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My head is pounding and all I want to do is go and find Viola. I’ll make sure she’s safe in my arms for the rest of her life. I can’t go off and do that. Not yet anyway.
We have some good men working for us, without a doubt, but I know we need to get some more allies on our side. Martinez is a motivated man.
Not only did he grab our woman, but he grabbed Viola Guidice. Martinez didn’t say it, but there’s no way he doesn’t know who she is. Which means he’ll probably try and play us off Dante and the Guidice family.
Who knows what kind of lies he’ll weave with Dante if he tries to use Viola as a pawn. When you’re dealing with a madman, you don’t know what way it’s going to go.
The silence in Mateo’s office is deafening. I can’t take it anymore and blurt, “We need to go and see Dante. Just the three of us so we don’t appear to be a threat.” My brothers’ gazes swing toward me. Marco looks surprised and like he’s about to argue with me, but Mateo looks resolved to the fate I’ve just laid out. I look back at Marco because it’s clear Mateo already understands. “Viola’s identity can be used to Martinez’s advantage and Dante must know his sister is missing by now.”
Marco deflates and nods solemnly.
I hate it as much as he does. I wish we could go and hunt down Martinez on our own, but we can’t without putting ourselves and Viola in danger. We need to know what, if any, demands Martinez has given Dante for his sister.
The car ride to the Guidice estate is tense. I’m not surprised to see men swarming around with looks on their faces like they’re liable to kill first and ask questions later. I’m not sure whether the army, which seems to be at Dante’s disposal, will be a good thing or not.
I’m only mildly surprised when the gate swings open after Marco barks into the intercom, “The Falsini triplets are here to see Mr. Guidice.”
The pit in my stomach widens. This can’t be good, but it’s not like we have much of a choice in the matter.
When we park at the end of the driveway, the front door to the estate opens and Dante walks out with his three brothers flanking him.
“Fucking hell,” Marco mutters under his breath and I couldn’t agree more.
We get out of the car and head toward the clearly pissed off brothers. Mateo stands slightly ahead, and we flank him. It’s always been this way with us. He slid into the role of being in charge right from the start, taking the fact that he’s the eldest very seriously.
“You have a lot of fucking nerve to show up here right now,” Dante growls and I can see the hate in the eyes of his three brothers.
Mateo’s voice is cool and controlled, “Why do you say that?”
Dante tilts his head to the side as if studying our brother. The slow grin which grows on his face is sinister as fuck. Dante projects himself as a suave businessman, but everyone knows he will kill without a second thought. He has as much blood on his hands as any of his men.
Movement coming from the house draws my attention as Zeno and Tony also join the wall of pissed off man in front of us. I’m not surprised they’ve shown up, their loyal men and have been part of the Guidice family for a long fucking time.
Maybe we should have brought our own men, but we didn’t want to start a fucking war. As if Viola being taken won’t be enough to start one.
The thought of our woman being in danger has my heart pounding in my chest. I need her safe. I need her in my arms.
I ache. It’s been far too long since I’ve held my woman. I’ve been working on getting Mateo to make what he did a few days ago right, but he’s stubborn.
At least he’s admitting that Viola is ours, even if he hasn’t admitted it to the right person yet. Viola is the one who needs to hear it. Hopefully, when we get her out of this situation, Mateo will do what he needs to do to make it right. He’s going to need to do more than shower her with presents.
Giovanni growls, “You sold our sister to a piece of shit, as if you have any right to sell her, and then you show up here.”
I start shaking my head before Giovanni even finishes talking. I step forward, but Mateo holds his arm up to stop me. There’s a desperate edge to my voice, “We didn’t sell shit. Viola is ours, our heart.”
The Guidice men freeze, and I realize what I just revealed. Dante studies my face for so long that I’m about to turn around and say the hell with getting help here. If I need to go and rescue our woman, I’ll figure out a way to do it without their help.
“Let’s go inside,” Dante turns without looking back at us as the other three brothers have various looks of shock on their faces. Well, except for the youngest Guidice, Rocco, whose face is impassive. For being the youngest, he’s the one who reminds me the most of Mateo. As Dante is about to enter his home he calls out over his shoulder, “Time is of the essence. Don’t forget whose life is on the line.”
His prompting gets all our feet moving swiftly, my heart hammering in my chest. I don’t know what I will do if Viola doesn’t make it out of this. I’m barely paying attention and blink a few times when we come to a stop inside Dante’s office.
He sits in his chair behind his desk and stares at my brothers and me. “Explain,” he demands, and I can feel Mateo bristle at the tone.
Now isn’t the time for pride though and I step forward. I don’t go into detail, but I do tell Dante about us meeting Viola at a neutral location, I breeze over where, and finding we have a connection. I do not admit that Mateo was going to use her as a pawn; I’d like to walk out of here with my life.
I do admit we met up with Viola on more than one occasion, including a dinner date at our house. I glance at Mateo, a little unsure if I should say anything about my brother’s last interaction with the Guidice princess.
I almost swallow my tongue when Mateo steps forward and runs a hand down his face. “A few days ago, we had a fight. I said some things I shouldn’t have said. I won’t apologize to you for my words because the person who deserves that is Viola.”
