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“Grab another bottle of scotch, Grayson.”Resting my elbows on the table, my head in my hands, I let the tears erupt.
All I can see is her.
Grayson pours another drink.
“The bottle, not a glass.” I put my hand out.
“No. We don’t have time right now. Frankie will be here any second. Getting drunk isn’t the answer. I’m sorry to both of you. But if you mess this up, you could lose Rosa. I’m not letting that happen.” Grayson stands like a statue, the scotch firmly in his hand.
Keller firmly grips my shoulder. I can see the tears brimming in his eyes, but he holds them back. “I don’t care what I have to do, brother. I will help you get her back and avenge Mom’s death.”
How is he even still looking at me right now? Why hasn’t he beaten the shit out of me? This is all my fault.
“If you even say what I think you’re going to, Luca. I will knock you the fuck out. You didn’t do this.” Keller pats my back and downs his scotch.
I look down at the crusty blood on my hands. “I’m going to shower.”
* * *
Frankie reacted as wellas expected. Grayson filled him in while I cleaned up. By the time I get downstairs, glass shards cover the kitchen floor. That bottle of scotch is nowhere to be seen.
Frankie’s head snaps up as I step into the room, a darkness flashing across his features.
“You should have told me, Luca. A long time ago. If anything happens to Rosa–” He storms towards me with his fist balled in front of him.
I hold up my hand. “If anything happens to Rosa, I give you full permission to kill me, Frankie. Now, sit down and help us figure this out. We only have a few hours before the wedding. Dante is holding something pretty big over her head, I’m assuming, so we have to play this the right way.”
I take my seat next to Keller. Frankie sits opposite me. “Tell me everything Rosa said to you. She’s a smart girl, she always has been.”
She is, but she is also vulnerable, haunted by her past. I tell him word for word. He leans back and I can see his mastermind working.
“She needs you at that wedding for a reason, Luca. And we need Romano and Maria there.”
He rests his elbows on the table. I light up another cigarette.
“I’ll speak to Romano. I’ll beg him to get Maria to take you back–one more shot. I can play this off, especially if Rosa goes through with this wedding. She isn’t a threat to Maria if she’s married to Dante. They will think they have the upper hand. Then we follow through with our plan. We get them to that warehouse. You get the commissioner filled in. We need their men stopped, so let Jax and the crew deal with them. We end Romano, we end Dante, we take back Rosa.”
I scratch at my stubble. “You are an evil genius, Frankie.”
“I worked with Romano long enough, I can get him eating out of the palm of my hand if I need to. I just need you to play along with Maria for another twenty four hours. Can you do that?”
Grayson pins me with a look.
“Yes.” I don’t know how, but for Rosa, I’ll do anything.
He pushes himself up to stand. “I’ll go make the calls. Grayson, ready that army.”
“On it.” He pulls out his phone.
Frankie looks at Keller. “Look after your brother and make sure he doesn’t do any stupid shit in the next half hour.”
Keller cracks his knuckles and winks at me. “Handled.”
Time seems to crawl by as we wait for Frankie. Every second I’m without Rosa is a lifetime. I don’t know how many times I’ve tried that breathing technique, but it turns out there is no cure for this level of pure rage, grief, and heartbreak.
Frankie waltzes back into the room. “Luca, go take a nap, then get your ass back home. Maria is waiting for you. They will all be attending Rosa’s wedding. You will put on the fucking show of your life. Don’t let them see your weakness. If they do, this is over.”
My weakness is my love for Rosa.
