Read Breaking Bones (Mariani Crime Family Series Book 2) for Free Online Page A

time than that. Thank you. You’re such a good son.”
    Right. “I’ll be there in about ten.” I disconnected the call.
    I didn’t have to look at Ariana to know she was amused, because I could hear her quiet snickering. We drove the rest of the way in silence while I tried to find a way out of this whole awkward situation. It would have been a good time for the new Tech to call me with the details for Renzo’s fence. I could have gone for messing someone up. It’d be a much better way to spend my evening, than hoping Ma didn’t get some marriage-material vibe off my boss’s girlfriend’s little sister.
    Still unwilling to accept the meeting as inevitable, I parked in front of Ma’s small house and turned to face Ariana. “I don’t suppose you’d like to wait in the car?” I asked.
    She giggled. “Not a chance.”
    Damn. “Okay, but not a single word about you and Markie staying with us.”
    She gasped, looking wounded. “Do I seem like the type of girl who’d rat you out to your mommy?”
    I sighed, knowing full well Ariana would do whatever floated her boat. We climbed out of the Hummer and met Ma where she stood waiting on the front porch with a smile spread from ear to ear. Before I could make introductions, she hugged me and then turned to embrace Ariana.
    “Ma, this is my friend Ariana. Ari, this is my mom, Marcella Leone.”
    “It’s nice to meet you, Ms. Leone,” Ariana said.
    Ma’s smile only widened. “Please, call me Marcella. It is so great to meet you. You’re right, Franco, she is gorgeous. He’s told me so much about you.”
    No, I most certainly had not. But since calling out my own mother for lying to make me sound good seemed to be some sort of social faux pas, I shook my head and followed them into the house.
    “You need some meat on your bones,” Ma said, taking in Ariana’s thin body. “I have a lasagna in the oven. That’ll do the trick.”
    I ran a hand down my face. “No dinner, Ma. We don’t have time.”
    “Of course, honey. It was just a suggestion. I’d never expect you to stay.”
    “I bet you have a hundred baby pictures of Bones, er Franco,” Ariana said, grinning wickedly over her shoulder.
    Not good. Not good at all. “Yes she does, but we’ll have to look at those later. Here to change the light bulb, and then it’s back on the road for us. Tight schedule, remember?”
    “Nonsense.” Ma slipped into the kitchen. “I just pulled some pizzelles off the iron. How do you take your cappuccino, Ariana?”
    “Milk and sugar, please.” She looked at me and added, “Pizzelles?”
    “Cookies.”
    Her brow scrunched up. “Cooked on an iron?”
    “Like a waffle iron.”
    The cappuccino machine whirred to life. “Franco bought me this beast for Christmas last year. Noisy, but it makes a great cup,” Ma shouted over the machine.
    I scanned the kitchen ceiling, searching for the burnt-out light. “Which bulb, Ma? They all look fine to me.”
    She gave me a sheepish smile and handed me a cup. “It’s been thirty-two days since I last saw your precious face, and I needed to make sure you weren’t dead or wounded. Last time you pulled a disappearing act on me, you came home with all those cuts on your chest, and—”
    Ariana’s eyes grew round.
    Needing to derail Ma’s train of thought, I jumped in. “I’m fine, Ma. My job’s been crazy lately.” Since there was no way she’d let me leave without finishing my drink first, I accepted my cappuccino and headed for the table.
    Ma asked questions about my job, which I evaded, before switching tactics and pumping Ariana for information. Ariana handled it like a boss, sipping cappuccino and munching on pizzelles while she talked about her job and her dream of singing in a show. But when Ma started questioning Ariana about her family, she excused herself to use the restroom.
    I leveled a stare at my mother, knowing she’d never give up. “Her parents are dead, her uncle’s an ass, and she lives with