“Therefore, until such a time that I am willing and capable to return, I will be appointing a new leader of the Guild.”
A hollow sense of dread suddenly grabs hold of me as Cas squeezes my hand once more. I stare at her, not quite ready to accept what I know Rocco is about to say.
“Teo Vitale. My brother, we owe you our lives.”
I force myself to look away from Cas’ watery smile to Rocco’s earnest stare.
“There is no one else I trust more to lead the Guild into a new era.”
My heart stutters to a stop. He has to be joking. This has to be some kind of elaborate prank.
I don’t know how long I sit there, gaping at them both, but I can feel the piercing gazes of everyone in the room practically nipping at my skin.
I should say something. I should accept. I should tell Rocco to shove his proclamation right up his ass. I should punch him in the face and tell him to knock it off. I should run away and not look back.
My savior comes in the form of Dante Grasso, my fellow groomsman and the man chuckling at my other side.
Without warning, he grabs my wrist and pulls us both up and out of our seats, hoisting my arm in the air and declaring. “Teo Vitale!”
There’s a beat of tense silence before…
“Teo Vitale!” the room echoes back.
The sheer level of noise hits me like a tsunami. Without Dante’s firm grip, I would have certainly staggered back a few steps.
The aftermath leaves me with a ringing in my ears. I’m vaguely aware that Dante slaps me on the back, guiding me back to my seat. On my other side, Rocco continues talking, but try as I might, I can’t listen.
What is happening? What is happening? What is happening?
My daze lasts until the entrees are served. With our audience distracted by the meal, I abruptly stand and march off, unsure of where I’m going, but I am banking on the fact that he’ll follow.
I don’t have to wait for him long. I’ve only just begun to pace around the deserted meeting room nearby when the door opens again.
“What the fuck Rocco?!”
To his credit, Rocco has the decency to look sheepish. “I thought you liked surprises.”
“In front of everyone? On your fucking wedding day?”
“You wouldn’t have said yes otherwise.”
“This is coercion.”
“This is what’s right, Teo.” Rocco slaps me on the shoulder. “You think I don’t know what they’re saying about me? The Guild needs strong leadership that isn’t tainted with the history of the Moretti line.”
I look at the man before me, and for a moment, I see a fifteen-year-old boy stifling tears outside his father’s office door.
He never let me see him cry, even when I moved into the bedroom next door to his. “You are not your father, Rocco.”
“No, I’m not. That’s why I have to leave.” Rocco offers me a sad smile. “When I took over from him five years ago, I was shackled by the demands he made in order to go quietly. Demands that crippled the Guild so badly I could barely keep things afloat.”
“You did what had to be done. No one blames you for that.”
“I should have killed him back then, but I wasn’t strong enough. I see that now. But it wasyou,Teo, that liberated the Guild from his chokehold.”
My mind flashes back to that day, only a few months ago, at Giuliano Moretti’s penthouse. The ex-don was inches away from killing both Rocco and Cas in his crusade for power, only to be stopped by my own hand.
“You’re glamorizing his murder,” I say lowly.
