Kate

I watched Alessio as he got ready for the day in silence. He didn't seem any different than he had yesterday. He was just as handsome, just as loving when he brushed his lips over my forehead and muttered good morning Rose when we woke, he didn't appear to have changed at all.

And yet I felt off. "Where did you go last night?"

"Hm?" He didn't pull his attention away from his shirt he was slowly buttoning. Not so long ago the simple task of forcing the button through the small hole was enough to have him threatening to set fire to his wardrobe. I often wondered if he had burned a few shirts behind my back.

"I woke up last night. You weren't here."

My lie was greeted with one of his own. "Where would I have to go? You must have woken when I let Donato out. He was whining. Couldn't have been gone more than ten minutes."

"I stayed up for awhile, it seemed a lot longer."

"Time always does slow down when you are waiting for something."

"Hm." I made sound back at him, not quite attempting words. We were both quiet for what felt like a long time before I caved first and broke the silence. "I hadn't even fallen asleep yet."

"The pain pills may have made you confused." He picked up two different ties, nearly identical and treated his hands as some sort of scale as he considered which was more appropriate.

"I took one this morning and I'm not the least bit confused here. You left last night. You snuck out of bed before I even fell asleep and you were gone for a long time." I left out the part of the story where I followed him as far as a few hallways down but was greeted by night patrol around every bend.

He finally turned back around to face me. "I went to see Padre."

"Why not just tell me that in the first place? Why lie to me?"

This time he was quiet for a long time before sitting down on the bed beside me. He tapped his index finger on his knee several times, it was a small sign of agitation and it made me nervous. He was rattled.

"I believe Padre is going to execute Sergio."

I was too surprised to answer right away. "What?" I asked after some seconds of senseless staring.

"If he hasn't already that is to say."

"What?!"

Alessio sighed. "I know my father Katherine, and he is not a tolerant man. Sergio just...he won't stop pushing, wouldn't stop pushing. We entered Padre's office and Sergio continued his disrespectful behavior."

"He was disrespectful?" I repeated in utter disgust.

"Padre is not the man you disrespect."

"So? You don't kill a man just because he hasn't respected you enough!"

"I have."

I closed my mouth abruptly. For a second my memory was trashed with visions of him in action over the years. Flawlessly killing with the Bonanao had taken us, dismissively having the gent Sully's throat cut when suspected of being a rat, shooting Nash. I found myself surprisingly speechless. When Alessio had explained to me the cross tattoo, scrawled with initials and how the represented that of the fallen, even my Nicolo, I had thought I was looking at the raw beating of Alessio's heart, but every now and then he gave me reason to doubt he even had one.

"Sergio is not someone I am fond of. I won't try to deny this. For years I've assumed he was already dead and not cared enough to validate this, I would be much more satisfied without his presence at our wedding, but the confirmation of his death right in front of my face...it's unsettling. I've known him since I was a child you know."

This should be one of those moments. A moment I saw his raw beating heart. He was rattled, enough to tell me about it even, to disclose the length of whatever relationship they had. He was practically telling me he was hurting.

I was too angry to care.

"Unsettling?" I repeated aghast. "He's going to kill him because he was disrespectful and all you are is unsettled? He can't just do that!" I came to my feet.

"Katherine-"

"God I hate how everyone does this! Acts like he is some sort of God. He doesn't get to say when someone lives or dies, who does he think he is?"

"But he does." Alessio said standing as well.

"That's bullshit!"

"You're awfully upset about this Sergio character you couldn't stand."

"Because I don't support senseless murder!"

"Please Katherine, enough of the tantrums. You have known what sort of family and business this was from the very start."

"A business you are a part of anymore! And regardless of whatever business your father is running, whatever kind of family this is, I don't support the idea of executing someone just because they don't get on their hands and knees and kiss your shoes!"

Alessio didn't say anything. If he was a lesser man he might have yelled at me. I could tell he was upset as he stared at me, he had told me this because in some twisted way he needed comfort and instead I had scolded him. I didn't apologize.

Instead, he put his suit jacket on, and spoke calmly as he buttoned the cuffs and straightened his tie. "Regardless of what position I may or may not have in the mafia itself Katherine, these people are, and shall always be my family. You know this."

"This isn't it." I muttered and sank back onto the bed.

"This isn't what?"

"This isn't what I want. This isn't what I agreed to. I agreed to you and I, happy and normal, getting married, and getting a house, having kids, being together. I didn't agree to more senseless murder, to say goodbye to more people every time I turn my head, you promised me you were out. You promised this part of our lives were over."

