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“Mario’s wife Gloria told you this. I’m assuming there are reasons for her accusations.”
“You cannot talk your way out of this,” Romeo growls at me. “You admitted yourself you wanted retribution for your father.”
“I didn’t know your father killed mine until today. If you give me a fucking chance to talk, you might learn something. All of you put your fucking weapons down and listen before we start a war we can’t end.” I don’t want to kill them, not like this, with half-truths coming at us like wayward arrows.
“He’s lying,” Tavi says.
“Am I?” I ask him. “You’re a detective now, too?”
“We have evidence that you were with the con artist who tricked Marialena.”
“You keep saying that. I want proof.”
“Wait.”
Marialena’s stopped struggling in my arms. “We can make accusations all day long.” She has a strange look on her face. “Salvatore may be ruthless, but he’s brutally honest. It isn’t like him to lie.”
“It makes sense, though,” Mario says, glaring at me.
“I don’t trust him,” Orlando says.
Romeo takes a step toward me and I brandish my gun.
BOOM
A shot rings out. We all still. Marialena glares at all of us, her gun in hand. “I havenotgiven up everything that ever had meaning to me just to lose it all.” Steel laces her voice, her gorgeous eyes flitting from me to her siblings then back to me.
A knock sounds at the door. Silence reigns for seconds. Another tentative knock.
I steady my voice. “Who is it?”
“Jared, sir.”
I open my mouth to tell him to go away, but before I do, Marialena speaks up. “We can’t talk right now,” she says firmly but gently. “You need to go away.”
“It’s urgent!”
Cursing, I drag her over to the door with me and turn the knob. Wide, terrified eyes look up and meet mine.
“Let me in,” he whispers. “Please. I have to tell you something.” He looks over his shoulder. “If they hear me, they’ll kill me.”
“Talk. It better be fucking important.”
I ignore Marialena’s look of reproach and Romeo’s stance that tells me he’s willing to throw down if I hurt the boy.
When he sees Cristiano unconscious on the ground in front of him, he takes a step back.
“What is it?” I demand.
“If he hears me…”
“Rossi, see if he’s conscious.”
Romeo kicks him. Cristiano doesn’t move.
“Nope.”
Jared speaks in a rush of words, his voice barely above a whisper. “I couldn’t help but overhear,” he says. “I was sent to the storeroom to get extra chairs for the guests. I overheard your mother and cousin talking.”
