Page 43 of Fatal Scheme

“You’ll have to forgive us, Ms. Cassina, but as I’m sure the boys have told you, we’re in the middle of a war. You seemingly just showed up in their lives, and you’re an inexplicable shot, capable of taking a life without a shred of remorse. One can only let their imagination wander,” my dad says, his charm and way with words impressive, but nonetheless, something to take seriously.

They’re playing good cop, bad cop in an attempt to scare Carter, but little do they know, she doesn’t frighten easily, and can handle herself better than anyone I’ve ever met.

“Girls are allowed at shooting ranges, right? We can own guns, carry permits, and even hunt, too! For you to accuse me of being some kind of double agent is just ridiculous, and borderline offensive,” she huffs, rolling her eyes for dramatic effect, and I can barely contain my smile as she defends herself effortlessly.

Before anyone can say another word, Mr. Masseria leans over the desk, backhanding Carter across the face in a split second, the sound echoing off the walls.

Massi reacts first, jumping out of the chair and lunging toward his father, but I grab him by the waist, knowing that whatever’s running through his mind won’t end well.

“I don’t stand for disrespect, young lady,” he smirks, clearly pleased with the shock value of his move, and Massi’s response.

This whole charade was intended to get a rise out of us, to see how we’d react, and they played right into his hand.

Thankfully, being the quiet one has its perks, but my father has his gaze trained on me, just waiting for me to say something.

“We’re not stupid, you guys taught us better than that. Carter isn’t a threat, but hey, she is one hell of a shot, that much we can all agree on, right?” I laugh, standing from my chair and finally releasing my grip on Massi, allowing him to regain his composure.

“If you ever fucking touch her again …” he warns, but I push him toward the door, ending this before it gets any worse.

The last thing we need is a blow out or any more smart remarks because that’ll only lead to future bullshit for us, and I’d prefer to avoid any additions to our already heavy workload.

“Go. Now.” I shove Massi one more time, both of us locked in a stare down until he concedes, allowing me to gently grab Carter’s arm, dragging her to a standing position and getting her the hell out of here.

“We aren’t finished!” I hear from behind us, but I urge her forward, not letting either of them get another word out.

Massi storms through the house on a rampage, his head snapping back and forth like he’s on the hunt, but finally, I’m able to read his mind when his mother comes into view.

Glancing down at Carter, her expression is unreadable, eyes glazed over as she goes through the motions, not even fighting back while I hold her arm firmly in my grasp.

Our girl is as tough as they come, but her reaction is the most frightening part of the night, a sad reminder that she’s been abused before, and can mask the pain effortlessly.

“I’m sorry, Momma, but we can’t stay for dinner.” Massi interrupts her conversation, and her demeanor instantly changes, like he popped her balloon and deflated the entire night.

“Oh, Junior, no! I feel like I haven’t seen you in so long, please stay,” she begs, but his face hasn’t changed, and neither will his decision.

“It’s my fault, Mrs. M., I’m not feeling too good, and I would hate to get anyone sick,” I speak up, all eyes on me as I cover for every person who was in that office, hoping to de-escalate the situation.

“Ty, honey. Can I get you some medicine, maybe you want to lay down for a bit in the guest room?”

“Mom.” Massi pulls her in for a hug, likely whispering something in her ear, because once he backs away, she’s completely accepting of us leaving.

“It was lovely to meet you!” Carter calls out robotically as we whisk her away, fleeing the scene of the carnage as quickly as possible.

Once we’re all outside and safely in my truck, I let out a deep breath, the constriction around my neck finally loosening as we leave the house.

My main concern is the two people beside me, but they’re both silent as I drive out of the gate and down the road. I want to talk this out, check in on Carter, but the tension in this truck is almost too much to bear, and I’m scrambling to come up with a solution.

Both of them need to snap out of it, leave the bullshit at the door so to speak, and finally, I think I’ve figured out the perfect plan to get them out of their heads, but first, they need to tell me what they want.

The second I put the truck in park, both of them try to slink out of the passenger door, but I press the lock, not letting them go before we talk.

“Ty, come on,” Massi sighs, and Carter looks up at me, her cheek bright red and indented with the imprint of a ring.

“We’re not going inside until we talk about this,” I say, my eyes locked onto Carter’s as tears blur her baby blue irises.

“I’m fine,” she chokes out, but I’m not buying it for a second, and neither is Massi.

“Bullshit, Principessina. I don’t care who hurt you in the past, but what happened tonight was on my watch, and I’m so fucking sorry. I should’ve protected you,” he confesses, and her head falls onto his chest, slow tears rolling down her cheeks.