His words were sharp and painful, stabbing me in the heart. Before I had a chance to defend myself, Constantine intervened. After his explanation, Alessandro covered his mouth, staring at Colin in disbelief.

Enzo slowly made his way over to Colin. “I’m your uncle Lorenzo, but you can call me Enzo. Uncle E works, too.” He offered his hand, and Colin stood and accepted it, then looked to his other uncle, worried he wouldn’t be getting the same welcome from him.

Alessandro stepped around his brother to confront Colin, then surprised me by pulling him in for a hug. He met Constantine’s eyes over Colin’s shoulder, and I saw the heartbreak he felt on his brother’s behalf.

Constantine lifted his chin, eyes moving to the ceiling, and I tracked the muscles in his jaw and neck as they strained, as he worked to keep it together.

“Why don’t we all sit and eat?” Angela blotted a few tears on her cheeks with her napkin, then gestured for Izzy and Hudson to join us, too.

Alessandro let go of Colin, his eyes glossy with unshed tears. Maybe he was better at displaying his emotions than the growly teddy bear at my right?

“This is just . . .” Alessandro’s voice broke as he went to sit next to his sister.

Constantine waited for me to take my chair, then scooted it closer to the table. He didn’t join us because a call drew his focus. “If you’ll excuse me, I have to take this,” he said over his shoulder as he took off, and Hudson and his brothers wordlessly followed him without a request.

“Everything okay?” Colin glanced at his aunt, then over at me.

Based on the look in Izzy’s eyes, she knew the answer. And she had no desire to be the one to tell us that no, no it wasn’t.

42. Juliette

Chapter 42

Juliette

“The food is going to get cold.” Angela checked her watch, a breath of irritation passing from her lips before she directed a frown at her husband. “Mind going and getting the boys and asking them to save their conversation for after dinner?”

“Let me.” I shot up from my seat before anyone could protest. I’d been left in the dark too long about something. Then, throw in that grim expression on Constantine’s face when a call came in, and yeah, I needed answers, stat.

I patted Colin on the shoulder as Salvatore gave me a nod of approval. And perhaps his thanks as well. “No convincing your grandparents to buy you anything while I’m gone, got it?”

“I’ll be on my best behavior,” Salvatore answered, smiling.

I took off to navigate the maze of hallways inside their mansion, which Colin had whispered to me earlier was worth ninety million dollars. Not sure who gave him that information, but I wasn’t surprised he’d found out.