Itap my fingers against the dash while I wait for Rose to collect Angelos from school. Last night was a waste of time with a false lead on Magnus’s whereabouts. He’s not responding to my messages and I’m agitated. Shane’s put a call out for him at the station, but it does nothing to settle my nerves. I won’t rest till I know he’s been dealt with and is no longer a loose end.
Rose and Angelos walk out of the red brick building, and a weight lifts from my shoulders. A smile curves my lips until I read the scowl on his face as he shrugs away from Rose and slumps towards the car.
He yanks open the back door and throws his rucksack onto the seat, then follows with a huff.
I look in the rear view mirror as he folds his arms over his chest. “Everything okay, mate?”
He ignores me, his brow creasing into a scowl.
Rose drops into the passenger seat with a sigh, her forehead creasing, but hers has all the telltale signs of worry.
“You all right?” I place my hand on her knee over her jeans.
She gives me a fake smile as if putting on a brave face. “Let’s just go home.”
I shift the car into gear and drive out of the school gates, the drive home long and silent with nothing but my thoughts.
Too many lies, too many secrets, and the sooner everything is out in the open with Angelos, the better. I know he resents me. He thinks I’m not his dad.
It was hard for Dom and me to accept any woman my dad brought home after Mum died. The moody little bastard reminds me so much of my little brother…
Dom was always storming around with a chip on his shoulder and a smart-ass comment on his tongue.
I rest my head back against the seat, the pounding in my skull giving way to his voice. Sharp. Goading. Like I’m not just remembering, but reliving it.
I drive on autopilot while the rest of me gets dragged back almost fourteen years. Back when I still believed I could keep things separate. Mission and heart. Her and me.
And just like that, I’m in Rome again. Jaw clenched. Heart torn in two…
“I need more time.” I pace the length of the shitty little apartment Dom and I have been renting in Rome. From the corner of my eye, a cockroach scurries across the tiled floor.
Dom slams his boot down with a crunch, grinding the heel as if he’s stamping on an enemy. “These fuckers are everywhere. Just like the Contis, they’ll infiltrate everything if we let them.”
“I’m not saying abort the mission.” Frustration coils tight in my chest, trying to make my brother see reason. “I just want more time before we go for the main target.”
Dom’s eyes narrow, sharp as blades. “She’s got to you, hasn’t she?”
“Who?” I lift my gaze, feigning ignorance, but it’s useless. He sees straight through me. The Conti girl has more than gotto me—she’s carved her way under my skin and set up camp in my heart.
“You know damn well who,” Dom shoots back, a smirk twitching at the corner of his mouth. “Just admit it, brother. You’ve fallen for the mission.”
“She was never part of the mission,” I snap, my tone too defensive. “It’s strategy. I thought it’d be easier to get into the house through a back door than to go in guns blazing or worse—a public shooting. My plan is solid. It’s working. So stop trying to rush it.”
Dom gives a lazy shrug, like he’s already bored with this conversation. “Should’ve let me handle the girl. Bet I’d have got the job done twice as fast.”
I step in closer, my jaw tight. “It’s delicate. She’s not like other girls.”
“Oh yeah? What makes her so special?” He leans forward, intrigued, and rests his elbows on the table.
“She’s a virgin.”
Dom barks a laugh. No shame. “Of course she is. No fucker’s stupid enough to touch her…” His smile sharpens into a deadly stare. “Except you, you dumb bastard.”
My fists clench. “What the fuck are you trying to say? If you’re talking about her weight, I’ll bust your fucking nose.”
Dom rolls his eyes, snorting. “Fuck me, you really have got it bad.” He shakes his head, the smirk lingering. “You know me better than that. I meant because she’s a Conti.”
Before I can fire back, he grabs a flyer off the counter and tosses it at me. “Anyway, I can hack the security system, kill the cameras. We don’t need your back-door plan.” He nods towards the flyer. “Or we get him here.”
