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“Yep,” I offer. “It was.”
“Heard we’re due for some heavy rain, though.”
“Yeah. I heard the same.”
I’m relieved when the door to the bar swings open with a loud crash against the wall, drawing the attention of everyone in the room.
Relieved, that is, until I see who’s on the other side of it.
Julian Castellani.
CHAPTER19
MAX
Julian saunters into the bar,his mere presence sending a wave of mutters throughout the establishment. It’s an Italian-owned bar, and even those not in the Family business know exactly who Julian Castellani is. Sandro’s younger brother has a reputation that precedes him—a ruthless assassin who enjoys the thrill of the kill a little too much.
I quite like him, although he’s threatened to kill me more than once. It’s thewayhe does it. He’s got a lot of charm, and that bright Hollywood smile of his goes a long way.
“Oh,shit,” I hear Rook squeak. He stares at me in horror, and I know what he’s thinking: that I might have told Julian about Rook and Giddy trash-talking him the first day we met. I give Rook a quick, reassuring shake of the head, but he sinks down low in his chair as Julian looks around, locks eyes with me, then walks up to our table.
“Well, well, well, sothisis where the Espositos like to drink,” Julian says loudly. “Mind if I join you?” He drags a chair up to the head of the table and sits, uninvited. He greets everyone with a disarming grin, but the crew stays silent. “Pedretti!” Julian exclaims. “What anabsolute coincidenceto see you here. I’ve been meaning to check up on you. You see, Sandro’s worried about you—no contact, no updates. He wanted to make sure you’re still alive and kicking. We miss your face, old friend.”
My hands grip hard around my pint glass as I force a smile. “I’m fine, Julian. No need to worry.”
Bricker turns to look at me, and his eyes are a cold shower, dousing any lingering heat between us.
“Of course, of course,” Julian replies, his eyes flicking between Bricker and me. “Just making sure our favorite security expert is doing alright. Well—aren’t you going to introduce me to your new friends?”
Underneath the table, my leg starts to bounce, and I press down on it to make it stop. The situation is spiraling out of control, and I need to find a way to regain it before things become even more dangerous.
For all of us.
Bricker’s neck has gone red, his eyes narrowing dangerously as he glares at me. “I guess you showed us where your loyalties lie, huh?” he snaps.
The rest of the crew sit in shocked silence at Bricker’s outburst, except for Delligatti.
Hesmiles.
“Bricker,” I say, forcing my voice to remain calm and steady, “there’s been a misunderstanding. Julian—” I glance at him and sigh at his expectant smile. “How about we step away for a moment to discuss this?”
“Yeah,” Bricker snarls. “Why don’t we?”
As Bricker and Julian follow me to a quiet corner of the bar, I can feel the rest of the crews’ eyes on us. Conversation begins again, but it’s not as free or loud as before.
“Julian,” I say, turning to him, “you can tell Sandro I’m fine and that I’m doing my job. You didn’t need to chase me up.”
Julian smirks, looking between Bricker and me, and takes a long breath through his nose. “Mm,” he says thoughtfully. “And is your job theonlything you’re doing?”
“Enough.” My patience is already wearing thin.
“It’s Fabrizio, isn’t it? Fabrizio Soldano,” Julian says to Bricker.
“Not that it’s any of your business,” Bricker shoots back, “but I go by ‘Bricker.’”
“Do you know, I think I prefer ‘Fabrizio Soldano,’” Julian says, his voice honeyed and condescending. “I have a question for you, Fabrizio Soldano. Do you have any idea how valuable Pedretti is? To my brother? Tome?” There’s a veiled threat behind his words, and I see Bricker’s fists clench at his sides.
“Alright,” I interject, before things escalate further. “Let’s all just cool off. Julian, I appreciate your concern, but everything is fine. And Bricker, I didn’t know Julian was going to pull this stunt.”
