Miles Away (Carrion #1)(25)

Letty turned on her heel ready to read Knox Capadonno his last rites but once again Michael came to the rescue.

“HEY!” Michael screamed at the top of his lungs, his eyes damn near bulging from their sockets. “She ain’t here for you!”

“That’s right, Knoxxy. I’m not,” Letty replied as she winked at him.

“What’s his is mine, you know. I’m the executor of his estate,” Knox replied smartly.

“Lucky duck. One drink coming up.”

That bastard’s getting a shot glass full of Ex-lax.

As Letty trotted out of the room semi-amused and fully annoyed, the front door crashed open again.

“Uncle Mikey!” A high-pitched voice called out as a pair of stiletto pumps clicked against the floor.

Oh, my God. So much for keeping this psycho away from the house.

As Letty turned to walk into the kitchen, she glanced back and watched Rumor Capadonno, mob princess, strut in with her older sister, Sonora Capadonno, bitchier mob princess. They crossed the parlor and smothered Michael with attention. He looked happy to see them as he gave them his cheek to kiss.

“What are you two doing here?” Michael asked with an amused smile on his face.

“Figured we’d stop by and see how you were doin’!” Rumor said in a high-pitched voice as she flipped her hair over her shoulder. “Hey Unc! Where’s Rainey! She should totally come out with us!”

“Oh, she had turned in early—” Michael began, but before he could continue his statement, a loud noise had come from the upstairs hallway.

A bedroom door slammed as a series of loud footsteps tromped across the hardwood floor. Descending the spiral staircase, Rainey had gotten changed, throwing on a short black dress, black combat boots, fishnets, a ripped jean jacket and at least three layers of makeup and rage on her face. Her face looked like she was about to kill someone herself. Giving her a glance, Letty felt bad for the girl. That quickly faded when Daddy’s little girl opened her mouth.

“Rainey, where are you going?” Michael asked with a nervous tone to his voice.

“OUT! I need out of this f*cking prison!”

“Rainey, babe. What’s the deal?” Sonora asked.

“Nothing. Nothing. Nothing!” Raine screamed out.

The word nothing in the Capadonno family meant something. A big something. Not pressing the matter, Sonora and Rumor followed Raine out of the parlor and out the front door, slamming the door behind them.

“Damn, Pops! What did you do now?” Knox asked as he gave a semi-amused look towards the foyer.

“Nothing,” Michael said darkly as he eyes stared at the ceiling.

“Indeed,” Knox said as he wiped his hands on a clean napkin.

Suddenly, the front door crashed open again as Sasha broke through with her hands full of groceries.

“Daddy… Knoxxy…” Sasha said with a smile as she swept through with her arms full of bags.

“YOU!” Michael said.

“Me?” Sasha asked with a defensive look upon her face.

“Oh, this should be good. I need to stop by more often!” Knox exclaimed with a happy smile on his face.

“Shut up, Knox! Daddy, what is your problem?” Sasha asked with an agitated look on her face.

Poor Sasha looked every single one of her thirty-seven years. She ran ragged keeping the house stocked for the Capadonnos, and as far as daughters went, she was a pretty decent one. She tried. She looked out for Michael and her brothers and her younger sister. Sasha went to church and tried to set a good example. That counted for a lot in Letty’s book.

“You bought sauce!” Michael yelled out.

“Daddy! I work full time. I’m always running around doing something whether I’m teaching Sunday School, keeping Landon out of trouble, keeping Raine from getting jumped and helping Dustin with various errands. Can’t you give me a break?”

“YOU BOUGHT SAUCE!” Michael reiterated at a higher level.

“When do I have time to make gravy?”

“Sundays,” Michael said.

“Nope. Sunday school, then church, and brunch. Then I come home and make supper for sixteen ungrateful relatives!” Sasha spat.

“Tuesday mornings… That’s the one day a week I can actually hit the gym. Do you see my thighs? It’s been three years since I gave birth to Arianna! Three years! I can’t have one morning at the gym?! I can’t walk past the construction site by work without the guys whistling at me and commenting on my ‘big booty’!”

Michael laughed at the big booty comment, and Knox’s eyes lingered over his sister’s frame as a snide smile crossed his lips.

“What about Saturdays?” Michael asked.

“Really?” Sasha rebutted as she flipped her hair off her shoulder.

“Really, yaself! We’re Italians!”

“We’re Americans!” Sasha said, her hands flying about as she talked. She always talked with her hands.

Michael growled loudly.

“Your ancestors are rolling in their graves!”

“More rolling?” Letty asked as she carried out two tall glasses from the kitchen. “Hey, Sasha…”

“Hey, Letty. I hope he hasn’t been too much trouble.”

“Nah, he’s fine,” Letty lied to her.