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“Look what we got here,” Nick sneered, his eyes raking over us with disdain. “The Callahan princes out for a stroll.”
“Rossi,” I acknowledged with a nod, my voice tight. My gaze shifted to Killian, the man who had been like a brother to me. “Killian.”
“Tristan,” Killian replied, his tone cool and detached. It was a punch in the gut, hearing my name come out so foreign from his lips.
“Never thought you’d lower yourself to these snakes,” I spat out, the anger boiling beneath my skin.
“Turns out they value loyalty more than your dear old dad ever did,” Killian shot back, his words slicing through the last shred of hope that this was all some misunderstanding.
“Is that what this is about? Money? Power?” I could hardly recognize the friend I once knew in the hard lines of his face.
“Let’s just say Rossi knows how to take care of his men,” Killian answered, a shadow crossing his features. “Something you might want to learn now that you’re calling the shots, boss.”
I didn’t miss the heavy sarcasm in the way he said the last word.
Kieran stood beside me, silent but coiled tight like a spring, ready to strike. I could feel the weight of his presence, his support without needing to look at him. We were Callahans; family meant everything, even when it seemed like the world was crumbling around us. And right now, that was more clear than it ever had been.
“Enough with the cryptic crap, Killian. If you’re here, you’re here. You aren’t who I thought you were but I’ll come to terms with that. Right now, what I want is answers. What does Silvio Orsini have to do with any of this?” I demanded, my voice laced with a mix of confusion and rage.
“Think about it, Tristan,” he urged, his eyes flickering with something that might’ve been regret if I didn’t know better. “Malachy’s gone. Adriana’s carrying your kids. The Callahans have a new stronghold but you’re more exposed than ever.”
“Exposed? We can handle our own,” I growled, the implication setting my blood on fire.
“Sure you can,” Killian sneered. “But it made you vulnerable. And vulnerability in our world is like blood in the water. That’s why I made the deal with the Rossis—prompted by none other than Silvio Orsini himself.”
The words hit me like a bullet, straight through the chest. Vulnerable. Adriana. Twins. My mind raced, piecing together the treacherous puzzle that was our lives. The betrayal stung, worse because it came from someone we’d once trusted with our lives.
“Rossis and Orsinis...” Kieran muttered under his breath, disgust evident even in his whisper.
My fists clenched, my nails digging into my palms as I fought the urge to launch at Killian. This wasn’t just business; it was personal—a stab at the heart of our family. The weight of my father’s absence bore down on me, leaving a void where his guidance should have been.
“Traitor,” I spat, losing the battle against my fury. I lunged at him, propelled by a reckless need for retribution.
“Tristan!” Kieran’s voice broke through my red haze, but I was past listening.
Killian dodged, and before I could grasp him, hands grabbed me from all sides. The Rossi brothers, their grips like vices, forced me back against the cold wall. The metal of their guns pressed against my skin, threatening without words. I stood there, pinned like an animal caught in a trap, the rage within me raging against the cold steel aimed at my head.
“Easy, Callahan,” one of the Rossis sneered, his breath foul against my face. “Wouldn’t want to ruin that pretty boy face of yours.”
Nick and Gio released me from their hold against the wall. Kieran was beside me in an instant, an unspoken promise in his eyes that they’d have to get through him first. But we were outnumbered, outgunned, and the realization that this was a fight we couldn’t win—at least not here, not now—coiled in my stomach like a snake.
“Let’s talk,” Killian said, and despite the chaos, his voice was calm, controlled. It made my skin crawl.
“Talk,” I repeated through gritted teeth, glaring daggers at him. “You call this talking?”
“Business, Tristan,” Killian corrected with a shrug. “I’m sorry you’re upset, because I love you just as much as you love me. But this is just business.”
“If that’s true, why are you doing this?” I asked as I backed away from him.
“This has more to do with your father than it does with you,” he said. “But I don’t want to speak for Nick, so…”
“Alright then, Rossi. What the fuck do you want?” I growled, chest heaving, every muscle coiled and ready to strike despite Kieran’s warning grip on my shoulder.
At first, Nick Rossi’s lips curled into a smirk, his eyes dancing with malevolence. “Initially,” he began, circling like a shark scenting blood in the water, “I only wanted a twenty-five percent cut of the Orsinis and Callahans’ business deals going forward.”
“And now?” I snapped, impatience crackling through me like a live wire.
“Now,” he said, stepping closer, invading my space as if he owned it, “it seems things are far more precarious than I realized. I want it all.”
