Me:The fuck are you doing?
I feel a small sense of relief when I see the dots bouncing.
B:Taking care of something.
Me:At the Larone house?
B:Yeah.
Me:Get back here. Now.
The dots don’t bounce. He’s gone silent. What the fuck is going on with him? Butcher is violent and loves bloodletting more than anyone I’ve ever met, but he’s usually pretty logical. This, though—this behavior is completely out of line for him.
“What the fuck is he doing?”
“Fuck!” Gilly turns his phone around to me. I read the text from our lookout, and then an image pops up. That’s when my blood goes cold.
Scrubbing a hand down my face, I meet Gilly’s eyes. “Round up the men. We’re about to have Constantine’s soldiers on our doorstep. Maybe Frangione’s too.”
“He’s lost his fucking mind.” Gilly stares at the phone, at the night vision shot of Butcher loading what can only be Bianca Larone into the trunk of his car. “Just off the fucking deep end.”
I don’t disagree. But it doesn’t matter now. What matters is protecting my family, and I will spill as much blood as necessary to keep my angel safe.
20
ANGELICA
Ifind Carina and Diablo in the midst of a standoff in the middle of the hallway. The second Diablo spots me, he darts over to me to slink between my legs, rubbing himself against me. Carina glares at him.
“Whatever. All the men in this house run from me, so you’re not special.” She turns, stomping into her bedroom before the door slams.
“What the hell was that?” I say to Diablo, surprised at Carina’s overreaction. I drop to my knees and give him a scratch under his chin. “Is there something going on around here I don’t know about?”
He purrs his response.
“I’ll check on her.” I kiss the top of his head before I make my way over to her bedroom door.
I knock.
“I’m asleep,” she shouts.
“You sound super asleep.” I open the door, not waiting for her to invite me in. “What’s up?”
“Nothing. Just annoyed,” she huffs.
“No one ignores you,” I tell her. Everyone is actually super nice to her. If anyone is being ignored by the opposite sex around here, it’s me. The men treat Carina like a kid sister for the most part. She’s always popping jokes with them. Ones that I would have gotten backhanded for at home. But Antonio’s men only chuckle at her.
“No one ignores me? He’salwaysignoring me. He won’t even look my way most of the time. Been doing it for years, and you know what? Fuck him. I’ll ignore him right back. I’m sick of his shit.”
“We’re not talking about the cat, are we?”
“I think I’ll go away for college. I’ll live on campus.” She smirks. “One with boys. Lots and lots of them.”
“We’re definitely not talking about the cat.”
Carina folds her arms over her chest. “Did you see how my brother came to you when he got home? He was all over you. It was gross but also sweet.” A dreamy expression takes over her face, but it’s fleeting. Her anger comes back with a vengeance. “You know what I got? Gilly muttering something to me about him putting a password on the computer if he has to.” Carina paces back and forth. “And I know it was him who took my phone.”
“Your phone?” She’s so all over the place, I’m having trouble following her.