by J. L. Drake
“He has information you might want to hear.”
Carlo was a lazy, entitled prick. I couldn’t imagine he had much to add to the conversation. On the off chance he did, he should have brought it to my attention, not Nico’s. I was his capo. He had no right to go around me.
“Does he need to hold your hand while he talks to me now? Is that why he brought you into this?”
Nico braced his elbows on the desk, his gold and onyx cufflinks glinting in the overhead lights. “He brought me in as a witness.”
“A witness.” I stabbed my hand in my hair. “I can’t wait. This is going to be good.”
His lips thinned. “You’ll want to hear what he has to say.”
Heaving a sigh, I leaned back in my chair. “Yeah, I bet.”
“Your lack of respect is getting old.”
“You know I’m right. Carlo is a lazy piece of shit. That’s exactly why Dominick promoted me and not him.”
Nico shot me a warning look. “Doesn’t matter. You need to inspire the loyalty of the people under you or you’re not doing your job, and you can kiss your new role goodbye. You’ll be broken.”
My eyes narrowed. “Are you threatening me?”
He shrugged. “Just calling it how I see it.”
“Hey, man.” Carlo sauntered into my office three minutes later, his hands shoved deep into his pants pockets and a shiny bluish silver tie around neck that clashed with his ruddy nose.
I tipped up my chin, staring at him, my face blank, emotionless, but I felt a helluva a lot of something.
Rage. Anger. Frustration. Hate.
All of it roared through me with the force of a hurricane. I clutched the arms of my chair so I didn’t wrap my hands around his scrawny neck and strangle the life out of his worthless ass.
Nico waved at the chair next to him. “Have a seat, Carlo.”
Carlo sidled up to the chair with a shit-eating grin on his face. I had to do something about him because he’d made it clear there was only room for one of us in the Trassato family. He wanted my job, and he’d do anything do get it, including making an unholy alliance with Nico, the only other person in this family that wouldn’t mind if I got clipped.
“Let’s get on with this. I have another meeting.” I stood, trying to establish the upper hand and take control of the meeting. If Carlo had something to say, he’d do it on my terms, not his or Nico’s. “Carlo, Nico told me you have some information for me.”
Carlo’s beady eyes shifted to the side, clearly seeking Nico’s approval to speak. Nico dipped his head, giving him permission. What an ass licker.
“I heard the Russians aren’t happy with you.”
I swiped my fingertips along the top of my desk as I strolled alongside it. “Really? And how’d you come by this little gem of information?”
He shifted in his seat. “I was playing cards with one of the guys from Matteo’s crew. He told me.”
Matteo was another capo who let the Russians push drugs in his territory for a taste of the profit.
“Is that all you’ve got? We all know Russians are always complaining about something. This isn’t new.”
“Maybe you should cut a deal with them and put all this shit behind you,” Nico suggested. “You don’t need any more distractions. We might be able to get the boss on board if we get some money out of it.”
“No.” I slammed my open palm on the desk. “My dad refused to work with them, and I won’t either. They’re like bloodsucking leeches. They never stop pushing, and they’re completely untrustworthy. Their promises aren’t worth the air that comes out of their mouths.”
The Russians were amoral bastards. Unlike us, they didn’t have any problems taking out anyone. No one was sacred. Not cops, not prosecutors, and journalists could kiss their collective asses goodbye if the Russians didn’t like them. In fact, I wouldn’t put it past one of those fuckers to shoot someone simply to see if his gun was well lubricated.
Nico sat in front of me like a king on a throne. Judging. Weighing. Watching.
“They’re going to keep pushing because you’re young and untested. They see you as the weak link. Maybe you could give them something and they’ll back off.” When I started to shake my head, he held up his hand, indicating he wasn’t finished. “It's good business, Gian. We don’t want a war with the Russians. We already spent the last year fighting the DiTonnos because of the bullshit that went down with Rocco.”
