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Guido straightened so that he was once again glaring daggers at me, despite the steady flow of blood that dripped from his nose. “I’m going to take what you care about most. Today was just a warning.”
I saw red. My hands were around his throat. I didn’t even remember moving.
His body jerked against the binds, and he gasped for air as I tightened my fingers. His lips turned blue, followed by the skin around his nose and upper lip. I observed him as if from afar. He needed to die. If he didn’t, he would go after Hailey again—his threat had been crystal clear.
I felt rather than saw the guys crowd around me. Guido continued to struggle, his body flailing while tethered to the chair. The struggles lessened. He grew weaker. He was close.
Without warning, a hand slammed into my chest. Marco. My fingers loosened, and I glared at my older brother for breaking the killing haze I’d been caught in. Then he pulled one of my hands off Guido’s neck. Stefano wrenched the other free.
Outrage fueled me, and I growled my frustration as I strained against their hold. Guido’s head slumped forward. Max pressed his fingers to Guido’s pulse at his neck before Marco and Stefano dragged me from the room. The rest of the guys followed. The door shut behind us with a resounding click. I tore my arms free from their grasp. “What the hell?”
“You can’t kill him.” Stefano’s voice was calm and level.
“If I don’t, he’s going after Hailey.” I shoved away from my brother and paced in front of the couch, shoving my hand into my hair and tugging on the short strands.
“Hailey isn’t Teresa.” Marco’s words were quiet.
“I agree with Trey,” Nico said as he brought a bottle of whiskey and several glasses from the wet bar.
“Should I get Sof?” Enzo grinned. Total pot-stirrer, but it worked for me.
“Fuck no,” Marco growled, running a hand through his black hair.
I laughed, the tension in my shoulders easing. Our sister would have sided with me. Nico handed me a drink, and we all migrated to the sectional, reminiscent of what we used to do when we were growing up—except for Max, who was relatively new to our group, through no fault of his own.
“There are other things at play with Guido.” Marco leaned forward, elbows to knees. “Dante will be here in an hour—”
“I thought you just called him.” I froze with the drink I’d been about to sip midway to my mouth.
“He was already in the air before any of this went down,” Stefano answered, and I swiveled my gaze to our capo.
“Isn’t that a little suspect?” Nico topped off his drink, swirling the amber liquid before taking a sip. “He was on his way when Guido happened to attack Trey and Hailey?”
“Things are happening in New York, and killing the Amato underboss isn’t going to help,” Max said.
I ground my teeth, noticing the pattern. Nico caught my eye and frowned. It was clear the bosses knew what was up. Nico and I were in the dark. “When were we going to learn about this?”
“I’m curious about that too.” Nico leaned back, draining the rest of his drink.
Stefano swiped the bottle from the coffee table and refilled his glass. “You know there’s unrest among the three New York syndicates. We’re meeting with Dante to discuss what he knows and where we might be needed.”
“Why would we do that? They’re not part of the Five Families.” That made little sense. Besides handling Guido and his foot soldier, their problems were not our concern.
“Because the Amato and Tucci families have been strategizing to infiltrate ours,” Marco answered then checked his phone. “Dante’s jet has landed. He’ll be here in half an hour.”
“I want in on this meeting.” My fingers tightened on the glass. Nico murmured his agreement. We already knew what was going down, and the threats Guido made directly affected me. Marco nodded. It was good he’d agreed, but I would have found a way in even if he hadn’t.
Footsteps sounded on the stairs, and all six of us pointed our guns at the stairwell. When Luc reached the basement floor and saw the barrels of our guns aimed at him, he laughed. The newest boss looked like a professional athlete but with light-blue eyes that reflected an age far beyond his years. The amused grin couldn’t detract from the old soul that lived inside him or the ruthless predator that would come out if he or any of those he loved were crossed.
As soon as we realized it was Luc, we holstered our weapons. “What are you doing back? I thought you had a few more days in Italy?” Summer had called me before the fiasco with Allen to ask about Braxton Hix contractions. She wasn’t that far along, but she’d been reading a pregnancy book and was getting ahead of herself. “Is Summer okay?”
“Yeah.” Luc helped himself to a clean glass and splashed two fingers of whiskey in it. “And you’ve got your dates wrong. We’d planned to come back today. What’s going on?”
Max filled Luc in on everything that had happened with Guido. He must not have gone with Summer to the living room, or he would have seen Hailey sitting there with my sister and the other women.
“So we’re waiting for Dante before doing anything to Guido?” Luc glanced at the door. “That’s bullshit.”
“I agree.” I stood and bypassed Marco’s attempted grab to join Luc behind the door. We would take care of the traitor. There were many things we could do, but at the moment, bullets to the head and heart would satisfy me the most—no need to prolong his life.
