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Dad sent me a warning look. “This isn’t funny.”
“What were you doing at Aurora’s place?” Fabiano asked tightly.
“We had pizza together, Aurora,Carlotta,and me. That’s what friends do.”
Fabiano narrowed his eyes. “That’s what normal people do. That’s not something you usually do. Where were Alessio and Massimo?”
“We eat pizza all the time. I wasn’t made aware that psychopaths are banned from enjoying pepperoni and cheese on a carb base.”
Fabiano pushed to his feet. I could tell he wanted to hit me.
“And Alessio, Massimo, and I don’t spend every second of the day together. We went on a raid last night, so we had enoughboys time.”
“This is all bullshit,” Fabiano muttered. “When I called Aurora this morning, she confirmed the pizza-friends story.”
I cocked an eyebrow. “Then I don’t see the problem.”
“Because Aurora wouldn’t tell on you. I know you followed her to New York and to the race circuit. I don’t know what you want from her. What I know is that Aurora is a good girl with a big heart, and you should stay away from her. Destroy someone else’s life, not my daughter’s.”
Neither Dad nor Nino came to my defense, and honestly they had no reason to do so.
“Why do I have to be the villain in this? Maybe I’m the good guy for once. Maybe I try to protect Aurora to prevent a repeat performance of what happened to Greta.”
Regret passed Dad’s expression. I got it. I too blamed myself for the night of Greta’s attack. She should have been protected. If either Dad or I had been present, this wouldn’t have happened.
“I’m responsible for her protection, and rest assured that when I think you’re a danger, I won’t hesitate to protect her from you no matter the cost.”
“Nevio only wants to be a good friend for Aurora. She’s like family for him,” Dad said firmly, his eyes on me.
Fabiano released a long breath and nodded slowly. With a last warning look, he left. Dad shook his head, the harsh lines around his mouth telling me this conversation was far from over.
“Because of you, I have to lie to Fabiano,” Dad finally gritted out.
“I never asked you to. You’re not doing it for me. You’re doing it to keep peace between Fabiano and our family.”
“He would kill you if he knew the truth,” Nino said. Dad seemed to struggle with his rage.
“He would try and not succeed.”
Dad shoved to his feet. “There was a death fight between our families once, dammit. I swore to never let it come this far again. Don’t you have any lines you wouldn’t cross?”
“I wouldn’t attack him. I’d only defend myself.”
Dad stalked toward me. “You need to learn control. You’re going to put everything to ruins if you don’t. Is that what you want?”
I didn’t say anything. Ruins were more fun to play in, but I didn’t want to hurt our family.
“I’m like you, Dad. I don’t know why you’re surprised.”
“When I was your age, I had been to war for our territory.”
“You make it sound as if that’s a bad thing. You could unleash your inner demons for years. I would have loved to be in your stead. Kill or die. Every day a battle of wills.”
“It wasn’t for fun.”
“But I bet you enjoyed many aspects of it.”
“I did, but I also knew when it was enough, when I had to restrain myself for the sake of my family. Would you have managed to take care of Adamo and Savio like I did?”
