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“You just said they’re about to come at us. I didn’t ask you to run my city just so you could tiptoe around this shit.”
“No, you asked me to run things because you don’t care for the bullshit politics required to run a business.”
Tatyana started to fuss, and I had to smile at the sight of Nero going from homicidal to shushing the tiny thing.
“From what I hear, you’re moving away from Rafe anyway.”
I rolled my eyes. “No, I’m just not putting all our eggs in one basket. He won’t ship anywhere but Chicago, and that has fucked us.”
“Yeah, well, now he’s up my ass, which means Anna and Una are up my ass, too. So, we handle this shit tonight, everything goes back to normal and my ass is safe.”
“We both know you’re about money and war, Nero. Well, I make you money. War will fuck that. And more importantly, it’s a risk. You have a family….”
His brows pulled together, and I knew he hated it. Hated that he had to temper who he was to protect what he loved. But Nero and Una had seen enough blood and death to last a lifetime. They may not have been people who appreciated the quiet, but they needed it.
I clapped a hand on his shoulder. “Just watch your back, and keep Rafe off mine a little longer. If it goes south and I need the big guns, you know I’ll call you.” I stroked a finger over Tatyana’s downy hair, tempted to demand he hand her over before I left. I wouldn’t give him any ammo, though. “Look after them.” I turned toward the door. “Oh, and Una said the baby has been fed and changed.” I laughed as I walked out of his house. From war to babies in a heartbeat. That was his life now, and fuck, I thought I might want it.
* * *
I stopped in at my own house while I was up here. It was mid-morning by the time I arrived, and there were more men there than usual. Jackson having put out the call last night for them to come in. Out on the streets, alone, soldiers could be picked off too easily, and I wasn’t about to hand O’Hara bodies. The kitchen was a hive of energy, the scent of coffee and pastry filling the air. And I didn’t miss Renzo Donato sitting beside Tommy at my kitchen table. He looked so much like Emilia, and for the briefest moment, guilt flickered at the edges of my consciousness.
The kid hadn’t done anything wrong except try to protect his sister. Wouldn’t I have done the same thing for my sister? My only sister was older and married off long before I could have done anything about it. But the old Famiglia would not allow their daughters to be abused in arranged marriages. The Outfit evidently had no such qualms based on how easily Sergio had handed Emilia over. Fuck her, marry her, I don’t care.
Still, Renzo was an Outfit enforcer, and he had stolen my bride and helped her run—for four days.
“Tommy, why is Sergio Donato’s nephew wandering my house?” I picked up some mail on the counter and shuffled through it.
“Jackson was using the cell. I figured you’d rather have Renzo in a guest room than the Irish fucker. Less blood on the sheets.”
I glanced at him as he smiled around his coffee mug.
“Besides, isn’t he technically going to be your brother-in-law soon?”
Renzo glared at me like I was the devil himself.
“You do anything, and not only will you go right back in that blood-stained cell, but your sister will pay for it,” I warned.
Tommy snorted. “Trust me, after seeing her in that dress last night, there’s no way he’s touching your sister in any way she doesn’t like.”
And now Renzo looked like he’d kill me if he could. I couldn’t help but smile.
“I thought we were supposed to be ‘allies.’” He said it mockingly as though the entire notion were a joke.
“Do you see me wearing a wedding ring, Donato?” I skimmed over a letter about some city meeting.
“No.”
“Correct. So, we are not family. And that makes you a potential enemy, sitting at my fucking table.”
He stopped talking, shoving a mouthful of food in his face.
“I’m surprised you left The Outfit princess alone,” Jackson said as he came in and passed me, shoving a mug beneath the coffee machine. “I hear she stabbed you, then tried to burn your apartment down, and almost escaped last night.”
“Emilia is nothing if not tenacious.” My gaze met Renzo’s smug one. “She was punished, though.” I imagined he pictured all kinds of horrible things when his smile fell. Least of all, me spanking and coming on his little sister. “No need to look so murderous, Renzo. Nothing her bratty little ass didn’t secretly like.”
