Page 78 of Entangled

“It’s not a card I want to pull, Cara, but she is well aware that to keep her place and her respect in it, she can say nothing about what I do, so long as she is treated well and is held up as the wife I married. Nothing more, nothing less.”

“But isn’t a baby with your mistress the utmost disrespect, Gian?”

“For some. Not for others. It depends on the man, and at the moment, I am the most powerful man at the table. I am the only one with the voice that matters. I speak, they listen. Her included. This—the baby, his name, all of it—is no different.”

“I don’t know what to think about that,” Cara admitted.

“You don’t have to think anything.”

“Marcus Gian, then? I like the sound.”

“Marcus Gian Guzzi,” he said, kissing the top of her head.

“Marcus Gian Guzzi.”

The enforcer standing in front of the old barber’s shop nodded to Gian in greeting as his boss approached. Sure enough, through the window, Gian could see inside the business, and the man waiting that he had been called in for.

Gabriel.

It was a meeting that, for all purposes, had been meant for Gian and his Capos. Somehow, Gabriel must have gotten word and decided to crash it.

“Has he been here long?” Gian asked.

“Since we called, boss,” the enforcer replied.

Gian scowled.

That was long enough.

“Merci. Keep an eye on the road.”

The enforcer agreed. Gian stepped inside the barber shop, noting the tension had already settled thickly in the air. His men, those he had called for the meet, had shoved themselves to one side of the business, while Gabriel and his men had stayed on the other side.

Resting back in the barber’s chair, Gabriel looked to be in his glory. His forehead and thick neck were covered with hot, wet towels, while his cheeks and jaw had been slathered with a foaming cream. The careful hands of the barber—one who had cut his hair and shaved Gian from the time he was fifteen—made clean lines with a blade over Gabriel’s face.

“Gian,” Gabriel greeted without so much as looking at him. “You don’t mind me joining your meeting today, do you?”

“You know I do,” Gian replied, “and more so, that you’re in my seat.”

“Well, here I am.”

Yes, there he fucking was.

Quietly, Dom and Stephan entered the barber shop. Better late than never, Gian supposed. Truthfully, he had been closer to the spot when the call came in, so he wasn’t about to throw a fit at his consigliere and underboss.

“What do you want?” Gian demanded.

“Right now, a shave.”

“No, being here.”

The barber’s hands stilled and he shot Gian a look. Gian could tell the man wanted him to relax, and not cause any problems for his business. As it was, the barber shop was well-known for the Mafioso that came and went daily, most notably, Gian at least once a week.

Carmen had always been able to shave Gian far better than any razor ever had.

Gabriel looked over to Gian, though only his eyes moved. It was disconcerting to have this man stare at him, Gian thought. He knew the things Gabriel was capable of and he purposely tried not to poke the man’s beast. That was just good business.

“I want an update on our little situation,” Gabriel said, “and to talk.”