My mamma had acted similarly to save my old man. He almost lost both of us that night.
I lifted my glass, the ice clanking in the liquid, before I took a deep drink. “Not a fucking word of this,” I said in Italian, “will get back to my wife.”
Smoke lingered in the air as every man at the table nodded.
Chapter25
Saverio
It was pitch dark when we started back for the outskirts of Modica. Thoughts of the meeting stuck in my head as the wind whipped past me on the bike.
Matteo and Rocco were going to brief Brando about the meeting, but I felt confident he’d agree with me. The less Mia knew about this, the better. She’d wave off the danger to herself but go berserk if it had to do with me.
When the fuck did the queen start sacrificing herself for her king? Somewhere in history, that detail got twisted and screwed up.
I hit the throttle a little harder, going even faster. I was in a rush to get home, but not because I thought something was wrong. Mia was in good hands with her family and mine.
Besides, if something had gone wrong, we would have already gotten a call. The time it took to reach the property didn’t do anything to clear my head, though. If anything, it made the thoughts burrow deeper under my skin. A mixture of acid and fire.
The fierce wind pushing against the bike did nothing to put out the burn. It only stoked the heat.
I needed the speed. I needed the danger. I needed an outlet.
We pulled into the property what felt like minutes later. Rocks crackled underneath our boots as we walked in a group. We were as dark as the night around us. We blended. Me and Matteo were both quiet. The raspy laughter of my old man and Rocco lingered in the air after Rocco made a whispered comment about hiring Tommaso’s mother-in-law—she was so unsuspected; no man would ever see her coming.
“Unless it was Tommaso,” Matteo said, his voice barely above a whisper.
The four of us grinned. Our teeth were bright white in the darkness.
My grin faded when we made it into the opening of where our casa was. Evelina’s was not far from mine. That was where all the action was. The lights were on, a beacon in the night, and a few people loitered.
My eyes narrowed.
My wife was standing in the kitchen, talking to a man. He was looking down at her, fucking hearts swirling in his eyes.
Men know when other men are planning to encroach on their territory.
This motherfucker had his toe on the line.
The men around me became part of the night. I remembered they were with me when another body with boots broke from the darkness and made himself known.
My eyes connected with my father-in-law’s.
He shrugged. “She’s not my wife.”
No, but he’d been watching.
“Brando,” Scarlett whispered. She pinched him on his side, and he leaned down and kissed her. She must have been behind him. He engulfed her small frame.
“Capo,” Ma said, coming from behind Brando and Scarlett.
Both of them had been hiding behind his frame. I expected my sister to materialize at any second.
Ma was the only who called my old man Capo.Boss, it meant. His hands snatched her and pulled her close. He leaned down and kissed her before they all faced the casa again.
No one said anything. They didn’t have to. My homecoming was going to be different.
“A little sugar—” My sister’s voice stopped abruptly as she realized she’d run into a wall. “Oh. You’re back.”
