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My father paused for a long moment and I looked up at Rocco with a frown. “How’s that?” he finally asked, clearly taken aback.
“What do you think?” Ricardo asked. “I want to marry Allegra.”
Rocco started, reaching for the doorknob, but I stopped him. I wanted to hear the rest of what Ricardo had to say. I was fuming, but at the same time I knew that if we went in too early, we wouldn’t know about Enzo. Rocco hadn’t said much about it, but I knew he wanted to know if Enzo was involved. I knew that it affected him deeply. Enzo had been like a father to him, had taken him in from foster care when he was young, and if Enzo had betrayed him, we needed to know. So we waited.
“You want to marry my daughter?” my father asked in disbelief. “I didn’t even know you and Allegra knew each other in that way.”
“We don’t,” Ricardo said quickly. “But I’d like to. And besides, don’t you think that uniting the Gallos and the Rossis would be profitable? Think about it, Romeo.”
“I don’t use my daughter as a bargaining tool,” my father said coolly, but Ricardo wasn’t giving up.
“You said she’s rebellious, right? Well, I can keep her under control,” he said. “I can rule the Gallo and the Rossi family.”
“That’s not going to happen, Ricardo,” my father said. “Allegra’s interests lie elsewhere.”
Rocco’s gaze snapped to mine and I shrugged. I knew that he was talking about Rocco, but I couldn’t really explain things to Rocco right now, even if I wanted to, which I didn’t. I didn’t want Rocco to know I still felt that way about him. I didn’t even know what I was feeling myself, only that I knew I wanted him.
“Where?” Ricardo asked, his tone annoyed. “She was just flirting with me at the last meet.” I wanted to scoff but kept it to myself. Rocco rolled his shoulders again, and I knew he was getting antsy. He wanted to go in there and shut Ricardo up, but we needed to wait a little longer.
“I don’t claim to understand my daughter’s affections,” my father said slowly. “But I do know she’s not interested.”
“I’ll be the judge of that when she gets back,” Ricardo said in a low tone.
“Does Enzo know of your plans to take over both families?” my father asked.
“My father doesn’t know his ass from a hole in the ground,” Ricardo snarled.
The tension in the hallway escalated as Rocco and I looked at each other. Rocco’s hand tightened on the doorknob, his patience clearly wearing thin. I could see the burning anger in his eyes as Ricardo talked about Enzo that way. I placed my hand back on his arm, silently urging him to wait a little longer.
My father’s voice grew colder. “Enzo may surprise you, Ricardo. Underestimate him and you might end up regretting it.”
“He’s too old to understand,” Ricardo scoffed. “He’s got power, but he doesn’t know how to use it anymore.”
“What’s your plan? Please enlighten me, Ricardo,” my father said, sarcasm dripping from his voice.
“I have connections, Romeo. Powerful allies. We want to change things in this city. Make some bigger moves.”
“Are you talking about more drugs? Sex trafficking? You know I don’t get involved with anything like that,” my father warned.
I could almost feel Ricardo shrugging. “It won’t matter, after me and Allegra take over. She’s a powerful ally to have, and she knows your business like the back of her hand, they say.”
My father sounded honestly shocked. “My daughter is smart, but it’s not like she runs things,” he lied. I definitely did run the books and other parts of my father’s business.
“Come on, Romeo, don’t play dumb,” he replied, parroting my father’s earlier words. “You know as well as I do that the united front between the Gallos and the Rossis can create something unstoppable.”
Silence enveloped the room, tension hanging in the air. Rocco’s grip on the doorknob relaxed slightly as his gazes met mine. We both knew that Ricardo’s plans were insane, that he was into things that neither Enzo or my father would ever be involved in.
“We won’t be a part of your grand vision, Ricardo,” my father finally said firmly.
Ricardo's laughter filled the room, sharp and mocking. “Tradition and honor won’t save you, Romeo. The world is changing, and it’s time you adapt or crumble.”
“Do you think it’s time?” I asked, and then, before Rocco could answer, everything seemed to fall apart.
22
ROCCO
Footsteps sounded down the hall. Romeo must have alerted the guards that something was up, because I could hear at least two men on the way to his office. It happened so fast that Allegra and I struggled to exit the small room at the same time, getting stuck in the doorway. Finally, I burst free first and then I hurried to Romeo’s office. Ricardo was holding a gun, and when the two men entered the room, he kept it steady and trained on Romeo. “I’ll shoot him if you try to take me down,” he snarled. “I’m doing this.”
