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I pulled myself back to the present and the task at hand. I needed to get back to the house as soon as possible. I pulled a knife from my trouser pocket and lifted the unconscious snake’s tank top,eiw,and quickly sliced a ‘B’ into the thick flesh above his navel. Grey had informed me that this was something that The Brotherhood used to do to send a message to people who crossed us, and I intended to bring it back. I admired my handiwork, wiped the blood from the blade with a handkerchief from my breast pocket and slipped in back into its sheath before standing up and pressing the heel of my shoe down hard on top of his fingers. A faint crack sounded from below my shoe, and I smiled with satisfaction. I was done here, time to go home.
Not that it was a home to me. It never would be. Lorenzo wasn’t my family, the only family I had left was Uncle Sal and Aunt Rosa. I still hadn’t told Sal what I’d found out the night that I’d attempted to murder Toby, I wasn’t sure how to bring it up, and a selfish part of me didn’t want him to know, I didn’t want another person around trying to stake a claim to the demise of my stepfather. For now, I’d be keeping it to myself and continue to put on an act around everyone, everyone except her. I didn’t need to act around her.
As I sat down in my car, I checked my phone and found a message waiting for me from Lorenzo. I opened it and scanned the words and groaned.
Lorenzo
Come to The Crown when you finish. Don’t be too long, big news.
The only upside I could see to that message was that he wasn’t at home, and that meant he wasn’t hurting her. For now, she was safe.
I stared at my phone for a few minutes, toying with the idea of calling her. She knew what he had said. She knew what he intended to do to her. I didn’t need to call her and tell her to get out of the house while she could and not come back until morning. She was smart enough to realise what she needed to do. Yet I still hovered over her contact on my screen.
Maybe I should call her to discuss her cover story for the night. I have no idea what we would come up with, but it seemed like a good idea. My thumb landed on her name, but I didn’t press the call button. I promised to protect her, that was all. Why the hell was I trying so hard to connect with her? What was I expecting?
Instead, I chucked my phone across onto the passenger seat, pushed my key into the ignition and sped away from the bar. I wasn’t far from The Crown, so it only took a few minutes to arrive, and I managed to find a parking space across the street.
As I walked into The Crown, I noticed that I was the first to arrive. I headed straight to the bar and Jen poured me a glass of whiskey. I gave her a nod of thanks and turned to lean back against the bar. A moment later the door swung open, and Cooper walked in. He paused in the doorway then spotted me and headed in my direction.
“Any idea what this is all about?” he asked me quietly and offered Jen a wide smile.
She placed his drink on top of the bar and headed away. I glanced in her direction and noticed that her cheeks had turned an interesting shade of pink.Ah, another woman with no taste.
“No.” I said, my tone cold as I met his gaze. This stronzo was part of the reason that M was back in the house, and no matter what he had done in the past to look out for her, I couldn’t bring myself to like him. He was putting her in danger. He should be forcing her to leave and taking the hits that Lorenzo kept threatening.
“Right,” he said slowly, “so you’re still mad at me?”
No fucking shit Captain Dickface.
“She’s still in the house, of course I’m mad at you.” I said through my teeth.
He barked a short laugh, “It’s like you’ve never met her. That girl won’t leave unless she wants to, she clearly has a plan, and I intend on making sure I’m there for her every step of the way, it’s the least I can do.”
“Well she’s a fucking idiota.” I said under my breath and turned my attention away from him as the door opened once again and more of our Brothers entered the bar.
It didn’t take long for every one of us to arrive, everyone except M, and the Boss. I prayed to god that this was going to be one of those occasions where he chose to exclude her from our meeting. He was making a habit of it, and although it meant that the Brothers were asking questions, it meant that she got a break from her captor.
A few of the local patrons remained in the bar, but they were getting twitchy, probably due to the amount of us that were in here. Lorenzo usually sent them all away while we had meetings, and I noticed a couple of them drinking their drinks in larger gulps than usual, knowing what was likely to be coming.
I drained my own glass and turned back to face the bar and grab Jen’s attention, she signalled that she was going to get some ice and I pursed my lips impatiently.I hate waiting.The bar turned suddenly silent, and I knew before I had turned back around what that meant.
Lorenzo had arrived.
I twisted slowly to face the door, and my heart sank as I spotted the woman standing next to him. She was here.Fuck.
Lorenzo strode towards the back of the bar with Nutmeg following behind. He didn’t enter his usual booth. Instead he turned to face us all and placed a hand on her shoulder. He was wearing the Royal blue suit that I had selected for him when I had taken him to my tailors, and when he met my gaze, he tossed me a sly smirk. I gave him a questioning look, hiding the disgust from my face, but he ignored it and focused on Cooper who was still standing beside me. I took that moment to take in the woman in front of my stepfather. She looked like she was hiding something, and she looked completely out of place. Her hair was coiled into bouncy curls than hung down over her shoulders, and she was wearing a little black dress.Was she planning on heading out on the town after this?No way would Lorenzo stand for that.
“Buonasera fratelli miei,” Lorenzo began, his accent had dropped more than mine had, and the words didn’t sound right coming from his mouth anymore. “I have an announcement, I’ll keep it brief, but it is important that you are all listening.”
He slowly scanned over us all, ensuring he had every person in the bar’s attention. A couple of guys stood up to leave, presuming this speech was meant for Brotherhood ears only, but Lorenzo gestured for them to sit back down.
“As of this evening, M is no longer your Brother. For reasons that I will not disclose, so don’t fucking ask, she will be leaving us. But not for good, I hope, as I have more to say.”
He dropped his hand from her shoulder, and I watched her slowly exhale as her posture relaxed slightly. But she tensed again as he took her hand in his and came to stand beside her, turning to her and dragging her to face him in the same movement.
“Amore mio,” he said gently, and a lump formed in my throat. “Il mio tesoro, will you marry me?”
Che cazzo.
