“I don’t understand. You were so close to finishing your residency and becoming a surgeon. How could you throw it all away?” He sounds almost desperate.
I shrug, pocketing my hands. It might’ve worked to his agenda that I studied into my mid-thirties, almost becoming everything he wanted for me. But I was done with pretending to be something I wasn't. “I was bored.”
Partly the truth.
“Bored?You—” His mouth shuts the moment Luca Armani steps into the room. Five men wearing white masks with different colored gems follow him.The hounds.His most lethal and loyal soldiers. They hide their identities, and only those highest in hierarchy actually know what they look like.
Luca walks through the room with the bearing of a king.Diavolois what they call him in our native Italian tongue, and his reputation precedes him.
I wonder if my brother considers handling Luca's affairs from Italy as a downgrade to his status here. It is, in many ways, a promotion, but I’m sure it’s a harder pill to swallow when it’s me taking over his job.
The masked hounds watch me tentatively, and so I offer a cocky smile. The closest one to me with the red gem actually makes a noise in warning, and I can’t help but stretch my smile farther. Fantastic. Another one with a short fuse, which means he's easy to rile up.
Luca comes to a stop at the end of the room. Standing at six foot four, behind his wooden desk, he effortlessly harnesses a predatory presence. I envy him because of it since I’ve been forced to hide mine for so many years, dealing with patients and families, and making a favorable impression. Whereas he’s been able to sharpen his canines. I can’t wait to do the same, though I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t already been doing it in secret.
“As you’re all aware, Lorenzo will be dealing with my affairs in Italy. In his stead, I’ve found a replacement. This is Dante Moretti, his younger brother.”
The hounds' gazes remain on me, and I feel like I should give them a show, really give them something to talk about as they braid one another’s hair later and gossip about how attractive the new guy is.
“Haven’t seen him around,” one of them says.
“That’s because he’s been studying to become a surgeon in London. But make no mistake, he was raised to serve the Armanis, in the same household as Lorenzo.”
“You brought in a doctor?” one of them asks.
“Do you disagree with my judgment?” Luca growls.
“No, sir, but I am curious as to what background or first-hand experience he has to lead us,” the one with the brown gem says, and I take him as the top dog of the group—pun intended. He also seems to have a better tone when interacting with Luca.
“He’s been busy with first-hand experience of his own.” Luca looks pointedly in my direction. “Let’s just say when I’ve needed some jobs executed in Italy, he’s been very obliging to do them on my behalf.”
“What?” Lorenzo grits out.
I feel rather smug when my brother isn’t always in the know. Especially given who he’s dedicated his entire life to.
“I wish I could say it was the only time I’ve killed, brother. Well, since the massacre you had to help me ‘clean up,’ but let’s just say I’m not afraid to get my hands dirty.”
“Being a part of an organization is entirely different, working as a team—” Lorenzo starts to argue, but I cut him off.
“You thinkyouplay well with others? I’m here for a job. Either you all get on board with it, or you don’t. If you don’t, then it appears we have an issue,” I assert, stepping forward. “And I do like getting to the bottom of issues.”
The red-gemmed hound cracks his knuckles, and I can sense the barely-there leash. It’ll only take one more shove, and I’ll be obliged to fight, which is precisely what I want. The only way to deal with men like these is by showing them through force that I’m not to be fucked with, and that's precisely why they should be dropping to their knees before me in reverence.
“Enough,” Luca growls. “Deal with it in your own time. If I get blood on the carpets, Ara will be pissed, and I’d much rather keep my wife appeased.”
Then there's that: Luca’s pregnant wife. I’ve only seen his wife once, at Lorenzo’s going-away party. It would appear she’s good friends with Lily, and they have a blonde friend named Sienna. They discussed another woman, Romi, whom I never had the chance to see at the party.
I'm slowly making mental notes about all of them in case that information will serve me, and I can use it against my brother in any way. I will make sure that within time, I’ll worm myself into his life so spectacularly that when he tries to rip me out, it will only make him bleed instead.
When the meeting concludes,I'm the first to excuse myself, eagerly searching through the mansion for where my brother has most likely left his luggage. He and Lily are due to leave today, and in the spirit of pranking siblings, I plan on planting a fake bomb in my brother's suitcase. I don’t want my brother dead; if I wanted that, it’d already be done. But I do want to leave a lasting impression, and I hope he shits himself when he sees it.
I admire the halls of the Armani mansion. I know Luca and Ara don’t live here; only his younger brother, Dario, who is rehabilitating from drug addiction, resides in the house.
Women’s voices quietly drift from a drawing room. Curiously, I move toward the room, listening in on what I recognize to be Ara's and Lily's voices.
“I feel bad leaving now, of all times. Romi just isn’t herself, and I’m really worried. But I need to put me and Lorenzo first,” Lily says.
“It’s about time you prioritize yourself,” Ara encourages. I wonder how the two even became friends. Ara, despite her current pregnant state, gives me the impression that she’s deadly, especially if she can bring someone like Luca Armani to his knees with nothing more than a glare. Lily, however, seems sickly sweet. I don’t understand how she and my brother work, nor do I care. I only need to know that she’s important to him. “Sienna and I will watch over her while you’re gone.”
