“I need to finish up some business here,” I said as I squeezed Peter’s hand. “Angelo will escort you home, and I’ll join you as soon as I can.”
Angelo frowned, and I could tell something was wrong. “There’s been another development.”
I gestured for him to follow us back inside. When the three of us were in the manager’s office, I said, “Tell me.”
“Men were sent to infiltrate our house. I think they were hoping to find Sabrina or Devil there.”
“Did they?”
He grinned. “Yes, but you can imagine how that went for them.”
I could. Devil lived by the motto of shoot first and also shoot later, and Sabrina was just as good a shot as he was, not to mention her knife throwing skills.
“Devil is meeting us at the warehouse, and Sabrina has been taken to a safehouse, though she’s mad as fuck about it.”
I dreaded listening to her tirade, but I couldn’t worry about that right now. What mattered was that she was safe. “As far as we know, the house is secure now,” Angelo said. “But—”
“I can’t risk it. Take Peter to the car and wait for me. He’ll have to come to the warehouse with us.”
Angelo looked at me like I’d lost my mind. “Are you sure?”
“Yes.” I would rather not have Peter at the warehouse. He would see shit that would disturb him, but I wasn’t letting him out of my sight. Unlike my family, he wasn’t prepared to defend himself if attacked, and I wasn’t going to let anyone so much as give him a paper cut. I didn’t want to think more about what the intensity of my feelings for him meant, but I couldn’t deny them.
Peter had lost most of the color in his face, and I could tell he wanted to ask questions. “It will be okay. I promise.”
I finished up at the restaurant and decided, despite the attempts by the fucking Riccis, opening night had been a huge success. Our take for the evening was more than I’d anticipated, even considering the drinks we’d comped. The tables in the main dining rooms had all been reserved, but there had also been a continuous line of people waiting to be seated at the bar or one of the surrounding hightops. It felt even better than I’d expected to have such a great start to what was—at least for now—a completely legitimate business.
The night was about to turn unpleasant, though. I was going to have to deal with the men who’d tried to ruin my opening as well as the ones who’d dared to attack my home. Violating my property like that could not be handled lightly. If I was going to hold my position and keep control of my family’s territory, I had to deal with the leaders of these men swiftly and without mercy, then send the rest back to their boss with a message from me that any further interference in my business or my family’s personal lives would not be tolerated.
Less than half an hour later, my driver pulled up in front of a warehouse my family owned. We used it for storage but also as a meeting place when we needed to make a deal with someone we didn’t want to bring into our offices. Occasionally, we also used the space as a holding spot for men we needed to interrogate or get rid of.
Angelo jumped out of the car almost before we came to a stop. I was as eager as he was to get this over with. Peter was already shaken, and I wanted to get him home where I could care for him and help him forget this unpleasant part of our evening. Ricci would pay for scaring him like this and ruining what could’ve been a beautiful evening for the two of us. I’d originally planned to take Peter dancing after the opening and then home where I would strip him out of the fine clothes I’d chosen for him, lay him out on my bed, and feast on him.
I exited the car and held my hand out for Peter. He reached for me, slid across the seat, and rose from the car. “What’s going to happen now?”
“I’m going to teach these men a lesson.”
“I don’t… um… I’m just not sure…”
“I need you safe, and you’re safest with me. You’ve known this is who I am from the moment you met me.” I turned to Angelo and gestured for him to go on into the warehouse.
“Are you sure, Luce?”
“I need a minute.”
As my brother walked away, I cupped Peter’s face in my hands. “The men in there have all done horrible things. Some of them went to my house. To our house. If you had been there…” I shuddered, not wanting to think about that. Devil and Sabrina would’ve taken care of him, but I couldn’t stand thinking about him shaking with fear knowing someone was coming for him. “I can’t let them get away with that.”