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“What deal did you make with the Russians?”
I let out a sigh. “A deal to join our families in marriage. We promised Espie or Olive, whoever was able at the time, to marry into their family.”
“You what?” He spits at me, words hitting together like a car wreck, causing me to cringe in the silence that follows.
“We—“
He raises his hand for me to stop.
“I heard you, Tito.”
“It was Stella’s life or—“
“Our sister’s. One of them.”
When he says this, coldly, I realize how awful it truly is, but the entire situation was awful. There’s no way to explain this because the truth is we made an emotional decision that felt like a far off scenario, resolvable by the time it was actually a problem. But with Kias dead and the tensions higher than ever, I don’t see an end to it— unless the end is the Russians getting their way.
“Your inventions, are they fool-proof?” Vince’s voice cuts through my thoughts sharply, like a razor knife. He’snotdiscounting my pitch, but I feel too awful to even be excited about it, the ramifications of what Antonio and I did all coming home to roost at once.
“Maybe. Hopefully.” I let out a breath. “I’ll need time and manpower to test them. To make sure.”
“How many people do you need?”
“Are we going to talk about this deal more or…?”
“We’ll deal with it. How many people do you need?
“To?”
“To pitch this for the elders in Italy within a month from the start of the project.”
I raise my brows in shock. I’d hoped Vince might take my ideas into consideration, butthis–
“I–I’ll need the brightest minds in tech, IT, hacking, coding, and constructing tech devices. Whoever we can afford or get. Especially if we only have a month from project start.”
Vince begins writing as I’m talking, nodding along.
“So?”
Vince looks up at my question, and I push forward. “Does this mean you’ll give it a go? My idea, I mean.”
My brother sighs, setting his pen down. “Look, it’s a great idea, and honestly, I think it could work in our favor. For the contract that we have to break and for the New Treaty that needs to move forward with new ways of thinking. That doesn’t mean I’m not fucking pissed at you, Tito, or that I’m going to lightly forgive you for what you and Antonio did, either of you. Or that you kept it from me. But itisa potential solution, so yes. We’ll be moving forward.”
“Okay. For what it’s worth–”
“You’re sorry. Tell it to Espie. Or don’t, actually, because I don’t want her to know if we can help it, if it can be solved before deadline.” Vince’s jaw tightens. “Don’t fuck this up, Tito.”
“I won’t,” I tell him quickly. In a way I’m relieved it was me who spilled the beans, even though I hate being front and center for Vince’s disappointment, even more so than Pops’. If Antonio had been the one to tell him, well, I don’t know. He’d blame it on his issue with authority or his irresponsibility. At least now it’s out in the open and can be resolved.
And my tech is going to come to life. With funds and a team at my disposal. I feel guilty and elated all at once–and hopeful that this can work. That I can show my brother that his trust isn’t misplaced.
“You should have everyone you need at your disposal, and a location for your work by the end of the week.” Vince crosses something out on his notepad and looks up.
“Thank you, Vince. I won’t let you down.”
—
The following two weeks fly by as I do everything I can to help Vince find the perfect people for my team. They need to be knowledgeable and independent, but take orders well, and not ask too many questions. We can’t just let anyone into our family business, after all. This is top-secret, and that feels exciting. This is the culmination of so many of my dreams–I just wish it were for different reasons.
