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Lorenzo stared at him for way longer than was comfortable, pushing his point home. “Good.” He cleared his throat and grinned over at me. “First order of business: I’m making you a captain.” I opened my mouth to reply, but before I got the chance, he turned to face Romeo. “You’re going to be his first soldier. Learn from Mateo, because you’ll be a captain when you’re ready too.”
Romeo nodded not showing a single emotion on his face. But I wasn’t as calm as he was. It had never been my desire to climb the ranks, even though I knew there were perks to being a captain. Perks that would help not just me, but the kids too.
“Are you sure?” I asked, flinching when I realized I was second-guessing him, but I still couldn’t stop myself. “What about the security and—”
“You’ll still be doing that.” Lorenzo clasped his hands in front of him. “You’ve been loyal from the start, Mateo. I’ve never doubted what you can do, and now you get rewarded for that.” He paused, his eyes flashing with emotion. “Take the promotion and use it to get you and your brother and sister the hell out of that apartment.” He stood, not saying another word, and all I could do was nod.
I’d taken every job he’d given me over the last eight years and not questioned it once. He’d been there for more in more ways than giving me a paycheck at the end of the month. He’d become my family, and now it was time to do what he did. He took care of his, now I needed to take care of mine once and for all.
“Now…” Lorenzo turned to face his uncle Antonio and uncle Alonzo. “As for security, you all have the satellite phones. Use them. If I see a call from your usual cells, I’ll have to question all of your positions. Got it?” The threat was loud and clear, but we all knew it wasn’t only a threat. He would follow through with it. There was no doubt in my mind.
“Got it,” everyone murmured.
“Good.” He rolled his neck from side to side. “Aida has cooked dinner. I told her you’ll all be staying.” Lorenzo picked his glass up without another word and left the room. Christian was the first to follow him out, followed by Antonio and Alonzo, but Romeo stayed back with me.
“What happens now?” he asked me.
“I…” I wasn’t sure what happened now. What did I do as captain? Was I meant to send Romeo on jobs? I was in the midst of the unknown, but as I opened my mouth to tell him that, I stopped myself. I was in a position of authority and one sign of weakness could be the death of me—literally. “Be here at nine tomorrow and I’ll show you all the new security.”
“Heard,” Romeo said with a clip of his head. He waited several seconds, staring me straight in the eye. I had no idea what he was waiting for, but as I took a step toward him, he took one back. I blinked, trying not to think too much into it. Romeo didn’t show much emotion, but he was always there to get his hands dirty when necessary. His father, Antonio, was a master torturer, and I wondered if Romeo had picked any of that up from him.
I lifted my arm, signaling the door. I needed to be the last one in here to input the security code into the keypad to alarm the room. It was full of information no one could get their hands on, and I intended to keep it that way.
“Right,” he murmured, shaking his head as he turned. I didn’t know Romeo well, but then, I didn’t think anyone did. The unknown was more dangerous than anything. He may have had the family blood running through his veins, but that didn’t mean he got the automatic trust. My gut told me to keep a close eye on him, and as he was now my responsibility, anything that he did would come back on me.
I stared at the back of his head, not a single hair out of place, as I followed him out of the room. I waited until he was at the dining room door until I input the code and waited for the bolts from the other side of the door to click into place.
It had almost become a tradition to have dinner here at least once a week, but since Mom had sent the babysitter away last week, everything in me screamed to get home as quick as I could. Lorenzo had demanded we all stay, and there was no way I could rebuff him. Which meant I had no choice but to go into the dining room and wait it out until I could leave.
The table was already full of everyone, only two seats left open. I headed to the seat I normally sat in opposite Christian. His stare met mine, a brow raised. He was still reeling from what Lorenzo had announced, and both he and I knew what was happening right now would change the entire organization.
Maybe that was what it needed though. Things had been done the same way for such a long time. People had changed, technology had advanced. What worked back then wouldn’t work now. We had to move with the times, even if that meant leaving some people behind.
“How was the meeting?” I heard Sofia murmur to Christian. Her hand landed on his arm. My head tilted at the movement, and my gaze immediately veered over to Lorenzo, but he was too occupied talking to Aida and his ma.
“Nothing you need to know about,” Christian answered, but there was a softness to his voice that wasn’t usually there. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up as they looked at each other with small smiles on their faces.
They were in their own little bubble, just like I’d been in with Luna the other day. My stomach rolled at the memory of her. There was something about her soulful eyes that called to me, but it was nothing compared to how her lips begged me to touch them.
I’d gotten Mr. Blue to do a background check on her. He’d told me the full check wouldn’t be ready for a few more days, but I’d gotten the basics from him almost right away. She’d moved here for college, and so had her parents. Something didn’t feel right, and not just because of the way she held herself and then me seeing her sitting outside the apartment block in the dark, but because my gut told me.
I’d always listened to my gut, even when it told me things I didn’t want to hear.
“Mateo?” I snapped my head around, my eyes widening. “Did you listen to a thing I just said?” Aida asked, her lips pulled up into a smile, but the dimness in her eyes couldn’t be veiled. She hadn’t been herself since Paolo. She probably never would be.
“Sorry.” I laughed, trying to ease the tension rolling through my body. I couldn’t think straight, not when I had so much rolling around in my mind.
“It’s okay.” She frowned, leaning forward. “I said I’ve got leftovers for you to take home.” I glanced at the middle of the table where her famous pasta was sitting, steaming and inviting. Everyone gathered whenever she decided she was going to cook, and I couldn’t blame them because it was the best damn pasta I’d ever eaten.
“Oh, okay.” I tried to smile, but her words reminded me that while I was surrounded by this family, mine were alone at home, trying to fend for themselves. “I…” I cleared my throat, my gaze veering to Lorenzo. It was already 6
p.m. which meant the kids had been home for several hours now.
He clipped his head in a small nod, answering my unspoken question. My plate was only half empty, but I didn’t care because all I could think about were Cardo and Chiara at home alone—well, technically Mom was there, but she wasn’t really, she hadn’t been there for as long as I could remember.
I pushed my chair back, clearing my throat to gain the attention of everyone around the table. “I’m heading out.” I stepped around my seat and pushed it back in. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Aida stood, rushing out of the room but I didn’t take any notice of her as I headed toward Lorenzo. I halted next to him as he opened his mouth and murmured, “You got Romeo, yeah?”
