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“What do you mean?”
He studied me as if taking my measure.
“What they did to your brother, to you…What do you want?”
I understood what he was getting at, and I steeled myself, knowing exactly what I wanted, knowing who I was, what I could live with. I turned to the buffet and filled my plate, then sat down beside him to eat. He nodded and picked up his fork again.
“Salvatore and Lucia had to catch their flight home. They asked me to tell you good-bye.”
“Did he…” I shook my head. I didn’t want to ask. Of course he’d finished the job Dominic started.
“My uncle is dead if that’s what you’re asking.”
“Do you believe what he said? That it was Angus behind it all?”
“Dying men are desperate men.” Dominic looked at me. “But I’m not sure. I wouldn’t be surprised and wouldn’t put it past Angus.”
“I want to meet with him.”
“With Angus Scava?” Dominic seemed surprised at that. “What about Victor? We’ll go up the ranks, Gia. Deal with them one at a time.”
I shook my head. “This is for me. Your uncle, he owed you. But this is for me.”
He considered this, narrowing his eyes, studying me closely.
“Are you sure you know what you’re doing?”
“I know. I’m very clear, in fact.” I picked up my fork and turned my attention to my plate.23DominicI watched Gia all that day and the next. Truth be told, her quiet was a little scary. I had expected her to be more frazzled, more like a woman, I guess.
Like a woman.
I sounded like an asshole. I’d never been attracted to weak women. In fact, only two women stood out for me in the string I’d been with. Isabella and Gia. Two strong women. Two women with an agenda. Two women you did not want to fuck with.
I meant it when I told her I’d do the dirty work of killing. I wasn’t sure what she expected out of this meeting with Scava. She had to know she couldn’t just walk in there and kill the motherfucker. We’d meet in a relatively public place, but we’d both be armed. And we’d have soldiers around us who were armed. But I didn’t ask her what her agenda was. She was determined and had her own history with Angus Scava. I’d be there with her to protect her, but I’d let her do what she needed to do to make her peace.
“You’re watching me.”
She sat beside me in the back of the fortified SUV on our way to the restaurant.
“You’ve been watching me for the last two days.”
“I’m curious.”
“Are you nervous?”
I shook my head. “No. I do want to be sure you’re going to get what you want out of this. If you told me—”
“No, Dominic. This is mine. This has nothing to do with you.”
“Fair enough, but if I feel like you’re overstepping—”
“It’s mine. You told me you’d help me, and I just need you there with me. I need you to carry me a little, or at least let me lean on you. I’m trusting you with that.”
We pulled up alongside the curb of the Italian restaurant, a place Scava owned. It was trendy and popular, and the food sucked, in my opinion. Angus Scava would be inside already. I saw two of his men standing beside his sedan parked at the end of the street.
I turned to Gia, taking in how the tight black dress hugged her, how the heels made her legs look longer. She’d let her hair loose tonight, and it hung down her back. Her eyes shown bright, seeming almost to dance tonight. Alive and buzzing as if adrenaline pumped through her even as we sat there.
I touched the flat of my hand to her heart.
“You’re nervous.”
“Will he know that?”
“No. Not unless he touches you like this, and if he does that, it’ll be the last thing he touches.”
That made her smile.
“You know how to keep your face impassive.”
She nodded.
“I won’t leave your side,” I said.
“Thank you.”
I knocked on the window, and the driver opened the door. I climbed out and saw that my men were already lined up, the number I’d brought matching the number Scava had brought. I didn’t expect war, not tonight, but I knew from years of experience to never be caught unprepared.
I helped Gia out and led her toward the entrance, noting every eye on the street that turned her way, liking it. Liking that every man who passed wanted her on his arm. Knowing every woman felt a little pang of jealousy as they pretended not to notice her.
A man opened the doors, and we entered, followed by two of my men. The space was large and modern but completely empty of patrons tonight. Only a few staff I could hear working in the open kitchen, and Scava sitting at the far booth like he was fucking king.
