“I’ve looped Z in. Call me with any updates. I’m about to jump on a video chat with my team.”
The call ended.
There was nothing Gabriel could do but wait. Wait for the ambassador to come out of surgery. Wait for Dustin Devereux to figure out what the hell was going on. Gabriel was a man of action. He’d never waited for anything or anyone in his life. If there was anything Gabriel Santini hated, it was having a lack of control over a situation.
This is about as frustrating as it gets.
He returned to the conference room. Halston had been peering over at her dad’s laptop.
Their eyes met.
“I’ll be right out in the hallway, Daddy.”
“Okay, dear,” Dustin replied, his gaze cemented on the screen.
Together they exited, and Halston pulled the door shut behind her. In the hallway, Gabriel wrapped his arms around her while she hugged him hard.
“Thank you,” she whispered. “This is about as intense as it gets.”
They came together in a loving kiss, her lips pressing against his sent relief pounding through him. She was safe. Despite the mayhem surrounding them, her safety mattered most to him.
“If this is Armageddon, we’re in it together,” he murmured.
She leaned up, kissed him. “This isnotthe end of civilization.”
“Kathrine Austin from NSA—Sydney and Caroline’s mom—said there are over sixty blackouts across the country.”
Her eyebrows jutted into her forehead. “That’s big.” Then, she broke away. “The Petrov twins are dead. The ambassador will play ball. He has to.”
He shot her a smile. “Petrov twins. Nice.”
Greystone strode toward them.
“Bulgrov’s in surgery,” Greystone said. “Slash insisted on scrubbing up. She’s in there with them, but I was able to convince her to holster her gun.”
“I’m going to check on my dad.” Halston shot Gabriel a loving smile before returning to the conference room.
The brothers moved away to talk privately.
“There’s a lot going on, but the waiting is killing me,” Gabriel said.
Greystone squeezed his brother’s shoulder. “Teddy gets the credit for being the glue that holds our family together, but you’re the one who makes things happen.”
That got Gabriel’s full attention. “What are you talking about?”
“You’re the one who—without any help from us—brought Cosa Nostra back into our family, where it belonged,” Greystone said. “You took it from the Russians.”
“Our grandfather didn’t build it for nothing. I owed him that.”
“When Luciano spun out,youbrought him to Italy,” Greystone continued. “You started Santini International, Santini Vineyards,andSantini Spirits.” Greystone paused. “You don’t ever come to play, G, you come to win. Every. Damn. Time.”
Gabriel wasn’t expecting this from anyone, especially from Greystone. “Thank you. That means a lot.”
Caroline—holding a few bottles of chilled water—joined them.
“You get results,” Greystone said. “You piss off everyone—mosteveryone—in the process, but you manage things like a boss.”
Gabriel smiled. “Iamthe Boss. The Padrino.”
