AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Taz—” Marco closed his eyes, his nostrils flaring.
Taz jumped up, his face beet red. “No. I’ve got four dead soldiers and an interrupted supply chain.”
“Enough!” Marco shouted, his fist slamming on the desk. “Our top priority is bringing Luca home. We’ve done what we can to pin down Lorenzo, but he’s in the wind. With our supply lines and territories under threat, we can’t be playing whack-a-mole in Italy for that crazy fucker. When he surfaces, we’ll deal with him. Until then, we kill Cy and get your fucking brother home. Unless you’ve magically convinced him to end his little vacation with the Greek Princess.”
The room was silent as Taz and Marco stared each other down. Marco didn’t give an inch. He was the acting boss, a proxy to Luca until he was out of jail, and the set of his jaw told everyone he wasn’t backing down.
Taz rolled his lips in with a terse nod and left. With him gone, the tension slowly lifted until the guys were no longer frozen in place.
Standing, I gestured to the open door. “Can we go? Or is there more?” I planned to pass right by that fucking memorial dinner and get to the hospital.
As if reading my mind, Marco said, “The hospital will call when you can see him. There’s no point heading up there just to wait.”
“Okay.” Rejected, I walked through them and returned to my abandoned dining room table seat. The guys trickled in, but I kept all my attention on my dessert. We ate, toasted, and then I was left with Adriana, Rosa, Marco, Frankie, and a few bottles of wine.
“Dante is out,” Adriana sighed as she dropped into one of the kitchen chairs.
The caterers were long gone, but they’d left out a few trays of the canapes that hadn’t circulated.
“You’re both welcome to stay anytime,” Rosa said from behind her full glass of red.
Adriana tensed. “Thank you. And I promise we’ll come down at least once a month. I have no plans of taking Dante from you. From the family.”
Marco’s gaze fell to his fingers on the stem of his wine glass. His expression remained stoic, but there was no mistaking the resignation in his eyes. He was losing Adriana again, but this time he was losing Dante too.
“When’s the big move?” I tried to keep my voice light, but damn if it didn’t crack.
Adriana swallowed and set down her glass. “We’re pretty much moved. I just need to pack up some knick-knacks.”
“Oh.” I took a big swig of wine, this loss compounding with every other emotional hit I’d taken.
Adriana shifted in her seat, her eyes falling on Rosa as if begging for an out, but our mother-in-law was all out of sympathy for her daughters.
“Everything happened so fast that I guess I forgot to—”
“Return my calls?” I took a breath and shrugged. “I should’ve guessed something was going on. I just wish you would’ve told me.”
Adriana glanced at Marco, and her mouth turned down. “There was a lot to figure out.”
Marco all but chugged the insanely expensive wine, then stood. “I need to make a call.”
“Marco,” Adriana called out, but he kept walking. She shook her head and cursed under her breath.
“I’ve always let my children make their own decisions, but let me give you this piece of advice.”
Adriana’s eyes welled as she nodded.
“Your son is a Moretti and, at present, the heir to the family. Now, no one expects you to be with a man you don’t love, but we do expect that little boy to be raised knowing who he is. If you can do that with this doctor as your husband, great. But if for any reason we feel like he’s being taken from this family, well, decisions will have to be made.”
Rosa’s stare was expectant, and Adriana did not disappoint. “I understand,” she choked out. “Dante is a Moretti. I understand the responsibility that name holds.” Standing, she wiped under her eyes.
“Good. And don’t forget you’re still one too.” Rosa looked Adriana up and down and added, “At least for now.” Rosa dismissed her, turning toward Frankie and asking him about his sister Val.
Adriana wasted no time fleeing the room and the artic chill Rosa was blasting her way.
“More wine?” Rosa’s voice pulled my attention from the empty doorway.
Frowning in confusion, I shoved my glass toward her. “Sure.”
