sebastian said. “Or he’s aware of your connection.”
“That would only happen if he’s the sloppy asshole,” Raven said.
“He has to be,” Carlos said. “No one else could know.”
“We don’t have any proof, and it could be that he’s pissed you didn’t pick his candidate,” Sebastian said.
“Garofalo fucked your sister, didn’t he?” Raven asked.
Carlos tensed up as he saw the change in Sebastian. “Raven!” He tried to warn her.
“That story, it had to be partly true for Marchetti to believe it. No one knows you have a sister, so I’m guessing a sister with a different mother, Garofalo liked them young, knocked her up, and she was too young, and died.” Raven stared at Sebastian. “I’m sorry, dude.”
Carlos looked toward Sebastian. There was a lot about this man that he didn’t know.
“My father … to keep his title of capo, and to guarantee me a place as his underboss, handed my underage sister over. I didn’t know it at the time. I was put through multiple tests, but I was going to be underboss regardless. My sister paid the ultimate price. I found out … after Garofalo had died.”
“That’s why you don’t want to be Boss,” Raven said. “You don’t feel you have a right to the title.”
Sebastian looked toward Carlos. “I will look into Paolo’s contacts. It was a pleasure having you tonight.” He turned to Raven. “While you are here, you will act with poise and respect.”
Raven stuck her tongue out as Sebastian left.
It was time for him and Raven to leave.
Carlos couldn’t deny that he did in fact feel a little guilty. He’d pushed Sebastian, thought the worst of him, and it had all been lies.
The limousine waited for them. He helped Raven inside and followed in beside her.
Raven took his hand, locking their fingers together. “Are you okay?” she asked.
“Yes.”
“You don’t have to lie to me or put on an act. You can be upset and pissed off. No judgment here.”
“I had no idea,” Carlos said.
“Everyone has secrets, Carlos. Some are kept to protect us. Others are kept to protect those around us.”
“Is that why you have secrets?” he asked.
“I do what I can to survive. I’m not going to put anyone I care about in danger.”
Carlos pulled out her cell phone and handed it to her. There were multiple messages waiting for her. “This has been vibrating in my pocket all evening.”
“Do you want to see some cool pictures?” Raven asked.
“Yes.”
They sat close together, and Carlos inhaled the scent of her perfume. It was sweet, like vanilla, but mixed with a touch of cinnamon. He wanted to pull her against him. This evening had been tense enough without adding to it.
Raven opened her messages and clicked on the pictures. They had all come from Abriana’s cell phone. Every single one was of the club partying.
He didn’t recognize everyone, and he saw a few people weren’t wearing the leather cut. This was Bella’s birthday party. The young girl was certainly loved and adored. He saw it in their smiling faces.
With each picture she showed, he couldn’t help but look at her to see how she reacted. She smiled, and he saw the love and warmth she had for the club. They were her family, and she didn’t have a clue that she was never going back to them.
“They’re goofballs,” Raven said, bringing up a picture of Big Dick and the woman he knew as Harlow. The two in the picture were brother and sister, but each had their fingers behind the other’s head.
“She doesn’t have a filter, does she?” Carlos asked.
“No, not Harlow. She speaks her mind.”
There were several images of Smokey and Ava, as well as their baby. Ugly Beast and Abriana. The birthday girl herself, the party, the cake. All of it.