Caught In The Crossfires - Spinoff

30

Chapter 30

Much to my annoyance, Alessandro sat down at the island on the other side of me; an intense musky scent followed him and wafted in the air between us. My jaw ticked with resentment, not finding his aroma altogether unpleasant when I knew I should have.

Sighing irritatedly through my flared nostrils, I silently chewed my food and mentally cursed myself for not leaving earlier. I was still pissed the fucker choked me out in the hallway yesterday.

Talk about a buzzkill.

"Anyway, I don't know what you two have going on," Alessandro finally piped up before pausing for a quick second to wave a finger back and forth between Cristiano and me. I watched him from the corner of my eye and swallowed hard before turning to face him. The jerk looked right past me and continued speaking to his brother like I wasn't even there. " But we have a reputation to uphold, and she's a Mariano."

His mouth contorted in disgust as my last name rolled off his tongue as if he'd said a bad word. Shifting in my seat, I bit back the smile that started to form on my lips, and pride pumped through my chest. Yeah, the feeling's mutual, asshole.

"We have an image," he said, finally acknowledging me or more my croissant when he snatched it off my plate and took a huge bite.

Asshole.

Snorting, I rolled my eyes away from the scratch marks covering the front upper half of his body. "An image," I snatched my pastry back from him and tried my best to focus on his face and not his bare chest. He looked like he had been attacked by a feral animal, and by the look on his face, he was entirely unashamed by them.

Who even eats breakfast shirtless?

"First, what's wrong with my image, and second, this is coming from a man rocking a 70's porn stache?," I winced with disdain, and Cristiano snorted in amusement behind me—encouraging my already reckless mouth.

"It's giving very much, creeper with a white van giving out free candy," I cringed.

"Are you just going to let your new little toy talk to me this way?"

"You think I have control of her bark, brother? I have been on the other end of that bite, and trust, I soon wished I hadn't," Cristiano told his younger brother with a hint of amusement in his voice as he got up to make him a plate, and Alessandro appeared as confused as I felt when he slid him the food from across the island.

"Unbelievable," he glared up at his brother with heat flaring in his forest-green eyes and took a weary bite of his bacon.

That's when I looked over at Cristiano, who'd sent me a wink, and I knew he'd done it so Alessandro would keep his grimy paws out of my plate. Swallowing most of the food in his mouth, Alessandro shook his head.

"All of that doesn't change that you allowing her into our lives is a bad idea. Our beef with her brothers is well known. It's a bad look on us, and you know it."

Cristiano silently mulled over his brother's words for a long while as an array of emotions crossed his handsome face, and worry began to fill my gut. Just as he opened his mouth to answer, I shot up from my seat and cut him off out of fear of hearing him say he might agree with Alessandro or something.

"As fun as this little chat was, I have class."

It wasn't a complete lie, and as much as I didn't want to go to English Lit with the married Professor Mullens. I wanted to be here far less.

"We're not finished here," Alessandro cut his hateful gaze at me, and it almost made me scared enough not to get on his bad side... almost.

"Well, I am," I told Alessandro as I strolled around the large island and grabbed the lunch Cristiano made for me before walking over to where he was standing.