Poisoned Rose (Dark Roses #1) by Nathalie Saade Page B

going to make you proud.’

Nine
     
                  Hawk opened the back door to the Mason Family five-star restaurant Angel and greeted Johnny and Vince.  It was filled to capacity and they didn’t bother talking as they made their way up the marble steps to the second floor.  To the left was a private dining room, but he turned right and ushered them into his father’s office.  Mario walked around his desk to greet them.  He hugged Johnny and Vince and invited them to sit on the two black leather armchairs facing his desk.  As they took their seats, Hawk closed the door and pulled over a seat from the corner of the room, fighting the urge to curl his lip at his father’s close proximity.
                  Mario let out a dark laugh.
                  ‘I never thought I would outlive my best friend.  Your father was always the more careful of the two of us.  How are your mother and sister coping?’
                  Hawk waited for Johnny’s response.  Would he get defensive and interpret the question as a way for Mario to identify any weaknesses, or would he take it as genuine concern.  He could never be sure of his father’s intentions and if the circumstances were different, he would have gone with option one.  But this was Tony’s death they were discussing.
                  ‘It’s hardest on our mother.  I don’t think she knows what to do with herself now that he’s gone.’
                  Johnny had gone with option two.  Mario’s turquoise eyes stared back at Johnny with what looked like sympathy and understanding.
                  ‘I was the same when Fae died.  One moment she was there, the next… It made me realize how little time we have with the ones we love and how we should cherish every moment.’
                  It was those moments, when his father acted all warm and gentle and like he actually cared that he wanted to hurt him the most.  The man who had never taught his children to love, who had never soothed them when they were hurt, and who had never taught them anything that didn’t serve his own purposes, was talking about how you should make the most of the time you had with those you loved.  Hypocritical son of a bitch.  Then again, Mario had never led them to believe that he loved them, so perhaps it wasn’t hypocritical after all.
                  ‘She’s a strong woman, and so is Aurora.  They’ll be fine.’
                  Vince interjected, staying true to his role of advisor and attempting to lead the conversation to its purpose.  Hawk cleared his throat at the mention of Aurora, as if the action could push the knot that had been in his chest since the funeral out of his body.  He’d told himself that he wouldn’t feel anything when he saw her, but his palms were sweaty before he’d even left the house.  He’d spent the ceremony distracted and on edge, earning him an elbow in the ribs from Honor.  He’d realized then that he wasn’t the only one who was uncomfortable, and that Aurora’s presence wasn’t the only source of his discomfort.
                  They’d spent their childhood in Tony’s home, and had experienced kindness and compassion.  Tony and Santina had shown them the affection their father never had, and that had been ripped from them with their mother’s death.  They may not have been able to show their emotions, but he knew that his sisters were struggling with their pain, trying to find an outlet that didn’t result in a loss of face. When they’d moved to the cemetery, it had taken every ounce of self-control he possessed not to go to Aurora, his efforts resulting in an expression which he was sure made him look like an insensitive bastard.
                  Mario smiled, ‘Of course they’ll be fine, they’re Hannams. Now, I hate to have to talk business today but I need you both to