Page 118 of Humility
Ciro laughed and nodded. “Yes, I finally did it.”
“And, tell me everything, how did he take it?”
“Shockingly and annoyingly well. Years of worry and all I got was him asking if I would still give him a grandchild. I said that Marcus and I had looked into options. He said fine and walked out of the room. He has been completely normal ever since.” Ciro shrugged. “Maybe he already knew or he really doesn’t care, but I seriously need a therapist just to unpack the whole thing,” he said.
“That was it?”
“That’s it. Ask me how stupid I feel for keeping it hidden for so long?” I gripped Ciro again but let go when I heard the strangled growl behind me, and I went and sat on Angelo’s lap before he had a coronary.
“So this is why you came? How did you even find me?”
“I came because I can’t get married without my best man or, in this case, best woman. I want you to stand up for me at my wedding. I need the one person in my life that I love with all my heart, other than Marcus, of course. You’ve been my best friend for as long as I can remember, and it just wouldn’t feel right. Marcus feels the same way.”
I covered my mouth, tears of joy streaming down my cheeks. “Yes, yes, of course, I will. Oh my gosh, there is so much to do. Have you picked colors yet? How about flowers? Oh no, when is the wedding? I need my notebook.”
I went to stand, but Angelo pulled me back down onto his lap, and I glared at him.
“Angelo?”
“Answer the second question. How did you know that Jasmine was here?” I could tell Angelo still wasn’t convinced that Ciro wasn’t a threat, but I knew Ciro and trusted him. Although, I was curious as well, so I waited for Ciro to answer.
“Um…well.” Ciro cleared his throat. “Jacopo showed me a news report online that named you as a person of interest. It wasn’t too difficult to track you down after that. I mean, you used your mother’s maiden name.”
“Of course he did, fucking Jacopo,” Angelo growled and stood, setting me on my feet.
“Wait, forget Jacopo. What do you mean I was a person of interest? In what? And where?” I was horrified that my face was shown on the news.
“It was for multiple murders,” Ciro said, and I spun around to face Angelo.
“Did you have something to do with this?”
“Oh shit,” Enzo mumbled low from where he stood in the corner, but I heard him as clear as day.
“What the hell did you do, Angelo?”
He crossed his arms as he leaned against his desk. “You were drawing the attention of some men who were bad news. I took care of the person of interest issue and made the men disappear.”
My mouth fell open. “When? What?” My brain jumbled the words, and I rubbed my eyes to wrangle the confusion. “When was this?”
“Does it matter?” Angelo shrugged his shoulders. “They’re already dead.”
“Oh my god. How many people?”
“Just since you came here or in total?” I couldn’t tell if he was joking. That had to be a joke. Right? “I told you I would do anything to keep you, and I meant it.”
This was one of those fucked up times where I found myself wondering if I had a problem. I wanted to say he was being sweet, but then I remembered that he killed people, and my emotions got crossed like two wires shorting out.
“We will discuss this later,” I said and turned back to Ciro. “So, when is the wedding?”
“Next spring, but I was kind of hoping you’d come home.” He looked around the room at the three men. “At least for a little while. Your father hasn’t been in a good state since you left.”
“Is he okay? Is something wrong with his health?” Panic hit, and my heart ran alongside my mind, quickly spiraling to the worst possible scenarios.
“Nothing like that. Sergio just hates that he drove you away. He hasn’t been himself, and he hardly eats. Marcus is worried about him, and Jacopo has made snarky comments about your father being no longer fit to lead the family.” Ciro leaned back in the chair and grabbed a piece of fresh bread off the table. “God, I hate that guy. Do you mind if I eat this? I’m starving,” Ciro said, holding up the bread.
“No, go ahead. We were finished.”
“I guess we were,” Angelo said softly.
