Wait, what was the question again?
I look to Lily as my vision begins to fade in and out.
“I don’t feel so good,” Lily says as she sways in her seat. My eyebrows furrow as she slumps toward me, and I reach out to catch her, but my body is sluggish. I grab her just in time, but I feel like any second I’m about to do the same.
What the fuck?
I cling to consciousness as I look up at Shaun, who is drying a glass with a rag.
“Night, night,” he says with an uncharacteristically devious smile.
I try to speak, but the words die on my lips as the world tips upside down, and I fall into darkness.
39
DANTE
Lorenzo and I don’t speak at all in the car as we drive to the Armani mansion. What can either of us say? We'd never really spoken to each other as we had back at the apartment. Now that we have, it’s uncomfortable. I don’t expect my brother to change toward me, but now that I’ve laid it out in the open, it feels almost tiring playing the same games as always.
I say that I hate and despise him, yet all this time, I’ve still been childishly bidding for his attention. Because no matter how many different places I’ve tried to restart my life, none of them ever felt like home. Lorenzo was the closest thing I had to it, my only tether to this world, but that’s all changed since meeting Romi. I don’t need Lorenzo anymore.
When we pull into the Armani estate, I see two of the hounds walking inside. I recognize them to be Sky and Izak. Lorenzo and I both get out and adjust our clothing in an attempt to look slightly more presentable. My brother is in his usual black suit, and I'm in my leather jacket. I didn’t even have time to change after arriving at the apartment.
I wipe my nose again for good measure, hoping I’ve got all the blood off. It fills me with satisfaction that Lorenzo has a black eye; he won’t so easily be able to hide.
When we walk into the mansion, the few staff who are around greet Lorenzo with a sort of reverence. I haven’t yet completely filled his shoes in this role. Then again, it’s unfair to compare me to him with his years of loyalty, being by Luca’s side as his security, and then second in command after the previous one was killed. I have a long way to go.
And maybe, just maybe, both he and Luca are right about one thing: I am reckless. Now that I have something, or more specifically, someoneto live for, I should think before acting at times. I internally roll my eyes. It just sounds too boring.
We walk into Luca's office, and I spot Dario in the hallway speaking with Sky. It’s unusual to see Dario walking around while business is being conducted. Luca’s brother was, after all, shamed for his drug addiction, which was influenced by the previous second-in-command, Ivan. Besides managing a few small businesses, he has very little say in the Armanis' more lucrative business. He was once a liability, but maybe over time, his trust will be earned back.
I look at my own brother, considering the same, yet it’s difficult to imagine us being anything other than what we’ve grown to be.
“Why do you both look like that?” Luca demands in lieu of a greeting, and I’m surprised to see Ara beside him. I haven’t seen her over the past month, as Luca has basically hidden her away from everyone. Though I heard up until this week, she'd continued working and going to her office daily, under Tony’s watchful eye, of course. She sits on the couch, her hand on her swollen stomach. She looks like she’s about to go into labor at any point, yet there’s a calm ease in her expression.
“We had differences to discuss,” Lorenzo replies.
Izak looks up from beneath his mask.
“It doesn’t look like there was much talking,” Tony adds sarcastically.
“Can someone explain to me why this dipshit is here?” I ask, hooking a thumb toward Lorenzo, and he glares at me. Because despite us talking about feelings and past trauma bullshit, he’s not meant to be here.
Luca undoes his top two shirt buttons. “Because I requested him to return temporarily.”
Lorenzo nods. “I’ve ensured everything will still run smoothly in Italy during my absence. As always, I’m here to serve.”
Eat a dick, I feel like saying out loud. My brother has always been like this—like he has a pole up his ass, and the perfect soldier. It’s like he’s molded every part of his personality around his work. But I wonder how much that has changed since Lily has come into his life. I imagine that perhaps there’s a part of him that only she sees, and for that, I’m jealous.
“Good. Despite the things we’ve set in motion, the Bratva haven’t retaliated whatsoever,” Luca says.
“Retaliated?” Lorenzo is quick to question, but then looks between Luca and me, and says, “The bloodbath was on your order?”
“Yes. Before leaving Italy to fill this position, I had Dante wipe out a group who were trying to conduct business there before I had you take over.” Ah. There it is. Lorenzo has always been so focused on my first massacre in my early twenties that every killing spree I went on thereafter was deemed too reckless, too messy, and without reason. But the truth is, a lot of them were orchestrated on Luca’s behalf. And since Lorenzo caught wind of my most recent one, he’s been nothing but suspicious, and rightly so. I can’t help but feel smug that, yet again, there’s something that Luca entrusts only to me.
Luca continues. “I was hoping that if any were to retaliate, they’d follow Dante here so we can flush out the remaining few. However, it would appear they are quite amateurish. I expected more, but, respectfully, the Bratva obviously don’t think it’s worth the loss of men to challenge us.”
Lorenzo says nothing, but I can tell he’s pissed about not being in the know about certain movements. I wonder how deeply it cuts him that Luca didn’t let him in on this mission. Much like I wasn’t in the know of Lorenzo returning here without a clear explanation as to why. But we both have to work with Luca’s whims.
