Matthias showed him a brown paper bag.
He could smell coffee in the hallway and recognized the logo from one of his favorite sandwich places. “Come in.”
Matthias stepped in and lowered his hood. Marco still had trouble looking right into his brother’s eye without glancing at the scars that marred his face and the rest of him. His relationship with Matthias had always been complicated. A long time ago, a fucker had slipped through their defenses, mistook Matthias for him, and worked his knife on him. Matthias had survived, but he’d never been the same.
“Bad or good news?” he asked, gesturing to the dining table.
Matthias looked at the stack of boxes Lorenzo and Johnny brought in. “Does she know you took the liberty to move her things here?”
“I might’ve mentioned it before,” Marco said.
Matthias frowned. “Women don’t like it if you keep shit from them. That place means something to her. It used to belong to Stefano, didn’t it?”
Marco crossed his arms. “There’s a reason you came here and it’s not to talk about Lila.”
Johnny and Lorenzo were still there, he remembered. He’d let them grab a cup of coffee then dismiss them.
“You and her, seems serious,” Matthias said, beginning to bring out breakfast. He brought out two coffees and two salmon bagels. They sat at the table.
“What’s between Lila and me, that’s our business.”
“Lila understands our way of life, but she’s always been at the fringes, thanks to Stefano. Now she’s knee-deep in it like the rest of us.”
His brother didn’t need to remind him of that fact. Marco knew Lila deserved better. Better man. Better life. Too bad all she got was him, and he intended to keep her.
“Anything else about my personal life?” he asked in a biting tone.
“Dad visited her at the café yesterday. Seems they had a chat,” Matthias said.
Giovanni used to run the family with an iron will but he retired and handed the reins to him. That didn’t mean their old man had stopped interfering in other people’s business.
“Lila mentioned that,” he said slowly. He’d been relieved when she decided to quit her job at the grocery. Marco persuaded her to apply at one of the cafés the Familia owned and she seemed to like working there.
“Dad likes her. Always did. Bring her to our family dinner this weekend,” Matthias suggested.
“Fine.” He noticed Lorenzo and Johnny listening intently to their conversation. Marco shook his head in disgust. Horrible gossips. He knew they meant well, only wanted to see their boss happy, but everyone should back off and let him handle his damn personal life.
“As to why I’m really here,” Matthias began. “The heads of the Bratva want a meeting with us. They want a truce. The sooner the better.”
“Truce? They started this fucking war after gunning two of our men a year ago. Did they forget that already?” he demanded.
Marco thought of Lila’s devastated face five years ago. He could never forget the way she pounded her tiny fists against his chest, fighting him, fighting the world. The inevitable. Grief left its mark on her soul, on so many of them. That was part and parcel of the life they’d chosen but that didn’t mean Marco wouldn’t retaliate when they hurt any member of the Familia.
That was the reason why he set the police on them in the first place, why he wanted their businesses to take a deep plunge. Marco wanted them to seriously hurt. That drug arrest had already set them back, cost them maybe five million in losses.
“A truce,” Matthias repeated. “We both know the Bratva’s made of dicks who can’t keep their word, but a little peace and quiet won’t do the city any harm. Won’t hurt to see what they want.”
Marco’s first thought was refusal but he pondered on Matthias’s words carefully. When he first took over from Giovanni, he’d always resorted to force before other options. He made the hard decisions so the Familia could stay at the top. Marco knew fear wasn’t enough to rule a city. Respect had to come with it, so he’d show these Bratva fuckers the Severin Familia had honor.
“Set up the meet. Make sure it will be in neutral territory,” he said.
“Ryker and I don’t trust them either,” Matthias said with a shrug.
“Marco?” asked a sleepy, female voice.
Lila stood in the corridor, dressed in nothing but one of his shirts. Marco clenched his jaw. A tick rode his cheek. Possession filled him. He rose from his chair, not liking the fact Lorenzo and Johnny could see her half-dressed like this. Matthias wouldn’t give a damn because he had a woman of his own, but if Johnny and Lorenzo didn’t stop looking at her, he’d cut out their eyes.
“Oh, sorry. Didn’t realize you had company…” Lila trailed off then spotted the boxes in the living room. She was looking at one in particular, the one closest to her with the top barely sealed off. She walked toward it and peeled off the tape to hold out one book. She opened the flap and began taking out more books. She finally said, “These are mine.”