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Brandon rolled his eyes. “For the love of...”
I was getting ready to shoot someone myself. “Silence!” I exploded. I turned to Enzo, who’d been quiet this entire time, not surprisingly. He was usually more seen than heard. But, this was the reason I looked to him for answers. He often saw more than most and was deliberate in his thoughts when vocalized.
“Explain.”
Enzo crossed his arms and leaned back against the door jam, his body only half in the crowded room. “Freddy and I had just come off shift at the bar and were having a drink when we overheard a couple of little shits talking about a reward Pat O’Reilly just put out for the capture of any DeLuca.”
Rage boiled inside me but I stayed silent, knowing there was more.
“Darby, his youngest, was hanging with the group, and I saw him sneak out the back. He was packing, so we followed him. I don’t know if he knew where Brandon would be, or if it was by chance, but he stopped outside Bran’s house and hid in the bushes. There was a pretty loud argument happening inside”—Enzo’s eyes cut to Brandon, who scowled in return—“and when Bran came into view, Darby took a shot before we could get to him. He’s a piss poor shot and it went wild, but when we heard the second shot and Bran went down, we rushed the house to get to him.”
The wheels in my mind were spinning one hundred miles an hour. What Carly had been doing at Brandon’s house was a question for another day. What I was most concerned about was the likelihood that Darby saw his sister inside.
“Did Darby see her?” I directed my question to Brandon, anger at the situation and worry putting a bite in my voice.
He nodded slowly. “It’s why she took off. She wouldn’t listen when I told her it was better for her to stay with me. I couldn’t exactly chase after her. She cursed me to hell and back, then hightailed it out of there.” He stopped and his eyes darted away, reluctant to continue. I stalked up to the head of the bed and got right up in his face, sick of his evasions.
“Stop fucking around and tell me the rest of it.”
“The thing is,” he said hesitantly, “she came to tell me about the reward.”
“For shit’s sake, Brandon!” I yelled. “Darby’s probably told Pat by now, and she’s out there on her own because you couldn’t do what you were specifically told to do and keep your fucking mouth shut?”
Brandon’s lips tightened into a thin line, but his expression gave no indication to what he was thinking otherwise. “I’ll find her.” I stared into his eyes and nodded when I saw the conviction there. It went beyond duty, though, and I worried about what might have sparked between the two of them.
Speaking of sparks, I was ready to get back to Gianna, but I knew I’d be stuck cleaning up this clusterfuck for the rest of the night. Doc finished up Brandon’s leg and told him to get some rest, but it was clear he had no intention to follow the suggestion. As soon as he could, he was out the door.
I dispatched Freddy and Enzo to get a couple other guys and put their ear to the ground. I wanted to know everything there was to know about the reward and how far the word was being spread. For as long as I could remember, we’d done our best to keep our family and businesses in a state of peace with the other local gangs, or whatever you want to call them.
Ever since my father died, Pat O’Reilly had been trying to stir up shit between the families. But now he’d gone too far. It was time for me to step up, and considering the fragile state of my relationship with Gianna at that moment, it was just another reason to be out for his blood.
I returned home and silently made my way to the second floor. As I passed Sophia’s room, I peeked in and looked at the empty bed, littered with dolls. She was my princess, the light of my life, and now I had another female who was just as precious. They both needed to be protected.
Continuing on to my own bedroom, I padded over to my bed and gazed down at the beautiful woman sleeping peacefully. Her dark hair was splayed behind her and she was on her side, curled around my pillow, the sheet dipping low, showing off the smooth, creamy expanse of her back. I longed to slip into its place but there was work to be done. Bending down, I whispered a kiss across her lips, then went back downstairs to my office.
I started by sending an e-mail to a business associate of mine. He ran a security company and among other things, he provided private security. I wanted bodyguards on Gianna and Sophia first thing. Then I contacted the buyers of our next two shipments and moved the time and location of the sales. I was still working when the sun came up and sometime later, a knock on my office door drew my attention.
