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Mia walked past me and took the spot on Rex’s left. A half smirk pulled at his lips, but other than that, he didn’t make her move. I took the place next to hers because there was no chance in hell I’d let her out of my sight again.
“I believe the last time we were gathered like this, our families were still smuggling rum.” He chuckled. “I appreciate you making the time to come here tonight.”
“Get on with it, Rex,” the old woman said in a smoker’s voice. “If it’d been up to me, I wouldn’t be here.”
“Maybe this will be of interest to you, Signora Vittoria. As of last night, the entire Gallo family has been wiped out. Even the bastards.” He sat back with a satisfied look on his face when the old lady gasped, making the sign of the cross. His gaze fell on the two empty chairs next to her.
“The Big 5 is now down to four,” one of the men said, playing with the ring on his pinky. “Is that why we’re here, Rex? You could’ve sent an email and saved us all the aggravation.” He rose to his feet.
“Sit down, Santino.” Signora Vittoria’s voice was final.
Santino, who before couldn’t care less, now regarded the old lady with interest. He didn’t do as he was told, but he didn’t move either.
“No, that’s not why we’re here, Santi. The society has been around for a long time. In one night, we lost an entire family. I brought you here to call a truce, which will stay in place until we figure out who’s trying to wipe us out.” The obstinate look in Rex’s eyes made Santino plop himself on the chair with a devil-may-care smirk on his face
“A truce?” he asked. “Like what? We work together, one big happy family? No, thank you. I’ll take my chances.”
The room erupted into a bouquet of angry voices and frantic questions. I glanced at Mia, and she shook her head once. This wasn’t our fight. Someone out there had not only learned about the Gallo family’s connection to the society, but they had also figured a way to find and eliminate them all.
“Gallo,” Mia mouthed the word.
Several members of that family had attended our wedding. I knew that because I helped the FBI catalog their photos and names—every one of them. Was the FBI behind all this? If they were, I had not been briefed on it. Wouldn’t be the first time the agency went behind my back to advance their own cause, though. To hell with the risk I was taking by playing the part of Chase Rossi.
One by one, the different family members stood and headed for the door. They were under attack, and they knew that. But the idea of a truce to save the rest of the society was inconceivable to them. I stood and helped Mia out of her seat. My handgun had been confiscated before I even left the penthouse. For Mia’s sake, I hoped the others were required to leave their weapons at home as well. She turned to me, her hand hovering over her belly. For the first time since I met her, I saw fear in her eyes. Not for her, but for our baby.
Rex shot to his feet. “There’s a traitor in our midst. If you leave, I’ll assume you’re it. I’ll have no choice but to retaliate. The bylaws are clear on this. Someone betrayed the society, and I intend to find out who. There are only two sides to this coin. Which side are you on?” His gaze fell on the old man to his right and the woman with him before it shifted to Signora Vittoria.
In the next breath, several bodyguards burst through the doors, guns out as they found their bosses. The family members didn’t have weapons, but their lackeys did. This was a standoff. If this was my fight, I would have bet on Rex. But these people had too much history and too much blood on their hands to find a reason to trust each other. My spine spasmed as I stood there with nothing to defend myself, playing human shield to Mia. Time to leave.
I stepped back, reaching behind me to find Mia’s hand and hitting nothing but air. When I turned, she was gone. I scanned the dark corners of the room and every face in front of me. Fuck.
“I just told you someone wants us dead. And this is your solution? Shoot the remaining society members?” Rex nodded to one of the men next to him. He immediately left his post protecting Rex and came to stand next to me.
After the group scattered into the waiting room and then the hallway, another man in a dark suit shut the door. I shoved the guy standing guard next to me and glowered at Rex. “Where the hell is my wife?”
“I read your file.”
My blood rushed to my feet. Which file? Tyler’s or Chase’s?
“Rossi raised you outside of all this. Soon you’ll learn that relationships will get you killed.” He sat on his chair and downed his untouched drink.
“Why did you bring us here? This isn’t our fight.”
“As of tonight, it is.”
“What?”
“Isn’t this what your grandfather wanted? A seat at the table for the Rossi family?”
Everything Jax Rossi had done since he became head boss had been toward this goal, the Big 5. The irony wasn’t lost on me. Rossi didn’t make it here because I killed him. Now Rex was offering me the job.You keep what you kill.
When I first started this assignment, I had a pretty good understanding of who the bad guys were. From this side of the fence, though, things weren’t so clear. “And if I refuse?”
“No one’s ever refused.” Rex shrugged.
“What exactly are you offering?”
“Jax had our protection. Whenever things didn’t go his way, we’d step in...quietly. Now I’m asking you to return the favor. Find the assholes who are doing this to us.”
