Read Online Filthy Marcellos: Legacy: A Legacy Prequel by Bethany-Kris - Free Book Online Page B

man blinked a couple of times before he finally recognized her.
    “Lucia?”
    She nodded. “Hi. Is my cousin around?”
    “Andino is in his office. I can let Skip know you’re here, if you want.”
    “That would be great, thanks.”
    “Go find a table. Do you want something to eat?”
    “No, I’m okay.”
    “Sure,” the chef said. “Go, I’ll let your cousin know you’re here to see him.”
    Lucia wasn’t surprised that the man was confused at her presence. It wasn’t often that Lucia went to Andino’s main restaurant in the city, because her cousin was known to use the place for the more illegal side of his business. Like the mafia. More than once, Lucian had told his daughter to steer clear.
    Quickly, she found a quiet table toward the back and slid into a chair. Resting her bag in the chair beside her, she waited for Andino to come out from the back. It didn’t take him long. Her cousin strolled across the restaurant floor, waving at a couple of patrons as he passed, and then joined Lucia at the table.
    “Hey, kid,” Andino said, smiling.
    Lucia forced herself not to roll her eyes. “Hey.”
    “Didn’t your daddy tell you to stay away from this place?”
    “So?”
    Andino chuckled. “You should follow the rules, Lucia.”
    “I wanted to find out something, and I was in the neighborhood.”
    “Oh?”
    “Yes,” she confirmed.
    Andino leaned back in the chair and fixed the buttons on his suit jacket as he asked, “Well, what do you need?”
    “Where’s Johnathan?”
    Lucia had only seen her oldest sibling once since his release from prison. John was her only brother, but besides that, he was also the only person who truly understood Lucia and how suffocating their parents could be. For John, she knew it was an entirely different reason. But honestly, Lucia just needed a break and John seemed like the right person to go to for it.
    “Working today. Why?” Andino asked.
    “I want to talk to him.”
    Her cousin lifted a single brow. “He’s working, which means you probably shouldn’t be around him, Lucia. I know how your father would feel to find out you were slumming it up with John while he was doing business.”
    Frustrated, Lucia grabbed her bag and stood. “Thanks for nothing.”
    “Hey, hey.” Andino stood from the table, reaching out to grab Lucia’s wrist.
    “What?” she asked, snappier than she intended.
    “What is up with you?” he asked.
    “I want to see my brother. He doesn’t answer my phone calls and he never comes around to the house so I can talk to him there. I figured coming to see you would probably point me in the right direction. I’m not surprised it didn’t. All this family does is take care of business first, right?”
    Andino’s gaze flicked away. “Yeah, I suppose you’re right.”
    “I’m sorry, Andi. I know I’m not allowed to be hanging around here. I shouldn’t have come.”
    “It’s fine, kid. Just keep quiet to your dad, huh?”
    Lucia nodded. “I will.”
    “Where are you going after this?”
    “I was going to go sit with Grandpapa while Grandmama ran some errands.”
    Cecelia, her grandmother, always felt uncomfortable leaving her husband home alone when she left the house, for whatever reason. Lucia didn’t mind sitting with her grandfather. Then, he had someone watching him and someone to talk to. Antony, her grandfather, never minded.
    Andino nodded. “All right. I’ll give a John a call. Let him know where you’re going to be.”
    Lucia’s anger ebbed away. “Thanks.”
    “No problem.”

Chapter Fifteen
     
    “Are you sure you’ll be fine?” Cecelia asked.
    “We’ll be perfect,” Lucia told her grandmother. “I’m sure he’ll get into his usual trouble.”
    Cecelia laughed, the lines around her eyes deepening in her joy. “Okay.”
    “Don’t worry, Grandmama.”
    “He’s been tired a lot lately,” Cecelia explained quietly. “I can’t help but worry.”
    Lucia frowned, saddened over her grandmother’s