“She said we’re all assholes, but also the best brothers she could ask for,” Gabe answers for her.

“Actually, I said: Even though you’re assholes, I wouldn’t want any of you to change.” Zoe smiles. She’s usually the quiet one.

“You have all grown into wonderful men,” Mary whispers.

“No thanks to you.” I lift my glass to her.

“I know,” she tells me.

“You keep looking at my husband like you’re just waiting for him to get up and hurt you,” Ellie says. “Gio would never hurt a woman.”

“I don’t… It’s not that. It’s not you, Gio. It’s just…”

“I get it. The old man fucked you up. Newsflash: he fucked all of us up,” Gio grunts.

“I should go check on Esther,” Tommy says.

“She’s outside with Vin. She’s fine,” I tell him.

“She’s my daughter and in a strange place full of strange men,” he replies.

“Men who would take a bullet for her,” I remind him.

“Right… because you said so? And you’ve never had anyone betray you before?” he asks.

“No,” Gio says confidently.

“Sure,” Tommy mutters under his breath.

“Okay, how about dessert?” Aria asks. “It really is the best part of the meal.”

Chapter Twenty

Talk about fucked-up families. This one should be on an episode of Jerry Springer. It’s beyond fucked. Imagine finding out your mother had a whole other life and never mentioned it.

I get it. I understand why she did it. Knowing what happened to her and all. But I’m supposed to just go along and pretend everything is normal? Pretend that the five brothers I didn’t know I had don’t lead Melbourne’s underworld?

I’m not an idiot. I know exactly who the De Bellis family is. I can’t believe my mum was married to their dad, though. That she married a mafia boss.

I guess it’s not like my own dad’s job is any cleaner. He is the president of a biker club. I’ve literally grown up in an MC. Which I love. I’d take any of the guys in my dad’s club as brothers over these pretentious assholes.

I step outside and I don’t know what I was expecting. But it sure as hell wasn’t the smell of weed. I make my way over to where the youngest brother is sitting on the back steps and lower myself down next to him. “Care to share?”

Vin looks over at me, pausing momentarily, and then passes me the joint he’s holding.

“Thanks,” I say, inhaling a lungful before he changes his mind.

He quickly grabs it back. “You’ve done that before.”

“No shit.”

“It’s pretty fucked up, huh? Finding out you have a sibling you didn’t know about.”

“Siblings. There are five of you fuckers. You all only get one of me,” I correct him.