Giulio darts forward, hands closing on my upper arms as he yanks me back and away from the man. I’m thrust against Alonzo’s chest right before I hear Giulio’s low, throaty threat. “Give me one good reason why you were walking with my fucking wife, Cesari, before I snap your fucking neck.”
23
GIULIO
Patience: [noun] what you have when there are too many witnesses.
Despite my words to the man I recognize as Emilio Cesari, the head of the goddamn Cesari Family Syndicate, I know there are too many witnesses here. Plus, Daisy is right there; held protectively against Alonzo’s chest, sure, but it wouldn’t be right to kill the bastard in front of her.
Emilio holds up the one hand not hugging a small, wiggling dog against his chest, in the classic sign of surrender. “I’m not here to hurt her,” he says.
“Giulio?” Daisy’s confused tone reaches my ears, but I wave a hand toward her, commanding Alonzo.
“Take her inside,” I growl.
“Wait—”
“Come on, miss,” Alonzo says, cutting her off as he urges her toward the front doors into the lobby of our home. The doorman, ever the professional, doesn’t hesitate to open the glass door and hold it for them to enter. All the while, I feel Daisy’seyes locked on my back. I don’t ease my stance until I know she’s gone, but even then, it’s not by much.
A man appears from around the corner, and Emilio doesn’t miss a beat as he holds out the dog in his arms for him to take. No doubt the animal was nothing but a distraction for Daisy. “Were you following her?” I demand as the other man backs off.
Now with both hands up, Emilio lets loose a breath. “Yes, but with good reason,” he states.
My hands itch to withdraw my gun. Still, though, we’re on the street, and though there’s a distinct lack of shops running up this block, there are still too many people walking by.
“Can we move inside?” he asks. “I promise that I’ll explain everything.”
Inside? Where Daisy is? I’d rather gut him in full view of the cameras on the outside of my building and the people striding toward the crosswalk not fifty feet ahead. Unfortunately, with a glance around, I don’t see many other options. I can’t exactly hash out my issues on the Cesari head right out here in the open. Rising to my full height, I level the man with a dark glare and realign the lapels of my suit coat before nodding toward the entrance of the lobby. The doorman opens the glass once more and keeps his eyes trained forward.
“Your man stays behind,” I snap as Emilio moves toward the doors.
The man, who’d been on the verge of following, stops and scowls.
Emilio doesn’t even try to assuage his bodyguard. With a wave of his hand, he sends the man back the way he came. “Walk Luna,” he orders. “And meet me back at home. If I’mnot there in an hour…” Blue eyes turn to meet mine. He lets the words drift off, but I know the unspoken threat. If Emilio Cesari doesn’t leave this building and return home within the hour, there will be a war between the Cesaris and the Lucianis.Fuck.
Anger pounds through me. Despite being on my goddamn turf, he’s got my balls in a vise grip. Emilio’s man gives me a long look before nodding to his boss and then turning and striding away.
“There,” Emilio says as he walks into the lobby. “We’re all alone.”
“Not quite,” I say, aware of the eyes of those at the front desk and the doorman at our back. No matter how professional they are, trust is earned, not given. “This way.” I move toward the bank of elevators, and he steps in first. I follow, hitting the button for the top floor right before I release my gun and hold it at my side.
Emilio, to his credit, doesn’t tense. Instead, he looks down at the weapon in my hand and smiles. “You won’t need that,” he assures me.
“We’ll see,” I tell him. “At this moment, it’s not so much a need as a desire.” To maim. To kill. To eradicate any threat to Daisy.
When the elevator slows to a stop, I don’t go to the penthouse. There’s no way in hell I’ll take this bastard to where I stay with Daisy. That place is our safe haven, ourhome, and he is not fucking welcome. Emilio doesn’t say a word as I lead him out of the elevator and down a side hallway into a stairwell. Inaccessible via the elevators, the door I take him to leads intoa small corridor with a low ceiling that’s far less luxurious than the otherwise perfect interior that caters to the long-term residents of this property.
This hallway is meant for employees only, and at this time of day, it’s deserted. Without missing a beat, I latch on to the back of the white T-shirt Emilio Cesari is wearing and shove him into a room lined with black boxes, blinking with lights. I flick the switch, and fluorescent bulbs overhead illuminate the rest of the space. Closed in. No windows. Only him and me… and my gun.
“This would be a dumb place to die,” Emilio says casually as he shoves his hands into the pockets of his gray joggers and rocks back on the heels of his sneakers.
If I didn’t know his face, recognize the familiar features of Vito Cesari’s nephew and heir, he might have looked like any other young buck walking the streets of New York. But I do know his face, and more than that, I know better than to take what I see at face value. Despite the fact that I’m carrying the weapon, I have no doubt he has one of his own hidden somewhere. No man who lives the way we do would be without a way to defend themselves. Then there’s the fact that he sent his bodyguard away.
“Why did you follow my wife?” I demand, keeping the gun at my side by sheer force of will. I’d love to shove the barrel into his face and pull the trigger, but I can be controlled when the ends justify the means, and right now, the ends might lead to answers on who is trying to kill her.
“Because I heard through the grapevine that she’d been attacked,” Emilio states.
“Through the grapevine, huh?” My disbelief is evident in my tone, and no doubt my face.
