Miles Away (Carrion #1)(81)

“Come, let’s get you seated.”

Miles was prepared to sit between Ruin and Letty, but as Miles pulled out the chair at the foot of the table for Letty, she protested.

“No, Miles. You were intended to sit there. It’s fine.”

“Are you sure?”

Letty nodded as she met Miles’s intense gaze. Taking her word for it, Miles pulled out the empty chair next to Ruin as he helped Letty get seated. As Letty scooted in to the table, Miles growled at Ruin in a muffled tone, “Don’t even f*cking look at her.”

“Hard not to. There’s so much of her,” Ruin said with a raised right eyebrow.

It took everything in Miles’s power not to knock him straight through the wall. Hearing the growl from Miles’s throat, Letty placed a gentle hand on his arm.

“It’s not worth it, Miles.”

“Yes. You are. You are worth it, Letty.”

“HE is not. You love me, right? Curves and all?”

“Fuck yes.”

“Then f*ck him.”

Running his tongue over his teeth, Miles snapped his eyes off of Ruin as he went to take his seat. If Ruin knew how close he came to getting his neck snapped, he might not look so smug. In typical Ruin style, he never knew when to shut up.

Under his breath, Ruin spat, “*.”

This time it wasn’t Miles that had to control his temper, though. Gripping her fork, Letty quickly turned it upside down and plunged the prongs into the meat of Ruin’s thigh. Though his face morphed with pain, Ruin didn’t dare scream, because at the second Letty drew blood, Michael Capadonno began to speak. Clearing his gravelly voice, Michael lifted a glass as he looked down the length of the table towards his son, Miles. Miles peered back at him with a stern look to his gaze.

“How blessed am I to have mi famiglia all surrounding me this day. I’m not a well man, but I’m very rich indeed to have family like you. Salut!”

“Salut!” the other members of the dining party called out as Sasha took the lids off of all her casseroles. Steam rose from her freshly made lasagna and deep dish casserole of gnocchi. Aida peeled the plastic wrap off of the Caesar salad and began dishing herself some greens onto her plate. As everyone began to eat, Miles let Letty make him a plate as he watched everyone very closely. As his eyes met his father’s, Miles noticed that the old man wasn’t eating but staring. A red flag went off in Miles’s mind.

I wonder if the old bastard is pointing his gun at me from under the table, Miles thought.

Never one to be outdrawn, Miles gently tugged his gun from its holster. Taking the safety off, Miles held it under the table, pointed directly at his father.

Old bastard ain’t gonna get me, Miles thought.

Letty fidgeted in her seat as she piled Miles’s plate with food, giving him an ample serving of fettucine, ambrosia and steamed vegetables. Gingerly, Letty placed Miles’s plate in front of him, then proceeded to get her own plate ready. Finally, as her plate was filled with grilled chicken and some salad, Letty was ready to dig in, but as she caught a charged look from Knox, Letty lost her nerve and dropped her fork to the floor. Clanging loudly against the marble floor, Letty’s fork skidded under the table. Rising from her chair, she bent down to pick it up. Leaning on her knees, Letty reached under the table for her fork and as she did so, she got an eye full. Right in front of her face, Miles held his pistol at the ready. Letty sat there in shock for a moment as she processed her thoughts. His gun is out. Who is the bullet for? Pivoting her neck, Letty looked to her right as her eyes bulged. Michael had his gun on his lap, and it was pointed right at Miles. Letty gasped, barely able to believe her eyes.

“Letty, are you okay?” Landon asked as he peered under the table.

Quickly, Letty scrambled for her fork and returned to her seat with a flustered look upon her face. Miles and Landon gave her a pair of bewildered looks, but she didn’t say anything and simply waited for the moment to pass. Then, as the dinner conversation picked back up, Letty whispered a warning into Miles’s ear.

“He’s pointing his gun right at you.”

Miles swallowed down air as his eyes met Letty’s.

“I assumed as much. Just stay calm. Everything is under control.”

Miles stared as his father as Letty gave him the message. Knowing that he was watching Letty like a hawk, Miles looked up at Letty and gave her a wink. Puckering his lips, Miles begged for a kiss, and Letty gave in, giving him a sweet peck on his lips. Miles looked back at his father as the old man snarled his upper lip. Miles snickered as he went back to eating his dinner. The old man is so f*cking predictable it’s boring, Miles thought.

But then, just as the thought rattled around in his brain, Michael Capadonno threw him a wicked curve ball.

Bang. Bang. Bang!

Three knocks on the front door of the Capadonno mansion caught everyone’s attention.

“Who the hell is interrupting my family dinner?” Michael asked with a charged glint in his eyes.

“Sit,” Sasha said to Knox and her father, who both rose at the sound of the noise. “I’ll get it.”

Sasha’s heels clicked loudly as she made her way to the front door. She opened it and immediately began speaking to two men. Sasha sounded nervous as she spoke and as she ran back to the dining room, everyone’s eyes were upon her. Two police officers stepped into the room.