"Luc!" Vittoria called after me, but it was muffled in my ears, drowned out by the drumming of my pulse. My vision had grown spotty from the rage that coursed through me. I could go to my grave allowing anyone to throw all they had at me, but I wouldn't let anyone mess with Mia or Lincoln.
Gabe wasn't quick enough off the mark and before he could register it, I was in front of him. My hand wrapped around his throat and he stumbled backwards before hitting the wall where I pinned him, skull bouncing off the surface. Chas let out a squeak of alarm, but I didn’t care what she thought of the scene. She was on my shit list for aligning herself with the Moretti family. If she wanted back in, there were less self-destructive ways of doing so.
"Listen to me because I am only going to tell you this once,” I said, towering over him. “Whatever game you're playing with Mia ends now."
His fingers dug in at my wrist and forearm, and Tori pulled at my arm from behind in a vain attempt to save her twin. "Luc! Let him go!"
Ignoring her, I continued, "I know all about your little proposition when she came back. She told me about how you wanted to use her." His face was turning red and his eyes had started to water. Every inch of me would have loved to watch the life drain away from his pathetic body for the stunt that he'd just pulled and for everything he’d laid at Mia’s feet when she arrived home. "Is that why you did it? Because she wouldn't play along?"
"What are you on about?" Tori asked, trying to push me away from Gabe. "What has he done to Mia?"
"He had someone take a shot at her!" I spat, looking at Tori over my shoulder.
The shock ran over her features before she said, "He didn't do anything! He couldn't! Let him go!"
"You know that for a fact?" I asked, pressing harder against his throat as he kicked his legs, trying to make some distance, but I didn’t move.
"Yes!" she all but screamed. "Yes, because Chas was shot at!"
A small crowd had gathered in the hallway from the commotion. The unmistakable click of weapons being prepared for fire. My grip on Gabe loosened enough for him to push my hand away before he moved to Chas, rubbing at his throat.
“Don’t,” Chas said, eyes flicking to every gun in hand. “Just don’t. Please.”
“Bullshit,” I called, believing that Tori was bluffing.
"You idiot! He was at Jason’s office. Check with him if you don’t believe us!" Tori yelled, shoving me away and stepping in between the pair of us. "Are you okay?" she asked Gabe. He waved her away still struggling to take in enough air as he straightened up and looked me in the eye.
He kept some distance between us as he rasped, "I had nothing to do with Mia." His voice was raw, and it was an effort to get the words out. "I have what I want, why would I care about you or her?" It was a swipe at our ambitions. Gabriel had been given the coveted seat at the head of the table and he'd gained it without Mia by his side. "I have my own issues to deal with, Luc, so I suggest you get out and go home to your family." He stood firm with Tori at his shoulder, both of them looking livid. Chas eyed me warily from behind them both.
"If I find out you're lying, if I find out this had anything to do with you, I will kill you," I told him, staring him straight in the eye.
“Get out,” Tori said, stepping forward.
“I mean it, if—”
“OUT!” she screamed.
Without another word, I gave in to her request. “Watch your back, Perkins,” I warned as I left the house. Gabe grabbed her wrist and pulled her away from me. There was an irony in him assuming that I was the one that would bring harm to her.
I slammed the door of the car as I got back into it, pulling together everything that I knew. Mia had been shot at and so had Chastity. There was a possibility that it was two random events, but I couldn't rule out the fact that it might have been coordinated and that made me uncomfortable. Who would be targeting women? I needed to figure out who was behind it and even if he was willing, Gabe would be the last person I'd want to work with on this.
Gabe. What had he been doing at Jason’s office? Why had he taken Chastity with him to visit one of our trusted attorneys?
My head reeled as I punched call on Dante's details and tossed the phone onto the passenger seat. It rang three times and then his voice filled the space. "Tell me what you need."
This was why I kept Dante close. He was prepared for whatever order came next. If I asked my brother to lay his life on the line for my family, I had no doubt that he would do it without complaint. But what I needed to ask of him was nowhere near as fatal.
"I need any and all of the footage from around Jason’s office,” I told him. “And I need it quick. Make it a priority.” I wasn’t about to let Gabe get his hands on any evidence before I’d had a chance to see it. No one was going to screw this up so they could save their ass.
“On it,” he replied.
“And Dante,” I said, deciding that there was one more thing I needed him to do for me, “I need you to get in touch with Angelo. We’re going to need his help."
Chapter Three
Dante
Angelo.
