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“And maybe you shouldn’t be part of The Enterprise,” Lorenzo shot back. “You can be gone like”—he snapped his fingers—“that.” He grinned, but it wasn’t because he was happy, he was taunting him. “Just like your uncle.”
It was a warning—a threat. A serious one at that. Lorenzo had clearly had enough shit from him.
The room went silent, all members staring at each other, knowing the ramifications if Gio was gone. His territory would be up for grabs.
“Now if you’ve finished bitching”—Lorenzo glanced at Gio—“let’s get to it.” He interlocked his fingers and placed them on the table in front of him. “We have word that a shipment is going to be intercepted.” I zoned out as he told them about the intel that I’d gotten—intel from Remy, who Lorenzo still didn’t know about.
My attention moved to a waiter who was setting up some tables. He was too near for my liking, but there was nothing I could do about it, not while we had all of the members sitting around the table. I had to be at Lorenzo’s side, protecting him in case any of them made a move.
“And to finish off,” Lorenzo said, standing. “We have an announcement to make.” My stomach churned. I didn’t want The Enterprise knowing yet, but it wasn’t up to me to decide. “Dante has a baby on the way. A new addition to the families. The next generation.” It took everything in me not to wince at the thought of the baby being thought of as the next generation, but it was the truth. Which was why, deep down, I wanted it to be a girl, at least then they wouldn’t be expected to continue the family name…and business.
A round of congratulations were had, the men raising their glasses to me. I nodded and smiled, keeping them placated, but inside I was thinking about the future. About what it would hold, not just for the baby, but for me and Navy too.
I’d brought her into this family by accident, and now she was stuck in the middle, with one foot in each camp—us and her father. She’d have to choose a side sooner or later.
I was stuck in my own head as everyone left, leaving just me and Lorenzo, but it wasn’t until we were both back in the SUV with Mateo driving that he said, “You never did tell me where you got your intel from.”
I looked up, catching his gaze in the rearview mirror. “Remy.” He frowned. I scratched my head, grimacing. “Remy was with me while I was away.” Sitting up straighter, I glanced down at my watch. We’d been out of the house for five hours, running errands and checking on shipments before the meeting. “He’s a great computer guy, can hack anything you need.”
“You trust him?” Lorenzo asked.
“With my life. Literally.” I didn’t go into detail, not wanting to bring up the night I’d first met Remy. “He’s here in the city.”
Lorenzo was quiet for a moment, and then, “He came back here with you?”
“Yeah.” I shuffled on the seat, staring out of the window as we turned the corner that the mansion was on. “It took some convincing, but he’s here.” The gates swung open, the elaborate Bs in the metal shining like a beacon, letting everyone know just whose place this was. “He could be an asset to us. Loyal. Unlike Mr. Blue.”
I hadn’t seen Mr. Blue since I’d been back; in fact, I hadn’t heard anyone talk about him. He’d been our intel guy for a while, but we weren’t his only clients. And that was where the problem lay. We needed loyalty above all else.
Lorenzo hummed, his silence telling me that he was thinking. “Bring him to see me in a few days. I’ll meet him, then we can go from there.”
“Got it.”
Mateo pulled to a stop outside of the mansion doors and I jumped out, wanting to go right to Navy. I hadn’t seen her since this morning, and even then she’d been asleep when I’d left. We hadn’t had a real talk, not one that explained what her life was going to be like now.
She’d been plunged into all of this, not having a choice because of the human she was growing inside of her. I’d kept things separate, not wanting to overwhelm her, but the reality was, she needed to understand the dangers now. She had to pick a side, not just for her own good, but so that I knew exactly where I stood.
I couldn’t hear anything as I walked into the entryway. Normally there was always someone pottering about, Ma cooking or Sofia complaining about not having the right color paints, but it was quiet…too quiet.
My feet carried me up the stairs two at a time, and when I finally opened my bedroom door, it was silent in there as well.
“Navy?” I frowned at my empty bedroom as I paced to the bathroom door, but just like the closet, it was empty with the light switched off, and Navy nowhere to be seen.
My heart raced an erratic rhythm as I exited my room and practically ran back down the stairs, running in and out of rooms—the dining room, the kitchen, the main living room. Where the hell was she?
I skirted around the corner, heading toward the command center but halted at the last second when I heard laughter and the front door open. A muscle in my jaw ticced and I slowly spun on the spot, my eyes narrowed on the door.
Aida was first, followed by Sofia and Ma, then Uncle Antonio with a pissed-off and bored expression on his face. Then finally, Navy, a smile on her face, but wincing at each step that she took.
I couldn’t help it. I saw red, my panic at not being able to find her bubbling over as I stalked toward them. It was Ma who looked up first, her mouth opening to say something, but I didn’t give her the chance. My entire focus was on Navy.
“Where the fuck have you been?” I growled, causing her head to snap up.
She blinked, her skin turning pale. “I went out.”
“Out?” I raised a brow, cracking my neck to the side. “Without telling me?” I knew I was sounding like a controlling ass, but after her dad had turned up at the gate and the lengths he’d gone to to get her to sign the adoption paperwork, I didn’t put anything past him.
Not only that, but people knew she was here, they knew that she was pregnant. She was a target.
