Page 77 of King of War

RAYNE

Enzo told me about his meetings today—the Mancinis, the pakhan, his plan to confront the don tomorrow. I should hate how easily he pulls me into his world. Instead, I find myself liking it. Liking that he tells me things and even more so that he trusts me with them.

We were about to go sit on the roof with a bottle of wine when Micah arrived. His face is solemn, which means this is bad news—or terrible news. Enzo ushers us all into his study.

Micah pulls a small thumb drive from the inside pocket of his jacket and places it on Enzo’s desk. “I’m pretty sure this is what we were looking for. It was in a house in Green Valley. A place Joseph kept off the books and we only found out about this morning. This was the only thing in the safe.”

I stare at it like it’s a hornet and might kill me if I touch it. With everything that’s happened, especially Ethan’s death and confession, the video has become less important, at least to me. “So he never intended on giving it to me that day at the club?” I ask with a shudder. “Probably wanted to get me to his house in Green Valley.”

Enzo snarls. “Disgusting fuck.”

Micah signals his agreement. “My best bet would be that the Bertellis intended to use this as some sort of leverage to take down Carmine and orchestrate a takeover.”

“That makes some sense, but why did they need me? They could have used this to blackmail Carmine or manipulate Enzo without me.”

Micah stares at his older brother.

Enzo cracks his neck and grimaces. “Had they come to me with this, I would have gouged their eyes out for watching it. I would not, under any circumstances, have responded favorably. But if you had come to me with this…” He rests his hand on the small of my back, just above my ass—both soothing and possessive. “Everyone in this city knows I only have one weakness, cuore mio.”

I’m still not sure what that means, my brain still catching up.

“You, Rayne,” Micah says. “They intended to use you to manipulate Enzo.”

I guess that makes sense if they knew that the recording exonerated me. “Well, personally I’d say I’m a strength not a weakness, but…”

Enzo pulls me onto his lap, making me yelp with surprise. “Can you not be both?”

“I guess.” Against all my better judgment, I let myself melt against him, his arms somehow protecting me from the vile thing on his desk.

Micah clears his throat. “I’ll leave you both alone. Let me know if there’s anything else you need before tomorrow.”

“You okay with the plan?” Enzo asks him.

He winks. “Of course.”

Enzo thanks his brother and then Micah leaves us alone. We sit in silence for a few moments, both staring at the thumb drive on his desk. I want to ask for more information about the plan for tomorrow, but the video is taking up all of my attention.

Eventually he speaks. “What do you want to do with it, Rayne?”

“What are my options?”

He brushes his lips over the bare skin of my shoulder. “Whatever you want to do. We could destroy it⁠—”

“You’d do that?”

He cups my cheek, rubbing the pad of his thumb over my lips. “If that’s what you want.”

“But don’t you want to see it? Don’t you want to see the proof of what Ethan did. Of what I told you?”

His brow furrows in a frown. “No, Rayne. I don’t want to watch that piece of shit hurting you. And I know what happened because you told me. And I also that know my father and Carmine planned it all. So, no, I don’t need to see that video to believe anything. To believe you.”

I stare at it, hoping it might magically burst into flames. A part of me wants him to watch it, even if the thought of him seeing what happened makes me feel sick. “But if you watch it, then you won’t have to believe me. Then you will actually know.”

“Rayne.” My name is spoken like a command, and he takes my face in both of his hands now, holding my head still so that I’m forced to look into his eyes. “I already know, because you are not a liar.”

“But you called me a liar. You said…”

His eyes fill with pain. “I know, cuore mio, and I regret doubting you for even a moment, for saying things that no amount of apologies can take back. It was my anger speaking, not my heart, and definitely not my brain. I heard my father’s voice in my head and…” He stops speaking and shakes his head. “None of that matters. I should have spoken to you instead of accusing you.”