“It’s just … this home,” I say, taking in the intricate lines of the two-story sandstone building with its tall columns and circle balconies overlooking the wide expanse of property around it. “I’ve never seen anything like it. The skill it must have taken to build this, even just the imagination to put together the design. It’s like a scene right out of a movie.”
Roman scoffs. “Yeah well, in a perfect world, it would have been mine.”
My brows furrow, glancing toward him in the driver’s seat as he cuts the engine. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“This is my uncle’s property, gifted to him after my father locked us away and made him his second in command. That position was supposed to be mine when I came of age, and along with it, this property.”
I stare at him in shock as he looks out the front windshield, pretending he doesn’t see me gaping in his rearview mirror. “That’s … kind of depressing,” I mutter, glancing across at Levi. “Were you and Marcus supposed to inherit cool properties too?”
“Yep,” he says, his dark eyes hardening. “Currently occupied by our younger cousins, living our lives while we’re locked away out of fear.”
“No shit,” I breathe. “So what are we doing here? You’re not about to kill your uncle, are you?”
Roman laughs. “No, he’ll be saved for last, right alongside our father. He’s been out on business for the past week, leaving us this perfect opportunity to right some wrongs made by his son, Antonio. He’s a swine, not worthy of wearing the DeAngelis name.”
A chill sweeps down my spine and something tells me that tonight is going to be a mess, but the excitement brewing in both their eyes shows me just how badly they’ve longed for this moment. “Does Marcus know you’re doing this without him?”
Levi grins as he grips his door handle and pushes it wide. He glances back at me. “Don’t you worry about Marcus,” he says. “Tonight you should be worried about not getting in the way. Antonio won’t hesitate to use you as a human shield, especially once he realizes our intentions. He’s the type to go down fighting. He’ll be sure to let off a few rounds first and, considering that he knows you mean something to us, you’re likely to be his target.”
Well, fuck.
“Coming?” Roman mutters stepping out of the Escalade and looking back at me. “Though, I understand if you’d prefer to hide out in the car. Things could get a little … messy.”
The unspoken insult rests on his lips as I sharpen my glare and flip him off, reaching for the door handle. I help myself out, avoiding Levi’s outstretched hand purely out of spite, and I don’t miss the way his eyes darken as I stride past him like he’s not even there.
Making my way around the Escalade, I stand front and center, knowing damn well I shouldn’t be here and that one missed step or fall could put us all in a shitty situation, but despite the way I hate the boys, I know they’d protect me with their lives, even if it meant sacrificing their own.
Levi and Roman stand on either side of me, all three of us peering up at the massive house that should have been Roman’s. “So, how are we supposed to do this?”
Roman’s brows furrow and he looks at me as though I’ve never organized a break-in before, but like … he’d be right. I sure as fuck haven’t. “We walk straight through the door.”
“Huh. That simple?”
“What were you expecting?”
I shrug my shoulders as we start moving toward the gorgeously carved stairs that lead to the impressive entrance. “I don’t know. In the movies, they climb trees and break in through the second-story windows.”
Levi grunts, struggling to hide the smirk crossing over his delicious lips. “We’re not fucking cat burglars.”
“Oh yeah?” I argue. “Tell me that out of all the houses you’ve broken into, you’ve never once stolen anything.”
A guilty expression crosses his face and he quickly wipes it away, but he’s far too late and the image is already etched into my brain. “That’s what I thought,” I murmur under my breath, my voice lowering as we near the front door, only there’s no need for my silence as Roman steps right up to the door and busts it down with a heavy kick.
The door splinters as it flies right off the fucking hinges and I gape in horror. “You would have woken everyone up,” I seethe, my gaze shooting around the foyer as though I’m about to have assholes jumping out at me left, right, and center.
“That’s exactly the point,” Roman mutters, casually walking through the destroyed entrance, his boots crushing the splintered wood below.
Hesitantly, I follow him in, being careful not to tread on any of the wood, seeing as though I was in too much of a rush to find clothes and a pair of shoes, leaving me in nothing but my silk dressing gown that Levi hasn’t been able to stop staring at. Though it’s no secret that the boys would have left without me had I even attempted to leave their sides to dash upstairs to find a change of clothes.