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“Are you okay? Matias told me about Frankie.”
“Everything is fine. Matias has a big mouth.” I roll my eyes while my oldest brother, Carmine, checks in for the fifth time this morning. I had to ignore him the four other times since I was preoccupied with Frankie.
I’ll have to somehow stop my twin from divulging everything I do to our eldest sibling.
“You can’t be too sure, Ari. You have to stay alert. You have to—maybe I need to come back. I need to prepare you more. I don’t know if you’re ready.”
Matias, my twin comes into the office and takes a seat, and snorts when he hears Carmine.
Carmine grumbles. “Am I on speaker?”
“Absolutely not, big brother. I know how much you hate that.” I lift my finger to my lips, telling Matias to be quiet.
He zips his lips but still smiles when Carmine goes on about the family business.
We’re mafia. I don’t know why he tiptoes around the damn word so much. He is intent on calling it an organization, but I’m going to call it what it is.
Carmine has stepped down so he can focus on his family. His children are over ten years old, and his wife wanted to see the world, so he decided it was time to take a step down and hand me the crown.
I don’t know why he didn’t choose Matias. My twin is calmer and more collected, and his sense of humor isn’t as loud; he definitely isn’t as vulgar because he doesn’t curse as much as I do. I wasn’t the best choice, but when Carmine asked me, I couldn’t say no. He believed in me, and I couldn’t let him down.
“Bianchi isn’t someone to fuck around with. He’s close to the territory. You’ll need to up—”
“—Security,” I say on an exhale, swiveling around in the big leather chair. “I know, Carmine. You forget I’ve watched you do this since I was a boy. I know all the ins and outs. You don’t have to worry, and I won’t be afraid to ask for help if I need it.” I won’t ever ask him for help, but I know it will make him feel better. “Carmine, everything is okay. I have Gianni and Matias. Everything is quiet right now.”
Carmine groans and so does Matias.
“I knew I was on speaker!” he yells.
I narrow my eyes at my twin. “You aren’t on speaker. That was…it doesn’t matter what it was. What’s the big deal?”
“You said quiet. Nothing ever remains quiet. You’ve jinxed yourself.”
“You sound too much like your wife,” I mumble, but a smile takes over my face in the next second. I like her. She’s a great influence on Carmine and they have amazing kids. I love my nieces and nephews.
It’s empty in the house without them. It reminds me of the time when Carmine didn’t have his wife and the house was silent with business.
“My wife always seems to be right,” he says, and I can hear the happiness drip from his voice.
Gianni bursts through the office doors without knocking, his mouth tense, and his eyes drop to the phone, then to me.
“Carmine, I have to go. I’ll catch up with you later.” I hang up before he can say anything. “What’s going on, Gianni? The ring?”
He shakes his head. “We have someone very unexpected at the gate and he wants to meet with you.”
I lean back, checking the calendar to see that I have to leave in a half hour to go to the city and request payment. A few businesses pay us a certain tax to make sure we protect them, or they owe us money for a loan they borrowed from us to have the business in the first place.
“Send them away. Tell them to make an appointment.”
“Yeah,” Gianni drawls with uncertainty. “You aren’t going to want to reschedule this. It’s Bianchi.”
I stop moving, curious as to why the rival mafia boss is on my property. “Is he alone?”
“No, sir.”
“Gianni, don’t call me sir. It’s weird to me.”
He smirks, a knowing twinkle in his eyes. “Yes, sir.”
