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"No thanks," Primo grumbles.
Giovanni tosses Teddy's arm off his shoulder.
"Awe, come on guys! This is our moment! You know, like in the movies, when the brothers all finally get back together and make up."
"Good thing we're not in the movies," Giovanni huffs.
Teddy shrugs. "I dunno. We could be in books," he says with a bit of a smirk.
"Enough, Teddy," I grumble, pushing past the discomfort. "The Irish. What happened?"
"Ran security ops on them," Giovanni says, settling into the role of the strategist he once shunned. "Turns out Declan wasn't as clever as he thought. When he sent that group to the docks to get slaughtered, he pissed off a lot of people."
"His ranks turned on him, huh?" I muse, the news a cold comfort.
"Exactly." Primo nods. "No one was at the warehouse 'cause they were too busy sticking knives in each other's backs. No one's coming for you over Declan."
"Good riddance, then." My lips curl into a half-smirk. "So, he's really dead?" My voice rasps. "I only got a few good hits in. That shouldn't have been enough to kill him."
Primo nods solemnly, his face etched with lines of concern I'm not used to seeing. "Evelyn was there," he says. "She saw everything."
At her name, something primal stirs within me—a desperate need to see her, to confirm she's safe. I try to push myself up again, but my body screams in protest, every muscle aflame with pain. "Where are they? Evelyn and Evan?"
"Easy, brother." Teddy's hands press against my chest, firm yet gentle, trying to ease me back down. "You're not ready to?—"
"Damn it, Teddy, I need to see them!" I growl, batting his hands away, the surge of adrenaline giving me a momentary edge over the pain.
That's when the door creaks open and life, in all its chaotic beauty, pours into the room. Evan's small frame appears in the doorway, his face lighting up.
"Tino!" The boy's voice cuts through the tension, and before I can brace myself, he barrels into the room and launches himself onto the bed, straight into my arms.
"Hey, little man." I manage to catch him, ignoring the protests of my battered body, and hug him close. The kid's energy is infectious, and for a brief moment, I forget about all my worries.
"Glad you're alive," Evan mumbles into my shoulder, his words muffled by the fabric of my shirt.
"I'm hard to kill," I reply, my voice fierce with a promise I intend to keep. "I told you I'd never leave your side, and I meant it."
From the corner of my eye, I catch Primo's stunned expression. "Who are you, and what the hell have you done with my brother?" His tone is incredulous, laced with disbelief.
"Changed a lot too since you first met my sister," Evelyn chimes in from the doorway, her voice steady but not without warmth. She stands there, a vision of strength.
"Your sister brings out the best in people," Primo concedes with a nod towards Evelyn, acknowledging the truth in her words.
My gaze locks with Evelyn's. The world outside this room fades to nothing—there's just her, Evan, and the unspoken emotions swirling between us like a gathering storm.
Evelyn's hand waves through the air with authority. "Alright, alright, enough business talk. Constantino needs to rest."
Teddy, all grins and mischief, looks to Evan with a glint in his eye. "Hey kiddo, wanna race? See who's the fastest sprinter in this old mansion?"
"Y-yeah!" Evan's face lights up like it's Christmas morning, and off they dash, two blurs of energy disappearing down the grand hallway.
Giovanni and I lock eyes. "I'm glad you're okay," he says.
I nod. "Thanks for making the trip," I say, knowing he likely flew in from Miami just to see my dumb ass laid up in a bed.
"It was the right thing to do," he says before giving me another nod and leaving the room. My brother Giovanni has never been much for words, but I know him well enough to know that's as much of an olive branch for him as someone waving a white flag over their head.
I hate to admit it, but a weight lifts off my shoulders. Maybe I tried to pretend like it didn't matter, but the fact that my brothers had shunned me obviously did affect me.
