Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 80303 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 402(@200wpm)___ 321(@250wpm)___ 268(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80303 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 402(@200wpm)___ 321(@250wpm)___ 268(@300wpm)
“If I did that my ass would literally explode. Have you ever seen that cartoon where the squid eats all the burgers, and then explodes? That’s me.”
“I can’t say that I have seen it, but I can attest that I love your ass.”
I reached for a plate and looked over everything on the table. It was all labeled. Glasses of water were already filled, and two different liquors sat on ice. That was the last thing I needed. If I got alcohol in me right now, I’d really be a blubbering mess.
I started with a grilled filet of salmon that had some kind of potato and mixed vegetables with it. Judas had something called Wagyu with almost the same sides.
“Do you like it?” he asked after I’d nearly eaten half the plate.
“Delicious.”
“Taste this.” He cut off a piece of what looked like steak and extended it to me on the tip of his fork.
I leaned over and delicately bit it off. I couldn’t even sink my teeth fully into the tender chunk before the flavor was exploding in my mouth.
I nodded and swallowed before speaking.
“What is that?”
“Japanese cattle.”
I’d never heard of this before, but it was good. I looked around the room and took in more of the décor.
“I know you didn’t get out of Crudele much. I’ve added a few pamphlets with your gifts. You pick your favorites and I’ll get us there.”
“What about your job, work, or whatever you call it?”
“I can do both. Being the boss has its perks, letting you travel is one of them.”
I reached for some kind of dressing to taste it. “Haven’t you been almost everywhere?”
“I haven’t been anywhere with you.”
“Judas, you don’t have to be this sweet,” I replied with a laugh. “I do like you when your edgy and a giant asshole too.”
“I’m giving you variety then, enjoy it. I traveled mostly when I was younger, with my famiglia when it was permitted.”
I could almost picture that. Gemma and Zacharias with a mini-Judas. “Has your mom always been…hard of hearing?”
His brows rose in amusement. “You mean Deaf? Yes, since she was a kid. We don’t dance around it, principessa.”
“Well, I didn’t know that and what did you mean by permitted?”
“My padre can be very controlling when it comes to her.”
So, the outside comment was probably exactly how I translated it.
“She seems happy,” I tossed out.
“It took a while. He was with someone else when he met her and she made the mistake of leaving him once too, like you.”
I rolled my eyes and grabbed a roll. “I doubt the situations compare.”
“Oh, they don’t. Wait until you find out how he brought her back. You’ll think of me as a martyr then.”
“Well, as I said, she seems happy. She probably deserves a medal or something but at least it worked out. Right?”
He grinned and took a sip of his drink. “She got something better than a fucking piece of a medal, she got an empire and a famiglia. She’s very happy. We make sure of it.”
His use of the word we was adorable. I couldn’t see myself ever traveling with Marcus or Evie. The man who raised me treated me like a princess while Evie was more of an evil-step mother near the end. Seeing him actually enjoy a vacation with me would have sent her spiraling into a rage. The backhanded compliments would’ve been endless.
“A family trip with Marcus and Evie would have been so toxic,” I mused out loud.
“Of course, it would be. I may want to piss on Marcus’ grave, but he did care for you as his own. Evie was jealous of you. The older you got the more you resembled the woman her fuck-toy fantasized about.”
I bit the inside of my cheek so I didn’t snap at him about the grave comment. “Was he the guy Santiago was talking about?”
“One and only. He really fucked that up.”
“Yeah…” I tore a chunk of my roll off and popped it in my mouth.
“I know you cared for him.”
I lifted one shoulder in a half-shrug to play off how much it still hurt. “He was my dad.”
I wasn’t going to go too much deeper into it. Marcus was public enemy number two around here it seemed and that was completely validated by his actions. I would never argue on his behalf when Judas had a sister he’d hurt. I hated even having to be torn between the two.
I couldn’t despise one man I loved when the other did the same thing.
Enemy number one was obvious. I propped my chin in my hand, connecting the dots of all these people.
“This could be a movie.”
He scoffed and reached for a cloth napkin. “Where almost everyone dies, sure.”
“Can you tell me why Evie isn’t?” I asked directly. No one else would specifically say what had or hadn’t happened to her or why she was alive. “She’s still living, right?” I pushed.