"I will give you want you want Katherine, I will give you that and so much more."

I waited. Waited for the reassurance that once we moved out, we would be okay, waited for an apology, waited for even a lie. Nothing came. "Who is Sergio?" I finally asked. "Who is he that you are actually hurting over? You've killed your own men with nothing short of rage, didn't bat an eye when telling me of my cousin's death, but you are God forbid unsettled over Sergio. Who is he?"

"At this point?" He opened the bedroom door. "Fish food." He said as he walked out.

After a moment with my mouth hanging open before I chased after him furiously. "Are you kidding me right now? Are you freaking kidding me?" I yelled after him, he infuriated me even further by completely ignoring me. Just as I was ready to blow I stopped in my tracks.

Behind me I could hear the chilled tone of Ugo himself praising one of his men. Rather than follow Alessio I spun around to seek out Ugo. I made it around the corner, he was in my sight both he and the man he was talking to had their backs towards us, the closer I got to him the angrier I grew. My fists clenched tighter, I stomped so hard my feet were actually getting sore.

I raised my hand to tap on his shoulder, intending the action to be full of sass and power, but before I had the chance a hand came over my mouth and I was pulled backwards. I was dragged backwards wiggling and kicking into the nearest attainable room. The moment I was let go I turned to strike but Alessio caught my wrist easily.

"What the fȕck were you doing?" He hissed.

I was at first relieved it was him and not someone who could have been a danger to me, but after a moment I grew angry. "Let me go. I'm going to talk to your father!"

"Do you think this is a fȕcking game Katherine?" He kept his voice low, likely due to the fact that Ugo was still within ear shot. I shook my arm around signaling for him to let me go but he did no such thing. "You don't talk to Padre."

"I'm a big girl I can do what I want! Let me go."

"Keep your voice down."

"No! You're holding me hostage in a broom closet! Have you lost your mind?!"

"For fȕcks sake. He's not like me Katherine. He's not tolerant, he's not merciful-"

"Neither are you!"

"He's not going to let you wag your finger in his face and scold him. He doesn't care if you're a woman, he doesn't care if you're an innocent, he doesn't care if you are my wife, if you go out there and say whatever it is you want to say to him he will kill you."

"And I suppose you would let him too wouldn't you? That's what you people do around here isn't it? You condone and accept his ruthless attacks!" This time when I pulled my arm away he let go with no resistance.

"Shut up."

"No! I will not!"

"I don't know if he has the rooms wired or not."

"Oh please." I rolled my eyes. "He would consider me calling him a heartless bastard a compliment."

"He is still my father." Alessio reminded me.

"I can't do this again Alessio. I can't do this, I can't be this person in this life. I can't. I won't. I can't wake up every day wondering if the person I spoke to yesterday is dead, I can't worry about the safety of my family and friends, of you. I won't again."

He put his hand on the door and was silent.

"Did you hear me?"

"Sh. I'm listening."

"Are you?" I snapped.

"I think he's gone." He muttered.

"Great." I pushed past him and back into the hallway.

"Don't think for a second that I would let anyone hurt you."

"Don't think for a second that is what I'm upset about."

"I don't know what you want from me Katherine. You know how this works. We've only a few more months of tolerating it."

"And then what?" I asked leaning against one side of the hallway while he stood on the other. "You said it yourself. These people are and will always be your family."

His patience was wearing with me and his tone came out sharp now. "Yes. Just as your police officer father and uncle were are would always be yours. Let's not pretend they didn't stand against everything I lived and believed in did I ever try to twist your arm into abandoning them? This is family Katherine. My mother, my father-"

"Whatever the fȕck Ari is since she's apparently family too." I added in.

"You know, the reason I told you about Sergio was not because I enjoy this." He motioned between the two of us. "The bickering and yelling, I don't enjoy you being angry with me, I don't want you to despise my own flesh and blood. I came to you because I thought that is what you were to do when something was weighing on you, you relied on the one you love to help you carry that weight. My mistake."

I raised my hands just to let them slap back down on my thighs.

After a long time of awkward silence that had both of us standing around feeling like shit about ourselves he shoved his hands into his pockets. "I'm going to take Donato for a walk."

"Fine."

---------------------------------------- Since it has been forever and a day between updates, review chapter 15 to see what went down with Ugo/Padre and Sergio (:

Alessio is a liar, but not about Padre and Sergio

Dont forget to vote and comment 😘