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It consumed me as I forced myself to keep breathing.
Asher’s face had gone blank, but I knew he felt the pain. Vince had practically raised him. His shoulders tensed, and his fists clenched, but he said nothing.
Lucy held her head high, but she let fat drops of tears wet her cheeks. They splashed onto the floor. One by one.
I watched them fall, so I had something to do that didn’t involve violence as I waited for someone to say something.
Instead, a phone rang.
Niccolaio pulled his phone out, his eyes widening when he took in the screen.
“Holy shit, guys.” He showed us the name on the screen. “It’s Vincent.”
We all sprang into action, crowding around Niccolaio as he accepted the video call. But when Ranieri Andretti’s face came onto the screen, I nearly lost it.
Black hair. Green eyes. Niccolaio’s same jaw.
I’d never met him in person. Not with the war between our families. But I felt like I’d seen him before with how much he resembled his brother.
Ranieri opened his mouth, so fucking smug. “Hello, brother.”
Niccolaio’s fist clenched, but it stayed hidden from the phone camera’s view. “Why the fuck do you have Vincent Romano’s phone, Ranie?”
“It’s Ranieri to you.”
“Just answer the fucking question.”
“You owe me a blood debt, and imagine my surprise when Vincent fucking Romano just offers himself as a sacrifice.”
Shit.
I bit back the swear when all I wanted to do was scream.
Blood for blood. The Romano family had taken a caporegime from the Andretti, so they would take one from us. The blood debt. The only way to settle this war.
And Vince had given himself up.
Of course, he had.
Not just because he had cancer, but because he—despite being the head of enforcement—believed in peace and sacrificing himself for family.
I hated his loyalty right now. I wished he had Elsa’s selfishness and self-preservation, so he’d at least be here. Safe.
“No,” Niccolaio protested. “I don’t accept his sacrifice.”
Ranie smiled. Genuinely.
A little too eager for the blood debt to settle.
“Well, it’s not really your decision. Is it, Niccolaio? And I most definitely do.” He leaned the phone against something and backed up, so we had a view of the room. Of Vince. “Any last words, Romano?”
A half-eaten steak dinner sat in front of Vince like the last meal prisoners on Death Row received. He had some bruises on his face, but they looked old and tended to.
Vince stared straight into the camera. “Is Asher there?”
Niccolaio passed the phone to Asher, who answered with a guttural, “Vince.”
I didn’t want to, but I cleared the room with Niccolaio, Minka, and Lucy to give Asher privacy.
