Teodoro waves an acknowledgment, showing no offense was taken, even if this is so fucking weird. I mouth a quick “thank you” before gesturing for Allesandro’s uncle to follow me. I open the door to my new office and motion for him to enter first. There’s a small sitting area that I lead him to, since it feels more comfortable than sitting across from each other with a desk between us.
“So…” I stop, flummoxed by his appearance and his seemingly innocent offer of assistance.
He chuckles at my confusion. “Relax, Emilio. I’m not here on Allesandro’s behalf. My nephew is…not right in this. However, I have faith you’ll find each other again. Until then, I thought I’d make things a little easier for you. I know how it goes as Bosses. Your mind is focused on strategy, but you need the little things taken care of for life to run smoothly.”
“That’s true.” Narrowing my eyes suspiciously, I ask, “You didn’t bring the Martelli chef, right?”
“No, although I admit, I asked him. It turns out, when you try to stab someone, they aren’t exactly inclined to…help you out.”
“He tried to poison me! Several times!” Teodoro quirks an eyebrow and I sigh before rolling my eyes. “Decaf coffee is poison. Or it may as well be. You can’t trust someone like that.”
Teodoro’s lips twitch, but otherwise he ignores my very important point. “Have you given any thought to your next move?”
“We haven’t had time to discuss that,” I respond carefully. While he swears he’s not here on Allesandro’s behalf, I don’t exactly have any trust—or it’s limited at least. “It’s important we decide these things together. There are three families here after all.”
“Yes, I suppose there are,” Teodoro says sadly. “I won’t take up any more of your time. But please, know you can call me. I won’t take sides. Yes, Allesandro is my nephew, but you’re family now. All his Boys are—even if he needs a reminder about these things.
“You remind me of my late wife, riposi in pace. You have the same stubbornness. It will do well in this Family. I may have married into it myself, but it takes a strong character. You have that. I look forward to you reminding my nephew of exactly who you are—and who he has taught you to become.”
I reach out and cover his hand, despite being uncomfortable. “She was amazing. Thank you for the compliment.”
He gives me a tired smile, before standing. “I’ll let you get back to work. I know there is a great deal to do, so I won’t take up any more of your time. But I expect you to keep in touch, capito?”
I nod, but I fucking swear, I need to learn Italian. At least, Benjamin is in the same position I am with this. All the other Boys have a basic understanding.
I walk him out, and tell him we appreciate what he’s done. He didn’t have to go against Allesandro on this, and we both know he won’t be happy when he finds out about this. And he will. He may be blinded lately, but he’s not completely stupid.
When Teodoro leaves, I take a deep breath, fighting the migraine from a night of shitty sleep and a day of manual labor.
“You should get some rest.”
“Yeah, I’ll get right on that, Keegan,” I grumble, pissed I didn’t hear him sneak up on me. I know there’s a reason the assassins love him so much, but fuck, I need to get my head in the game.
Tsking, he lightly grabs my wrist and pulls me down the hallway. “Hollis is checking out Teodoro’s ‘help’. Although Marcus believes Teodoro to be trustworthy, I know you won’t feel comfortable without them being checked—nor would most of us. You’ve already got most things set up. Grab a little sleep. Then we’ll work on where to go from here.”
Sighing, I can’t disagree, there’s not much for me to do at the moment. Everyone has their own checklists, and until we’ve all finished, we can’t exactly make a game plan. Because there's no fucking way I'll be like Allesandro. We will discuss things as a group, as a true family, before making a decision. And we’ll prove to him—and Cristian—that they fucked up by taking us for granted.
We will find and exterminate our enemies. If them being kidnapped taught us anything, it's that we don’t need them to be effective. It’s time they learn the opposite is true. They’re fucked without us.
“Alright, I’ll get some sleep. Can you have Benjamin wake me in an hour or so?”
“Of course. Don’t worry about anything else. Just sleep.”
He says it like it’s easy, but we both know it’s not. My body still craves Allesandro. The one who could make my soul sing with pleasure and the right amount of pain. My mind still wishes for his guidance, the kind from before he decided to be selfish.
Still, I have to get used to this. I may find being a Boss lonely, even surrounded by my family, but it’s better than serving someone who isn’t worthy of leading. And I’ll never, ever, be like him. Thank fuck Benjamin would take me out if I ever went that far. Just like a true friend should.
Scrubbing my face, I stumble the rest of the way to my new room, intent on blacking out. Just a small nap, then it’ll be time to talk about destroying our enemies, and maybe, just maybe, we’ll teach Allesandro and Cristian a lesson. One that will stick. Because fuck knows they need it.
If we succeed, maybe I’ll get my Master back… Maybe he’ll deserve that title again.I fucking hope so.
Heartbreak isn’t a strong enough word for the numb feeling inside. I thought the torture I lived through when my family’s deception was uncovered was the worst pain I could feel, that giving myself over to the man I loved would somehow atone for my sins of omission. None of that has anything on the pain spreading through my entire being at this ultimate betrayal.
Is this how Cristian felt when my truth came out all those years ago? The loss, the devastation, the crushing hopelessness. It’s all I can do to keep myself upright.
I’m not worth being followed. My brother sure as hell knew that. Otherwise, why would I have crumpled under him the way I did? Cristian knew it…it’s why he never tried to talk me out of giving up what was rightfully mine.
Marcus and Keegan will see it soon, as will Roman, and everything I’ve ever worked for, the family I’ve made for myself,despite my father and brother’s attempts at cutting me down…it’s all hanging by a thread. Based on the words of the one person I was supposed to be able to trust more than anyone else. The man I gave my life to, in more ways than one.
