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“Mia was young, too young to know her parents were international diamond smugglers. Too naïve to know her brother attempted to blackmail the mafia. Only the stars understood how we would come together.”
He rubbed his palms on his thighs.
“Marco, it was Giada. She made the mark, she initiated the drop, she pulled the fucking trigger, and she wasn’t working alone. If it weren’t for Mia, Carlo and I would both be dead. With no body, I wasn’t sure she’d accept my death.”
My gut clenched. “Giada is a made woman for the Bruno family. She has Savio. She slept in our father’s bed.” My voice grew louder. I surged to my feet and paced across the room. “Are you sure?”
“Until today, the only thing I was sure about is that she wanted me dead. I didn’t know if it was on your order.”
“My order?You think I’d put a hit out on my own brother?”
Luca shrugged. “You’ve betrayed me in the past.”
“Christ.” I had. I bowed my head. Neither of us would ever forget I’d betrayed him with Giada. I wasn’t sure he’d ever forgive me, but that he could believe I’d orchestrate his death had guilt ripping through me.
Gripping his arm, I tugged him to his feet, folded an arm around his shoulders and hugged him hard to my chest. For two beats of my heart, he froze, then his arms went around me, and his body jerked with an excruciating release of emotions.
For a moment, I simply held my younger brother. “I’m sorry,” I whispered as I cradled his head in my palm. “I’m sorry that you would ever doubt my loyalty to you.” I pulled back. There was only truth between us. “I made mistakes, but never have I ever wished you dead. You’re my brother. Nothing is more important than family.”
Tears slid down Luca’s face. “I’m sorry I couldn’t be there for papà. Do you think he would’ve forgiven me?”
His tears seeped into my palm as I cupped his cheek. “There’s nothing to forgive.”
“He’s here with us,” Stefano said. “He’d want the cunt to pay.”
Carlo leaned against the wall. “I think we all want a piece of her, and I’m not talking about her ass, since we’ve all had access to that, or her heart since she doesn’t have one. I want one of Stefano’s knives. I’ll take an arm since she cost me mine.”
For the first time, I noticed the way the fingers on Carlo’s left hand curved into a claw.
“I’m working on getting mobility back, but the bullet damaged the nerves and tendons.” He flexed his fingers, but the slight movement was limited. “I’ve got about thirty percent usage.”
I glanced at both of my brothers. “Nothing meant more to papà than his sons.”
“Which is why she’s angled for a way to get to all of you,” Ant said. “She’s going to hear about Luca. There were soldiers in the house when we found the evidence of your life with Mia. And soldiers are worse than women. They talk.”
“Giada knows about Mia,” Luca said. “Her name and who she is.”
A hot ball of fury boiled in my gut. “She knows?”
“Marco, she knew before I did.” Luca sat on the edge of the desk. “She’s not working alone, but my operation is just getting underway.” Luca clasped his hands together. “I’m running Mia’s empire, but I won’t expose her to any more violence. The mafia took everything from her. Alex and Ronan lied to you to protect her.”
“Does she know of our family’s connection?”
“She knows everything. There are no secrets between us. Her life is mine, and I’ve vowed to always protect her. My connection to the Bruno mafia is severed, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to see Stefano extricate information from Giada. But as I said, she’s not working alone. Someone has a vendetta against the Bruno’s.”
“How is your security now?” I asked Luca. “Do you trust your ex-military and motorcycle club muscle?”
“I trust Hudson. He’s only brought in guys he’s served with. The motorcycle thing seems to be a part of it.”
Stefano twirled his knife, the point resting on the tip of his finger without piercing the skin. “Did she do it?” He lifted his gaze to lock with mine. “Did she kill him?”
I didn’t know how to answer him. Did she kill our father? She claimed to love him. Giada wanted power, but my father kept nothing from her. And only a ruthless woman would put a hit out on her son’s father. Savio hadn’t been the same since losing Luca. Neither had Stefano.
“If she did, I’ll make sure she suffers,” I said. “I need Emilio to do a deep dive on Giada. See if there is a connection to Jilani. She was against my marriage to Allegra.”
“We need to find out if she had an association with Adami.” Stefano slid the knife back into the sheath. “She was quick to pull the trigger.”
What I’d assumed was her grief over my father, could’ve been self-preservation. She’d been too familiar with him, using his first name.
