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open and available for a marriage if the need arises.”
    Like fuck.
    “I’m not going to marry someone just because you tell me to.”
    “You will do as I say,” Riley replied.
    “I have done everything you wanted me to. I quit college to work under your men fulltime. I look out for Eve like you ask. You’ve marked out every second of my future without my input, but I didn’t mind. I will not let you force me into a marriage with someone I don’t know or give a shit about.”
    Riley’s expression remained passive and cool as he said, “I married a woman I barely knew and didn’t care much for. Look at how we turned out.”
    “Yeah, look at how you turned out,” Adriano said, scoffing. “You fucked around on Mom every chance you had and now that she’s dead, you’re acting like the vengeful, grieving husband to propel yourself higher. Oh, I fucking see, Dad. Don’t worry.”
    “Watch your mouth, Adriano.”
    “I’ll refuse to marry if you push me into it.”
    “You won’t have a choice. You’re more than aware that in this life, love has very little say, Adriano. You chose the button and the family, now you live with what it means. Do I have someone in mind for you yet? No. That doesn’t mean something might not come up in the near future. Make it easy on us all and cut whatever ties you have to Terrance’s granddaughter.”
    Adriano’s spine straightened. “Alessa—”
    “I don’t want to hear her name coming out of your mouth again.”
    “Are you telling me to stay the fuck away from her entirely?” Adriano asked. “That even if this all blows over, I can’t have anything to do with her?”
    Adriano didn’t think he could do that. 
    Riley just laughed. “Oh, Adriano. I won’t have to. After today, that girl won’t want a damn thing to do with you. Who do you think that family is going to blame for Terrance’s death? It doesn’t matter if I didn’t do it, they just need a proper scapegoat. We’re the perfect one to use.”
    “You’re wrong,” Adriano said.
    He had to be wrong.
    “You know I’m not.”
     

     
    “Christ, haven’t you heard of a dishwasher?” Evelina dropped the dishrag into the sink, splattering bubbles everywhere. “You have at least a few days’ worth of dishes to wash, Adriano.”
    Adriano resisted the urge to bark at his sister. His irritation was beginning to manifest into annoyance at every little thing. Evelina didn’t deserve his anger. “I’ve been busy the last couple of days.”
    “Doing what?”
    “Nothing,” Adriano said quickly.
    Eve eyed her brother over her shoulder. “You can talk to me. You know that, right?”
    “Sure.”
    “So talk, little brother.”
    “You realize I tower over you, right?” Adriano asked.
    Eve shrugged. “So? I was born almost two years before you. Size matters very little. I’m still the older one.”
    “Whatever. I could pick you up and jog around the block and still not be out of breath. Little my fucking ass.”
    “Keep thinking that,” his sister teased in a sing-song manner.
    Adriano watched his sister begin washing the dishes in his sink again. “I can do those dishes, Eve.”
    “I know.”
    “So stop. I don’t need a damn maid.”
    Eve sighed. “Yeah, but then I’d have to go back to Dad’s. At least when I’m at your apartment, he leaves me the hell alone.”
    True enough.
    Adriano dropped it and decided to move onto something different. He wanted to test the waters with Evelina and how she felt about their father’s actions and Terrance Trentini’s murder. Sometimes, with Adriano’s family, it was good to know who was thinking what before he blurted out his own thoughts.
    “The funeral for Terrance is next week. Monday, actually.”
    “I’ve heard,” Evelina said quietly. “How long did they hold the body before releasing it?”
    “Not long,” Adriano answered. “But they had the cause of death. Bullet wound to the face. It’s probably going to be a closed