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It’s becoming a habit, him putting the Famiglia second, and it needs to fucking stop.
“Dario, I know you’re angry—” Rocco begins.
“You have no fucking idea how angry I am,” I say through gritted teeth. A lot has changed since our father killed himself. Rocco has grown the Famiglia from strength to strength, but there’s a lot he has to learn, and one thing he’s forgotten is that the Famiglia comes first. Always. “We spoke about this, Roc,” I growl.
“They kidnapped Chloe,” he snarls.
“She’s not our business,” I snap back. “She belongs to the Gallagher’s, Rocco. She does not belong to us. Our brother, our fucking brother, almost died and you let those fucking Irish bastards deal with those who harmed him. Where the fuck is the man I respected?” I ask, knowing damn well that I’m treading a very thin line. “Hmm? Where’s the man who would kill anyone who dared come after the Famiglia? Where’s that man?” I laugh mirthlessly. “I’ll tell you where he is—in the pocket of his fucking wife.”
“Watch it,” he hisses at me.
I shake my head. He has no idea just how worse he’s made everything. How fucking stupid he was to allow the Gallagher’s to take their revenge above us.
“Dario…” I hear the soft Irish lilt but shake my head. “Please,” she pleads with me.
“Stay out of this, Jade,” I say thickly. I’m beyond pissed, and right now, the way I’m feeling, I’m not going to be able to watch my mouth and the words that come out. I could hurt her feelings if she stays.
“Watch it,” Rocco snarls, advancing toward me. “Do not speak to my wife like that.”
“Your wife,” I hiss back, “is the reason we’re all at fucking war.”
“What?” he snaps, rocking back on his heels.
Once again, my laugh is without humor. “Seriously?” I ask him, looking between him and Jade and seeing that neither of them have any idea what I’m talking about. “Fucking hell, Rocco. You should know how the men talk. You should have known the moment you let those fucking Irish bastards take our revenge that the men would be riled, and rightly so.”
“Now wait a minute,” Jade hisses. “My family needed revenge too.”
I nod. “Never said they didn’t. But what happened to our revenge Jade? Hmm? When did your family come above us? What makes the Irish so fucking powerful that the Famiglia gets pushed aside? If anyone should have wiped out that fucking MC, it should have been Rocco, me, Denis, and his sons. Not you. But of course, you’ve got Rocco wrapped around your finger. He’s lost his balls.”
Jade’s face pales, and she looks at me with wide eyes. “Dario,” she whispers, shaking her head.
“You think that?” Rocco says, his words filled with bite. “You truly think that.”
I stare at the man who I know will lead us without fail, the man who has our respect, our blind loyalty—had it all—and see that he’s lost his way somehow. “I do. And I’m not the only one. What you allowed to happen, it let everyone know that the Famiglia isn’t your first priority. You took the oath, brother. You took it just as we all did. La Famiglia prima di tutto. You have it fucking tattooed on your skin, brother.”
“What would you have done?” he sneers as he runs a hand through his hair. “Hmm? Tell me, Dario, what would you have done?”
“I would have made sure I was there when those cunts died, Roc. I would have ensured that I was part of their deaths, that I knew I did everything I could have to ensure I got the vengeance the Famiglia needed.” I move toward the door. This conversation is going nowhere. “Rocco, it’s time to decide where you stand. No one is telling you to not love your wife. We’re demanding that you put the Famiglia first against anyone else. You failed to do that, and you need to make amends.”
I leave the house, not willing to argue about it any longer. He fucked up, and he needed to know he did. I would never disrespect him by having this discussion in public, hence why I had it at his home, where it was just the three of us. It’s not just Rocco who needs to understand that he fucked up, but Jade also. She’s so involved in her own family’s business that she thinks it’s okay to be involved in ours. It doesn’t work that way. She is not Famiglia, and she never will be. She’s Irish, and an underboss at that.
“Dario,” Rocco says as I reach my car. I turn and raise a brow. “You’re right,” he begins. “I should have put the Famiglia first.”
Well, at least he can admit it. “It’s not me you need to apologize to, it’s Elio. You betrayed him.” I slide into my car and start the engine.
There must be something I can do to ensure Elio gets his revenge.
“What the fuck is wrong with you?” Beppe asks, his arms folded across his chest. “Is this about Rocco and his wife?”
I raise a brow. “What about them?”
He sighs as he glances around the bar, wanting to be sure we’re not overheard. It’s loud enough that we shouldn’t be. There are asses on every seat here, and it’s always this way. It’s why I like coming here. That and I’m part owner of it. It brings in a lot of money and is one of the legitimate businesses that I own. “Dario, I was inducted into the Famiglia the same day you were. We both have worked our way to where we are. We know the ins and outs of what goes on within the Famiglia. So tell me, why are you acting as though I’m stupid?”
He’s right. Everyone knows shit’s going down. “I’m just pissed at what went down.”
He nods. “You have every right to be. You’re also not the only one. The men are angry that the Gallagher’s got there first. A lot have questions about why Rocco was never told. Many think his wife is playing him.”
Christ, that’s some take on it, but I can’t deny that it’s not a reach, especially when you don’t know the full story of what’s gone on. “What are your thoughts?”
