“I heard Dad and Enzo fighting. Dad accused him of trafficking women and using his power to manipulate them. Dad told him he had to stop. Enzo shot Dad.”
“Ohmygod,” Gabriel bit out.
“I was on my way to talk to Dad about something and heard them fighting, so I didn’t go in.”
“Did you see them?” Luciano asked.
“Yeah, the door was open enough for me to see. When Enzo shot him, I ran in.” Greystone hated thinking about this day, the worst of the worst, and he swallowed down the bitter bile. “Dad died in my arms.”
“Why didn’t you tell Mom?” Teddy asked. “Or call the police.”
“Enzo threatened to kill me if I told anyone,” Greystone paused to eye each of his brothers. “Then, he told me to get the fuck out. He said if I didn’t leave, he’d kill all of you.”
“Santo inferno,” Luciano bit out. “Holy hell.”
“I believed he’d kill you, so I ran. He was a monster. If he could gun down his own brother in cold blood, he’d have no problem slaughtering us.”
The silence hung heavy in the air.
For the first time in sixteen years, Greystone breathed a little easier. He was no longer carrying the weight of the wicked on his shoulders alone.
“Greystone,” Gabriel said. “I’m so sorry.”
Teddy sat there shaking his head, over and over. “I think I’m gonna be sick.”
“Mi sbagliavo, Greystone, e mi dispiace profondamente,” Luciano said.
Luciano’s apology meant a lot to him.
“It’s okay,” Greystone replied. “We were kids.” Then, the fire in his guts exploded into a raging inferno. “When we take Willie Boy out, Enzo goes with him.”
“When you left, where did you go?” Luciano asked.
Greystone glanced over his shoulder. The women were talking at the kitchen island. Then, he caught the time. It was after eleven. He’d been gone from the Black Site for too many hours. It was time to get back on track and do his damn job.
“Another time,” he said. “I’m here on assignment, and I need to get back.” He regarded Teddy. “We need to talk.”
“When I left, the program was still running,” Teddy said. “I’ll swing by on my way home. I’m gonna stick around a little longer.”
The chill in the air had evaporated. The truth had freed Greystone from the burden he’d carried for too many years. Each of his brothers hugged him goodbye.
“Come visit me in Italy,” Gabriel said. “Caroline too.”
“Sounds great,” Greystone replied.
“I was wrong about you,” Luciano said.
The brothers entered the kitchen and the women turned to acknowledge them.
When he slid his gaze to Caroline, the pull had him walking over. He placed his hands on her cheeks and dropped a soft kiss on her lips. “Thanks for waiting.”
She smiled at him. “Your family’s great.”
“Everything good?” his grandmother asked.
“All good.” Greystone put his hand on his grandmother’s shoulder. “How ‘bout a big piece of cake, Elsa?”
As she sliced him one, he checked his phone for a text from Sin or Dakota, but there was nothing. “Slash, any texts?”
