“It will be fine,” he tells me, unclipping his seat belt.
“I love you.”
We’ve exchanged those words countless times during the past few days in our own private paradise, but they feel weightier out in the open, no longer protected by a peaceful bubble. Odds are, this visit will?—
“What the fuck are you doing here?”
Lev stiffens beside me as Enzo bursts out of the villa, wearing a furious expression and no shirt. My brother’s angry tonerequires no translation, even if Lev didn’t catch the flurry of Italian.
I climb out of the rental car, adjusting my sunglasses as I search for the best opening. I owe Enzo an apology for letting him walk into an ambush, butI’m sorrydoesn’t exactly roll off the tongue when you’re being yelled at. I don’t know if Enzo knew what the drive contained, and I’m not sure if yes or no is a better answer. Either he didn’t trust me enough to be consulted or he was on board with selling his sister.
The slam of a second door tells me Lev has stepped out of the car.
Enzo swears again, then pulls a gun out from the back of his jeans and aims it straight at my husband.
“Enzo! Stop it!” I jog right, placing myself between the two men. “Put?—”
I’m yanked back, pulled behind Lev before I can complete the sentence. He maneuvers me with his left hand, his right raised with his own gun. I struggle, fighting his tight hold on my arm, until Lev silences me with a furious look. I appreciate his protectiveness, but I’m not concerned Enzo will shoot me. No matter how angry my brother is, he has that much regard for my safety. He’s less predictable where Lev is concerned. No matter his reputation, he led a team that ambushed Enzo. Not to mention the informant my family now knows about.
“Get your hands off her,” Enzo hisses, followed by a few insults that Lev understands, based on the harsher set of his jaw.
So much for de-escalating things.
Lev squeezes my arm once, which I understand to be a silentstay where you are, then relaxes his grip.
“Put your gun down, Enzo,” I snap. “Where is Papà?”
“Why?”
“Because I came to talk to him about what was on the drive.”
That catches Enzo’s attention. His gaze narrows on me. “You have it?”
Lev pulls the flash drive out of his pocket and hands it to me.
I hold it up so my brother can see. “Put your gun down, Enzo.”
His eyes dart between me and Lev. “I will when he does.”
I glance at Lev, who’s still poised to fire. “You drew first.”
“I’m in my own fucking backyard.”
“Salvatore’s backyard,” I correct.
“He’s not here, so I’m in charge.”
“Where is he?”
“Out,” Enzo replies, obviously unwilling to share any details with me. Or in front of Lev. “He’ll be back soon.”
It doubles as a warning. Salvatore returning to a gun pointed at his son isn’t an ideal start to this discussion.
“I will when he does,” Enzo repeats, a lilt to his tone. He’s enjoying this.
I lift my arm as subtly as possible, nudging Lev’s ribs with my elbow. “Pozhaluysta,” I whisper.
Lev’s gun lowers an inch. Two. Then disappears.
