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Marco nodded.
“Lorenzo here?” I asked.
Marco nodded. “He’s been here for hours. He’s pretty pissed.”
I pulled back the plastic covering from the doorway and walked through. Lorenzo was sitting in a chair looking so smug that I wanted to punch him in the face. I was sure that he had something to do with what happened to Sasha, and I’d get him to admit to it even if I had to break every single bone in his body.
“Nice of you to show up,” Lorenzo said. “You left quite a mess for everyone to deal with.”
I grabbed one of the metal chairs that was strewn across the room. “How did a gunman get into your daughter’s wedding?”
Lorenzo released a snort. “Do you truly think that I had something to do with this? I would never put Francesca in any sort of danger.”
Normally, I would believe that, but Francesca and her new husband hadn’t been anywhere during the cocktail hour. They’d been removed from the entire situation.
“Sasha is going to make it, in case you were wondering. She’ll recover.”
I watched Lorenzo closely, and I had to give it up to the old man. He didn’t bat an eye. His face was even more neutral than it had been when I walked in. I’d spent years training to be a lawyer, and part of that was learning how to spot a liar.
“That’s good to hear,” Lorenzo said. “Wouldn’t want a war with the Petrovs.”
“You want a war with them. As I recall, you were very against my marriage to Sasha. You were more than happy for us all to continue the bloodshed.”
Lorenzo had been staunchly against my marriage, and he had been vocal about it. He was clear that he would never see the Petrov’s as anything more than the enemy. According to Marco, he was also the one who had been adamant that Sasha come to Francesca’s wedding.
“I wasn’t pleased with your marriage,” Lorenzo admitted. “I’ve been fighting the Petrov’s longer than you’ve been alive. The Blanchi family has lost many members to the Petrovs. They deserved to be avenged.”
“What better way than to take Sasha Petrov’s life. It would leave Isaac without any children, and it would thrust us back into killing each other.”
Lorenzo shrugged. “I’m not going to apologize for thinking that your marriage to Sasha would bring us nothing but disaster, but I’m not going to admit to something I played no part in. We lost men today. I would never put the family in that position. I would never use Francesca like that.”
The conviction in his voice was starting to make me think that Lorenzo was telling the truth. He might want to Petrovs to pay, but he wouldn't spill Blanchi blood to do it. That still begged the question of who was trying to target my wife.
“Isaac has made a lot of enemies over the years,” Lorenzo said. “There are those who even think that his wife should be the one leading the Bratva.”
“A Petrov wouldn't target Sasha.”
Lorenzo shook his head. “You are naive,” he told me. “You barely know your enemy, and that ignorance makes you vulnerable.”
Lorenzo’s words pissed me the fuck off. I wanted to put a bullet between his eyes and be done with this old hat. But I couldn’t ignore the nagging feeling that Lorenzo was right. Sasha had seen something before the bullets had started flying, and I was beginning to wonder if it was a member of her family.
“You still failed me,” I said, getting up from my chair. It was challenging to keep my emotions in check. My mind was racing with all the fucking possibilities of who could be hunting down Sasha, and potentially me.
I gestured to Marco who was at my side in just a few short strides. “You might not have had anything to do with, but Sasha was harmed on your watch, and that kind of shit can’t go unpunished.”
I heard the blade of Marco’ knife whistle through the air as he unsheathed it. For the first time, Lorenzo looked terrified. I couldn’t blame him too much. He was old, and Marco’ work with that knife was legendary.
“I told you that I had nothing to do with what happened. I’m a victim just as much as anyone.”
The white hot anger I felt was unlike anything I had experienced before in my life. My mind flashed back and I could feel Sasha’s blood coating my hands. She was only eighteen. She’d barely had a chance to live, and her life was almost ended. But I needed to get myself together. My role meant that I needed a level head.
“Make sure that Lorenzo here remembers the price of failure,” I said to Marco. “My wife is going to carry a scar from tonight. It’s only fitting that you do the same.”
I turned around and began walking out of the warehouse. “You're making a mistake!” Lorenzo screamed behind me.
I said nothing. Though I had known Lorenzo my entire life, I couldn’t allow that connection to cloud my judgement. My father would have demanded retribution. As Don, it might be right. And as much as I liked to pretend to be above some of the more illegal aspects of the mafia, I couldn’t stop the way that Lorenzo’s screams made me feel. I had been weaned on blood and violence and hearing Lorenzo scream out in pain eased the tension inside of me.
I might not know who had ordered the hit, but at least, someone was paying for the damage that had been done to Sasha.
Now, I just needed to figure out where else to direct my wrath. Because someone was going to pay for harming my wife, and they were going to pay dearly.
