Edwardo chuckles and put his hands on his sides for a moment. I can feel the nerves in the room. The tension is thick enough to cut with a knife.
“Well, of course we only wanted to stop the wedding between the two of you,” he explains. “The Fiorellis and Dresvanniscoming together would be an absolute disaster for so many of us, you see. Especially with Eivor in charge of things.”
I cross my arms as I listen to the man. I don’t feel comfortable with him here, and I can tell none of my brothers feel any differently. Tommy actually has his gun in his hand. Not directed at Edwardo, but in preparation for it.
“I wrongly assumed that no amount of talking could convince you to halt the wedding,” Edwardo says, waving a hand. “So, I opted for threatening Eivor Fiorelli’s livelihood. It was never about hurting you and your family, dear Dresvanni’s, I assure you.”
“How do you explain the fact that you’ve been watching us for months then?” Tommaso asks. “That you’ve been spying on us. Is that just a misunderstanding too?”
Edwardo clears his throat and glances toward Carmine for a second. “I admit we’ve been keeping an eye on you. You’re one of the most powerful families in the area. I would be stupid not to keep an eye on your comings and goings,” he says. “But…now that Eivor Fiorelli is dead, things can change.”
“How so?” Tiberi asks. “You will discontinue watching us and threateningourlivelihood?”
“That I will,” Edwardo agrees. “Now that your families are connected without the threat of Eivor taking control of the reins, my family is happy to form a truce with you.”
“A truce…” Carmine mumbles. “This truce would need to be decided upon with the recent decision of the Fiorellis included.”
“What decision?” Damian asks before I can.
Soren steps up closer to the table. “I’ve decided to combine my family with the Dresvannis, completely handing over leadership to Carmine. The Fiorelli estate and all it’s staff, guards, family members, and belongings, will belong to the Dresvannis. There will be no separation between us. It will be as though we are one.”
“I see, well… This is very good news,” Edwardo says with a smile on his face. “It seems I have nothing to worry about at all. Though, you will be nearly doubling your standing, it would be foolish of me to back out now, wouldn’t it?”
I take a breath. “Are we sure about this?” I ask. “How do we know we can trust him?”
“I’m with Alessio. After everything the Tulos have done, how do we know we can trust that they won’t just fire against our back?” Tommaso asks.
Carmine waves a hand. “I’ve already discussed this with him, and I’ve already made my decision. Edwardo has information we need, and having the Tulo family on our side will be far more beneficial to us than remaining in such a tense state.”
“I do apologize for the trouble I caused,” Edwardo says. His words mean nothing to me. I know he’s simply preserving his own ass and that he’ll likely turn against us if given a chance by a larger power in the future.
Not to mention, he’s not exactly in the position to turn down a truce with his. He’d be dead in a second if he threatened anyone in this room.
“What information?” Tommy asks, not at all concerned with the man’s apologies either.
“There’s someone else you need to be worried about,” Edwardo tells us. “While I’m willing to come to a truce with you, the Bianchis aren’t.”
“The Bianchis?” I ask.
“The shooter wasn’t one of my men. I might have hired them both, but he was one of the Bianchi family. They were more interested in stirring up trouble than they were protecting their own nose,” he explains. “I thought working with them would give me the upper hand, but…of course I was wrong and I have no interest in going against you now.” He chuckles weakly.
“What do they want from us?” Tiberi inquires.
“They want to overthrow you, just like Eivor did. But they’re not willing to make a deal,” Edwardo says. “They’ve been watching you far closer than my family has.”
Tommaso growls. “We need to get this under control now before we have an all-out war,” he insists. “I have some underground intel that can give me the scoop on the Bianchis.”
Carmine nods. “Yes, I agree. We need to find out just how deeply they have infiltrated, if they have. Some of our newer guards might not be completely on our side. But I don’t want you getting involved right now, Tommy.”
Tommy nearly sputters. “What?”
“You’ll just go in way too hot, we need someone who can keep a cool head,” Carmine insists.
“This is bullshit,” Tommaso points a finger. “There’s no one here who can get the job done better than me.”
“That might be so, but I need you here keeping your head on your shoulders and not getting blown up by the Bianchi family before we even know what they’re really up to.”
“Edwardo can tell us what they’re really up to,” Tommy says and walks around the table. “If he wants to fucking live.” He launches himself toward the older man but Carmine and Soren grab ahold of his shoulders and stop him before he can completely tackle the man.
