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There were tunnels connecting Valentino’s to just about every Romano safe-hold establishment in the city, which meant the businesses connected to the tunnels served as safe entrances and safe exits.
The only reason I hadn’t suggested it in the first place was because it would be a pain in the ass to fortify all of the entrances.
We would have to deploy all of our soldiers to cover the ground and have Black Security, Asher’s security company, cover the church’s interior and exterior.
But Asher never did things half-assed for Lucy. He was full-blown whipped and loving it.
Righting myself, I eyed Uncle Vince, who was usually the voice of reason in these situations. Gio and Asher fought. It was what they did.
There was never any malice between them.
They just liked to exchange words.
Gio fought because he couldn’t understand the concept of someone not being intimidated by him, and Asher fought because he was a smug asshole that liked to fuck with anyone and everyone.
Uncle Vince usually intervened before someone bruised their ego (usually Gio), but when I looked at him, he wasn’t paying attention.
His hair frizzed outward, a tad untidy. A thin layer of bags lined his eyes, which was odd for him, but I figured we all were a bit fatigued from this drawn-out meeting.
A soft smile ignited his face as he stared in the direction of the bar.
I followed his line of sight—right to Ariana De Luca and Tessie.
They were laughing.
Fucking. Laughing.
Again.
I hadn’t held up this meeting on purpose, but an hour and a half had passed since Ariana had barged into the bar.
She wasn’t supposed to be laughing. She was supposed to be pissed, her eyes blazing so red it made my cock twitch.
Instead, those luring irises—the color of Caribbean waters—glowed, and she leaned forward in rapt attention as she talked with Tessie.
And Tessie, the little traitor, was looking at Ariana De Luca like she was a backstage pass to a My Little Pony concert, or whatever the fuck kids listened to these days. Knowing Tessie, it was probably NPR.
Tessie and Ariana’s laughter surprised me.
Hell, it blew me away.
Tessie was hardly a social recluse, but outside of the family, she wasn’t exactly a social butterfly either. Down in Rossi territory, Ma kept her in a tight family- and friends-only circle that had yet to be infiltrated.
In California, Tessie was homeschooled by a tutor, went nowhere without a family member or bodyguard present, and rarely spoke to outsiders.
Yet, she was laughing with Ariana De Luca.
Sure, I had run a background check on Ariana, and it had come up clean—she wasn’t one of those De Lucas.
But still, it was a little uncomfortable to watch the two already so chummy together.
Ariana was monopolizing my attention again, unwittingly stealing another bit of my control. If I didn’t build a larger wall between us and soon, I’d possess no sovereignty over my own mind.
Forcing myself to ignore both Tessie and Ariana, I kicked at Uncle Vince’s leg under the table.
When he turned to meet my eyes, I gave a lazy head nod toward Asher and Gio, who were still going at it, Asher with a carefree smirk on his face and Gio with a slight frown.
Uncle Vince rapped a knuckle on the table once, then pointed between them.
