Page 36 of Mafia And Maid

“You.”

“Huh?” Confusion flickers across his face.

I eyeball my brothers. “Let’s get a few fucking things clear,” I snarl. “One, breakfast isn’t the time to be parading around half-naked like a bunch of savages, so you wear a fucking shirt from now on. We’re having breakfast, not going to a fucking brawl. Two, you say ‘please’ to Rosa whenever you need her to do something. And three, I don’t care if Rosa’s food is fucking burned or if she’s given you salmonella poisoning or if it’s making you puke your guts out, you say ‘thank you, that was delicious,’ after every fucking meal. Got it?”

My brothers just stare at me.

“You were both scaring her.”

“Are you talking about the maid?” Alessio asks with a puzzled look.

“Of course I’m fucking talking about the maid,” I practically roar. And I see the realization dawn on their faces, but they still don’t understand the gravity of it. They never do. To them, this is normal. To them, this is their home. But I see what they don’t.

Marco raises an eyebrow. “Come on, Millo. We just finished training. It’s not like she hasn’t seen a man without a shirt before.” Alessio shakes his head as he chuckles under his breath.

“I’m not fucking joking,” I snap. But they still don’t say anything else. “So help me God, tell me that you both fucking understand me before I punch you both in your fucking faces.”

They hesitate for a moment, the stubbornness that runs through our blood making them want to push back. But they know better than to cross me when I’m like this. Slowly, grudgingly, they both nod. “Sure, if it stops you acting like a bad-tempered bear at breakfast time,” Marco grits out. “But tell me, Millo, why the hell do you care so much?”

I pause for a moment. “She’s new. Be nice to her.” And that’s all I say—because I don’t know how else to explain it.

“She’s caught your eye, hasn’t she?” Alessio clips.

I choke on my mouthful of food and shake my head. “What?”

“Isaidshe’s not terrible to look at. That’s why you want to keep her around, right? It’s been a while since you’ve gotten any ass,” Alessio clarifies.

Marco shakes his head. “Bad fucking idea, Millo.”

“First off, fuck you both.” I take a gulp of my coffee. “Second, she made the best cupcakes I’ve had in fucking months. I’m not letting Mr. Moody Muppet here ruin this for me. That’s all.”

Alessio and Marco exchange a look as I slam my cup back onto the counter. My fucking brothers think they know everything there is to know about anything now that they’ve gotten families of their own. But one thing’s for sure—they couldn’t be more fucking wrong.

As we finish up and are pushing back our stools to stand up, Rosa comes back. She’s still shaking a little, but I can see that she’s trying to compose herself.

Marco and Alessio start to walk away, but I block them, bunching up my muscles and shooting them a glacial glare.

“Uh, thanks for breakfast, Rosa,” Marco says slowly.

“Yeah, it…was delicious,” Alessio adds with reluctance.

And I give them a satisfied nod before letting them pass.

They turn and leave the room, their footsteps heavy with irritation. I don’t care. They need to learn that this isn’t just their home; it’s mine too. And I need Rosa to feel safe here...

CHAPTER 9

ROSA

After the men leave for the casino and I finally calm myself down, I tidy up the rest of the breakfast dishes. The sight of Marco and Alessio bare-chested, bloody, and scarred was utterly terrifying, reminding me too much of when Grayden used to stalk toward me with that crazed look in his eyes and his fists bunched, ready to take out his anger on me.

I’m puzzled why they said breakfast was delicious though—I tried really hard, but the pancakes were all burned, and I know they must have noticed.

As I start on the cleaning, I can’t help my mind drifting back to yesterday at the hair salon. I thought I’d feel embarrassed when Camillo, Helen, and Derek saw that some of my hair had been ripped out. But their reaction—it was unexpected...

They didn’t blame me or say that it was my fault.They didn’t make me feel any less for it.

I twice confided in my mother about what was happening with Grayden—how he treated me badly and hit me.