“You can’t pull a gun on a don,” Alesso says.
“I don’t fucking care,” he yells.
“Romeo!” Shock splays across Serena’s face. “What has gotten into you?”
“I’d say weed and alcohol by the look of it.” Alesso’s face is grim. “Apologize to Don Accardi and then go inside, immediately.”
“I’m not apologizing to him.”
“Romeo.” Alesso’s stern tone brokers no argument.
“It’s fine,” I say, letting him off the hook. “It’s not necessary.”
Alesso drills me with a lethal look. “No son of mine will disrespect any don.”Even if it is youis left unspoken.
“There are right ways to defend your sister,” Serena says. “But this isn’t one of them. We raised you better than this, Romeo. Apologize to Caleb now.”
Romeo looks like he’s swallowed a bucket of lemons when he turns to me and hisses, “Sorry, Don Accardi,” in his most scornful, unapologetic tone.
I work hard to smother a laugh. Who would have thought Romeo Salerno had it in him? He has only gone up in my estimation. “Apology accepted though next time you’re threatening a man with a gun you might want to turn the safety off.”
Romeo flips me the bird behind his back as his mother steers him into the house, and a chuckle escapes my lips.
“Go into the house, Elisa,” Alesso says before swinging his gaze on Rowan. “Home. Now.”
Rowan holds up his hands. “I’m going. I’m going.” He leans into me as he passes. “Thanks for dropping by, man. This was the most entertainment I’ve had in weeks.” He waggles his brows and grins before walking off.
The sad thing is it’s probably true. Sierra has wrapped him in cotton wool since the assassination attempt.
Alesso sighs, rubbing the back of his neck as we face one another. I’m preparing myself for some kind of lecture, so his words surprise me. “I know I bust your balls, Caleb, but it’s not because I dislike you.”
“Could have fooled me.”
“I have nothing against you personally. I just don’t want you with Elisa. She deserves someone who will burn the worlddown for her. Someone who will love and cherish her because she is inherently good and kind and compassionate with the biggest heart. Elisa deserves to find true love with someone who reciprocates it, a man who can shower her with affection and remain loyal to her. We both know that man isn’t you.”
“Thanks for the glowing recommendation.”
“Why do you do this?” His tone carries an edge. “Grow up and quit with the attitude and all the fucking around, Caleb. You wonder how Marino could so easily turn loyalty? It’s not just because he was the one close to the men on the ground. They had respect for him.”
My jaw tightens as I grind my teeth and clench my hands at my side. I wish I could dispute his sentiment, but I can’t. It’s obvious there is a faction within ourfamigliawho doesn’t respect Joshua or me. If they did, they never would have sided with our deceased underboss and signed up to annihilate us.
Alesso’s features soften. “To gain respect, you need to earn it first. Be the leader the men need you to be, Caleb. There is a reason why family is so revered in our world. A wife and kids ground a man. I was like you once. I thought I would never marry, and then I met Serena. She was married to that monster, and I still believed I would never marry. If I couldn’t have her, I didn’t want anyone.”
“Is there a point to this?”
Alesso stares me in the eyes. “I get it. You’re in your prime, and women are throwing themselves at you, but if you want to be taken seriously as a made man at your level, you need to find a woman and settle down. And maybe then Elisa can properly put her feelings for you to bed and find a man worthy of her.”
He might as well have bitch-slapped me in the face.
“What if that manisme?”
“We both know it isn’t.”
“So, what you’re saying is you want me to deliberately hurt her? Is that it? I need to be sure I’ve got this right.”
“You may not have meant to, but you have strung her along for years, Caleb, and it’s not right.” He steps back, combing a hand through his hair. “Do the right thing, Don Accardi. Cut the strings and set her free.”
Chapter Eleven