My stomach lurched. I hated thinking about Rocco. It gutted me to see how my sister had become a shell of her former self after he died. Sure, she still gave me shit and acted like she was fine, but she was my twin. I could sense she was still torn apart by his death.
“You think they were behind the car chase, not only the brick.” I knew they had something to do with the brick. The word Vor was a term used by the Russian mafia that meant “Thief-in-Law.”
“It makes sense,” Carlo said, a reptilian grin cutting across his face like he actually had more than two brain cells in his head.
What I wouldn’t give to wipe that fucking smile off his face…
“I wasn’t asking for your opinion,” I sneered at Carlo.
Carlo’s shoulders stiffened, and he raised his eyebrows like a condescending fuck. He stood up to leave, stopping only to rap his knuckles against the top of the desk. “Fine. Whatever you want, Gian. Let me know if you need anything.”
I glared at his retreating back as his cocky ass strutted out the door. If Nico weren’t in the room, I’d seriously consider pumping a couple of bullets through his knees solely for shits and grins.
Nico stood and the wooden legs of the chair scraped across the tiled floor. “How’s the fiancée?”
I gritted my teeth. I didn’t want him sticking his nose in my personal life. He had already inserted his opinion into every decision I made as a capo. “Perfect. Couldn’t be better.”
It was the truth. Evie slept in my bed every night. She shared a cup of coffee with me every morning. Nothing about what we were doing felt fake, and my sorry ass couldn’t get enough of her. Her graceful movements consumed me. I couldn’t be in the same room with her without wanting to get lost in her. Her taste. Her sweet, flawless skin. Her mile-long legs. The list of things I liked about her grew every day, which was novel for me.
“Good. Good.” He strummed his fingers against his thigh. “Tony dug up some stuff on her ex.”
“Oh?” My gut soured.
“Yeah. Turns out he was hooking up with some slut with connections to the Russian mafia when your girl broke things off with him.”
“Was hooking up? As in they’re done?”
“Yep.” He cupped his chin between his index finger and his thumb. “She didn’t stick around for more than a week after your girl walked.”
My thoughts were deafening as the implications whirled inside my head. Dread throbbed inside me. It could be a coincidence. I couldn’t wrap my head around any other scenario that made sense because what went on between her ex and that woman happened before I entered the picture.
I pushed back my shoulders, standing taller, my arms locked behind my back. “Yeah, well, let me worry about my fiancée and her ex.”
Nico open his mouth for a second like he didn’t have any intention of letting this go, but he closed it without saying anything. Seconds ticked by, the pumping of music from the club giving life to the testosterone filling my office.
“I know for a fact your uncle won’t pull Tony off this. You know how he is when he gets his mind set on something, and right now that something is Evie.” He rubbed his fingers along his jaw to emphasize the reference to Dominick. “Let me be straight with you. He doesn’t like the way this looks, and I can’t say I disagree. Something stinks.”
My hands trembled with fury, and I stuffed them into my pockets. “I wouldn’t expect anything else. You gotta do what’s best for the family.”
CHAPTER
TWENTY-FOUR
Evangeline
“Hello, Mrs. Trassato.” I leaned my hip against the doorframe. “Gian’s not here. He’s working late tonight.”
“Call me Helena.” She squeezed my arm, the corners of her eyes crinkling. “And I didn’t come to see Gianluca.”
I blinked. “Oh. Okay.”
She tilted her head to the side, her stiff dark hair brushing the collar of her pale pink blouse. “Are you going to invite me in, or are you busy?”
“Right. Sorry.” I shook my head. “Gian didn’t tell me you were planning to stop by today. So, um, yeah…” Heat climbed up my face. I sounded like an absolute idiot. I wouldn’t be surprised if she called Gian the minute she left to tell him all the reasons she didn’t think we were a good fit. Not that it mattered. Gian and I weren’t really…anything.
A heart-clenching wave of panic thundered through me, and the thoughts I’d fought to keep at bay rushed forward like vomit. I’d done my best to beat back my feelings for him, but I wasn’t deluded enough to think I’d succeeded.
