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Leonardo looks at him with narrowed eyes. “Excuse me?” he says slowly.
“It seems your boys have been busy, De Luca,” I remark with a chuckle. I look back at where Marco’s face is hard and drawn, and I also look at Giovanni, who looks furious. Apparently he was unaware of anything else going on. God, this family is a mess. “I do believe your brother has also been busy trying to secure an alliance with another certain family. Isn’t that right, Giovanni?” I say casually, looking at the man in question.
Leonardo rounds on his brother. “What other family?” Normally, Leonardo is a cool one, but this time, this seems to have sent him over the edge and he’s reacting instead of thinking. Which is exactly the kind of advantage I need to ensure this goes my way.
“I don’t know what he’s talking about,” Giovanni replies stiffly. “And you’re purposely letting him distract you instead of focusing.” He looks at Gia with menace filled eyes. “It seems your daughter has been whoring herself out to him long enough that she’s convinced him to marry her. An annulment will be easy enough to get.”
“Oh, come now Giovanni,” I chid. “I mean it’s definitely not out of the realm of possibility she’s been promised to others. After all, when we met the other night, didn’t you promise her to me as well? The joke was on you because she was already mine and I was going to marry her anyway, but it was interesting to see you try to fuck me and your brother over at once.” Giovanni’s eyes are blazing as he stares at me. “Or, isn’t that why you have Rafaele Parisi here to try and take over your brother’s territory? All because you promised Gia to him so you could forge a big enough alliance to take your brother and nephews down before moving on to me and the other families.”
That little bomb gets a few reactions. Giovanni’s sons immediately fan out and pull their guns. Marco and his brothers do the same, and Marco yells, “You son of a bitch. I’ll kill you!” Giovanni’s face turns to stone, and Leonardo’s goes molten. Carmen, the bitch that she is, inches forward, trying to figure out a way to get close to Gia, but Sofia and Zeno both counter her, preventing her from getting close.
More guns are drawn, more stances taken, and I release Gia’s hand to stand fully in front of her, protecting her. Dante quickly moves into position at my side, but slightly behind to protect Gia and my left flank. Lazaro moves into position on my right, creating a wall so that no one can get to her. I can hear Gia’s breathing picking up, but I don’t look at her. My gaze never leaves the men currently yelling at each other in the aisle.
“You’re a fucking snake,” Marco yells at his uncle. “I told Father you weren’t to be trusted.”
“Oh, and you are?” I laugh, interrupting them. “You tried to sell your sister out to the Carusos so you had backing before you took on your father. Or is that not why you’ve been forging alliances with the enemy?”
“Son?” Leonardo says tightly, staring at his eldest son.
Marco is starting to sweat now, and I brace. He’s the one with the temper and the one to look out for, because he’s the one that will start shooting first. And if that’s the case, things are going to go downhill fast. “I was only trying to ensure strong alliances,” Marco grits out, and that’s when I see a couple things. It seems that even his own brothers are divided, as are his cousins. Sebastian and Mateo stand side to side with their brother, while Dario and Antonio look unsure of where to position themselves. Giovanni’s two eldest sons, Lorenzo and Orlando, flank their father, while the youngest two, Emilio and Marcello both remain in place.
A family divided will fall as my father used to say, and in this moment the old bastard is right. Because lines are being drawn.
“So you went to another family and tried to trick them into marriage with your sister, when you knew full-well she was promised and sold to another?” Leonardo hissed. “You stupid boy.” He moves forward but stops when Marco swings his gun at him. I hear Gia gasp softly behind me, but again, I don’t look at her.
“No, what I am, is smart,” Marco says, some of the anger dissipating, and in its place is smug arrogance. “Fuck, you didn’t even see what was right under your nose the entire time. Your time is done, old man, and it’s time for me to step into the shoes that you should have given me a long time ago. You spend so much time fighting with your own brother for control you don’t see the possibilities in front of you. Starting with that whore of a sister of mine. Married to the Carusos, I’d be unstoppable. I had no idea they were already aligned with fucking Armani, but it’s no harm, no foul. I have other options and once I get Gia out of here, I’m going to ensure I find the ones that will make us bigger and stronger than any of you were capable of.”
“And what the hell do you think is going to happen when Gregorio Esposito finds out our deal is void?” Leonardo demands furiously. “Do you think he’s going to let this stand?”
Marco shrugs carelessly. “I don’t give a fuck. If he causes problems, I’ll deal with him and I’ll take over his business too.”
“You Americans are a foolish lot,” Pietro comments, drawing their attention. “You promise and trade your women like cattle, like they mean nothing. You have no honor behind your word.” He gives Marco a look that has the man looking wary. “You came to me to promise your sister, with the supposed blessing of your father. And yet, come to find out, he knows nothing. And what did you think was going to happen when I found out about your double-cross, boy? Did you think I was going to let it go? Just let it slide?”
“Women are worth nothing,” Giovanni scoffs, apparently unable to keep his thoughts to himself. “They’re a hole to fuck and bear children, but they’re a worthless pile of bones other than that. And you’re a fool to put more stock in them than that.”
“On that we will disagree,” Pietro returns, before looking back at me. “It seems you’ve married into a family full of problems, Nico. I hope you know what you’re doing.”
I give him a cool smile. “I don’t give a flying fuck about them. Gia is an Armani now, and the De Lucas can fight amongst themselves to find out who is going to emerge victorious.”
“I will not stand for this!” Leonardo fumes.
It’s then that the sound of shouts fill the halls outside, along with shots. And all hell breaks loose. Screams fill the room from the staff, and I’m moving quickly, scooping up my new bride while Dante covers my back as I run to get her to safety. Bullets whiz through the room, and I rush for the back corner where I know there is a secret door that Gia and Sofia can slip in to to keep them safe. I slap my hand on the wall, and the door pops open. “Get in,” I order Gia. “I will get you once we deal with this.”
“Nico, be careful,” she cries, clearly frightened.
“I’ll be back for you,topolina,” I tell her, ushering inside.
“Don’t let her get away!” I hear Giovanni scream as he runs forward, and right behind him are his sons and a man I don’t recognize. From the wild look on his face, I’d have to say this is either Rafaele Parisi or someone very close to him. They all raise their guns, but I quickly shove Sofia inside with Gia and slam the door. I can’t worry about them right now.
I quickly pull my gun and fire, while Dante does the same. I manage to clip Orlando in the shoulder, making him cry out and stagger back before falling on his ass. “We need to get out of this position,” I tell Dante tightly. “They’ve got us cornered.”
“On it,” Dante replies, before starting to maneuver us toward the terrace doors. I hear noise outside as well.
“I’ll kill you, you fucking bastard,” the man with Giovanni snarls, firing shots at me, but missing me from the wild swing of his hand. “She was fucking mine and you took her. And when I kill you, I’m going to fuck her in your blood. Make her watch your lifeless eyes as I break her.”
I fight down the cold rage I feel at his words. “Your mistake was siding with the losing side, Parisi,” I tell him darkly as I dive out of the way of his next bullet, rolling along the floor to keep from being a target. I hear Dante curse, but I don’t look his way. Instead, I quickly get to my feet just in time to see Alessio, Alonzo, and Davide all converging on the men.
Distracted by fending off the newcomers, I look around and see that Leonardo’s men have surrounded him, while Marco and his brothers are fighting off his other brothers and cousins. “Kill him then!” I hear Leonardo ordering. “They are no family of mine.”
