The Marriage Debt (De Vos Mafia #2)(93)

Grabbing her hand, I bring it to my lips, pressing down a soft kiss. “Trust me.”

She rubs her lips together, trying to hide a smile. “You know it’s hard for me to say no when you look at me like that.”

My brows rise. “I know. Perks of being a devil boy.”

My father frowns and opens his mouth, but then the front door opens, and the moment is gone.

“Welcome,” the maid says, opening the door wide.

My parents seem confused she was expecting us all, but I had Jill contact her in advance and keep it a secret.

“Well … so nice to see you all here.” Mrs. Baas’s voice makes us both look up. She’s holding a plate of what looks like freshly baked cookies in her hands. “C’mon, let’s sit and talk in the living room.”

As Jill follows her mother, I stay behind and point a finger at my parents. “Behave.”

“Don’t you fucking talk to me like that, you piece of—”

My dad’s violent coughs take over, and he grabs another napkin from his pocket and spits something into it. More blood.

“I don’t think you’re in the position to make the damn rules anymore,” I retort. “So unless you want to watch your goddamn empire being burnt to the ground, I suggest you calm the fuck down and actually give this a fucking chance. You want me to take over the company? Then you’ll let me run the show the way I fucking want to.”

They both look at me like they want to burn me at the stake, but I don’t care.

I know my priorities. It’s about time I used theirs to my advantage.

“Now be nice to her parents and just sit down and have a nice cup of fucking coffee,” I say, running my fingers through my hair. “She’s my wife, and they’re her fucking family.” I look at my mom in particular. “You wanted me to be nice. This is me being nice.”

She narrows her eyes at me. “Fine. Let’s go.” She barges right past me with that snooty look on her face, her perfume leaving a trail down the hall as she throws her scarf around her neck.

“You’d better know what you’re doing,” my father growls in that low tone of his.

“I do, so sit down and listen for once in your goddamn life,” I respond.

He grunts but still steps forward, shoving me out of the way.

Despite being a weak old man, he still has a lot of spite left inside him. Enough to destroy everything in his path. But I won’t let him.

We go into the living room where it’s chilly, and I don’t mean the fucking temperature. Hugo, Vera, and Jasmine sit on a couch on one side of the coffee table while Anne sits on the opposite one, far away from them.

“Have some coffee and a cookie,” Jill offers Anne, probably to shut her up. “My mom made them by hand.”

“Yes, Dad. We don’t want to offend the family, now do we?” I say, tilting my head at him. “Sit down and have a cookie.”

His face is so red he looks like a bomb about to blow, but I don’t fucking care as he sits down beside my mother anyway.

“So, to what do we owe this … pleasure?” Jill’s mom asks.

My parents throw me a look. The entire room is silent, and it’s very telling.

I beckon Jill to come over and sit on my lap. “I’m done with these fucking games, so I’m going to give it to you straight,” I tell the rest.

My father is throwing me darts with his eyes, but I don’t care. I’m done with this charade.

“My family has been scheming to steal the Baas contacts and burn your business to the ground.”

“WHAT?!” Hugo immediately stands and towers over the table.

“What do you mean?” Jill asks, turning to me. “Is this why you wouldn’t tell me?”

“You would’ve hated my family and me if I did,” I respond. “But it’s important that everyone knows.”

“LUCA!” my father barks, getting up too, but to shout at me instead. “You betray your own fam—”

Hugo interrupts him, pointing fingers. “How fucking—”

“I’m not finished yet,” I say in a calm, collected tone to both of them.

“All this time, I thought we were partners. After all the sacrifices I made to keep this friendship from being destroyed,” Hugo growls at my parents. “Get out of my fucking house.”

“DAD!” Jasmine roars, commanding his attention.

No one expected a little bird like her to squawk that loudly.

“Listen to what Luca has to say,” she adds.

“You’re in on their little scheme?” he asks her, his tone threatening, even at his own daughter.

“I’m not, but this is more important than your petty fight,” Jasmine says.

“Petty?!” My mother gets up too now, crumbling the cookie in her hand. “My son died, and you call that petty?”

“So that’s what this is all about? That’s why you’re so intent on destroying our family, our livelihood?” Vera jumps into the fray too. “We already sacrificed our daughter to your family, and it still isn’t enough for you?”

“Blood must be paid in blood,” my father says through gritted teeth.

They’re all eye to eye now, and I doubt it’ll take a minute longer before any of them starts throwing the coffee around.