She cleared her throat, and I realized I’d been hopelessly trapped in a mental quagmire of my making.
“Sorry, it’s been a long day,” I mumbled and opened the door wider.
She dropped a stack of magazines on top of the black coffee table and perched on the edge of the gray sectional. “I didn’t tell him I planned to stop by.”
My mind whirled through hundreds of reasons why she’d want to talk to me alone, and none of them were good. “Did I do something wrong? Because I’m really sorry about ruining the engagement party. I don’t know what happened. It wasn’t like me at all. I never faint.” I’d met Kevin’s family a hundred and one times, and I never felt close to this level of anxiety.
Mrs. Trassato stared at me with a condescending look. Clearly, I hadn’t impressed her one bit. “Sit down. I want you to look at these so I know what kind of things you like. We really need to get a jump on the wedding plans if you want to walk down the aisle without advertising to the whole family that you’re pregnant.”
“Wait.” I held up my hand. “I am not pregnant.”
Her brows scrunched together. “You’re not?”
“God, no.” A nervous giggle bubbled from my lips. “I hadn’t eaten a thing that day, and my nerves got the best of me. That’s it.” Doubt flashed across her face. “I promise. There’s no reason for me to lie about it.”
Her amber eyes, so like Gian’s and Carmela’s, seared through me, scooping up my secrets. “Well then, I apologize for jumping to conclusions. It’s just that everything seemed so sudden. I’ve heard a little bit about your relationship with your ex from Carmela, and then suddenly Gian announced that you’re engaged. When you fainted at the engagement party, I thought I’d put the pieces of the puzzle together. I guess I was wrong.”
At a loss for words, I picked up the top magazine and thumbed through the glossy pages. She had earmarked pages and slapped sticky notes here and there. I couldn’t focus long enough to take in any of her comments.
“So do you have any ideas in mind for the wedding, or you planning to reuse some of the ideas from the one planned with your ex?”
I winced. She didn’t need a knife to cut me. Her words were more than capable of doing the job.
“Um…Gian and I aren’t rushing into anything.”
“You’re not.” She raised her eyebrows. “You’re engaged and living in his home. That seems pretty rushed, but maybe that’s just me. I grew up in a strict Catholic family. I never dated anyone except my husband. I always thought Gian would marry a nice Italian girl with a similar upbringing. I guess it wasn’t meant to be.”
My eyes bulged. Wow. Direct hit. Gian’s mom certainly didn’t pull her punches. If only the floor would open up and I could disappear into oblivion. “I’m sorry I’m a disappointment.”
“Well.” She stood and brushed imaginary dirt from her tailored pants. “I still don’t see an engagement ring, and you’re not pregnant, so I guess there’s still hope that my son will come to his senses and see you for what you are.”
My back straightened like someone had shoved a steel rod down my spine. As much as I wanted to play nice with Gian’s mother, I refused to be insulted. I didn’t do anything wrong. Without a doubt, I was the victim in all of this. When I stormed in Gian’s office that night, I only wanted my purse. Instead, I became a witness to a crime and snagged a fiancé who tied me in knots in both good and bad ways.
“What exactly are you implying?”
She lowered her eyes, which I hoped meant she regretted her harsh words a little.
“While Carmela only has good things to say about you, I’m having a hard time stomaching your arrival in my son’s life. I’m sure you’re a nice girl, and under other circumstances, I’d be happy to have you in our life, but I don’t understand how you could go from being engaged to one man to being engaged to my son in the blink of an eye. Gian needs someone who’s strong and will stand by him no matter what, and all the evidence suggests you’re fickle.”
All the anger drained from system, and my shoulders slumped. I couldn’t blame this woman for her misgivings. If I were in her shoes, I wouldn’t be able to overlook the circumstances either. “I-I…” My tongue thickened with the confession itching to roll off my tongue. I wanted to reassure her, but Gian obviously hadn’t confided in her for a reason.
I peeked at her from the corner of my eye, and I saw a woman ready to fight for her family. Ready to defend them no matter the cost, and I respected her. I didn’t think my mom would fight for me when push came to shove. My family orbited around each other, never connecting, and always keeping each other at arms’ length. In the last few years, we behaved like acquaintances who checked in on each other every couple of weeks more out of obligation than love.
“It’s not real.”
The declaration echoed unnaturally through the room.
“What?” Her voice was a hoarse rasp.
“Our engagement isn’t real,” I repeated.
A mask of equal parts horror and relief slipped over her face. “Do you care to explain?”
“No.” I gnawed on my lower lip. “I don’t think it’s a good idea. Just know that I won’t do anything to hurt your son or your family. I’ll leave when he tells me I can, and I won’t cause any waves. I won’t tell anyone what happened or why. Ever.”
She pressed a hand to her chest, her face as white as a sheet of paper. “Oh my God. What did he do? Who else knows?”
Coming to my feet, I grabbed one of her hands. “No one, and I’d like to keep it that way. I don’t want something to happen to Gian because he helped me.” The words tasted like ash on my lips, and my stomach heaved. “I couldn’t live with myself if something happened to him. Carmela is my best friend, and Gian, means a lot to me too. I will do anything in my power to keep them safe. I promise. Okay?”
She nodded, her eyes glassy and her lower lip wobbling. “Thank you.”
“No. Thank you, for everything, but mostly for being the mother of two of my favorite people.”
She wrapped her arms around me, pulling me flush against her. “Let me know if you need anything.”
I swallowed. “Please don’t tell Gian I told you anything. He wanted me to keep it secret.”
“I won’t.” She stepped back, a slight frown on her face. “I’m glad I came here today and not only because you told me the truth. You’re a good person, Evangeline. I’m sorry I said those things to you.”
“Thanks.” My voice cracked.
She picked up the stack of magazines and tucked them under her arm. “Call me if you need anything. I can be a formidable opponent when necessary, and you have an ally in me.”
I didn’t doubt it.
She raised her eyebrows. “These men think they can handle the world and keep us in the dark all the time, but we’re far from the wilting flowers they think we are.”
CHAPTER
TWENTY-FIVE
Gian
I moved through the darkened hallway o
utside of my bedroom. It was well after two in the morning. The silent hum of the ceiling fan indicated Evie hadn’t waited up for me. With the exception of a text telling me she finished dancing at her studio, I hadn’t heard from her all day.
I paused at the foot of the bed, taking in her shadowed form. My gut twisted in knots every time I saw her. Something about her made it impossible for me to look anywhere other than at her when she was in the same room as me.
For five days, I hadn’t asked Evie a single question about her ex or that woman. And for five fucking days, I hadn’t heard another word from Nico or Dominick about it. I went to work. I made deals. I dodged Angela at every turn, which meant I needed to fire her ass soon because she couldn’t get it through her head that I didn’t want anything to do with her. When I ran out of distractions, I organized a high-stakes card game for this weekend. As pathetic as it sounded, nothing erased the lingering doubts about Evie and her ex.
“Hey,” she rasped, flipping onto her back, and my heart banged against my ribcage. “You’re home late.”
“Yeah.” I kicked off my black leather shoes. “Some things came up. I couldn’t get away.”
She switched on the lamp next to the bed, flooding the room with yellow light. “There’s leftovers in the fridge if you’re hungry.”
Choking on a laugh, I unbuttoned my suit jacket and tossed it on the top of the dresser. “You cooked?” My mom would have a heart attack if she found out how little Evie actually knew about cooking. She burned half of the things she tried to prepare, and the other half tasted like she opened a can and warmed it up in the microwave.
“No. I ordered takeout. I think I’m done pretending I can cook. I don’t think I’m fooling anyone.”
I unbuckled my belt and shoved my pants to the ground, her eyes tracking every movement. She flashed me my favorite smile—the one that felt as if it was custom-made for me—when she noticed I caught her gawking.
“No. You’re not, but my mom is dying to come over and give you a crash course.”
