“Ah.” I nodded.
When Dante took his seat again, I noticed the hard look on his face and knew something was up.
“What is it?”
Dante glanced up at me while twirling the crystal tumbler in his hand. “You’re officially a part of this family now, Stone. That means you’re gonna have a lot of catching up to do, starting with the Mancusos.”
I leaned forward, placing my elbows on my knees. “What’s going on?”
“This war between us and the Mancusos is far from over. In fact, I suspect it’s only just begun.”
“What makes you think that?”
When he glanced away like he was unable to look me in the eye anymore, I knew what it was.
“It’s me, isn’t it?”
He gulped back his entire drink and slammed the glass down on the table in front of him. “You killed Enzio Mancuso, the heir to the Mancuso throne, so to speak. So, I’m pretty sure all hell is about to break loose.”
I jerked out of my seat. “That fucker kidnapped Karina and tried to force her to marry him. God knows what he would have done to her if we didn’t find her in time. And let’s not forget he had a motherfucking gun aimed at my head. What was I supposed to do? Give him a medal?”
“I know. But the fact remains you killed him, which means the war that lies ahead would make the past battles seem like child’s play. We are open game for the Mancusos now. By killing Enzio, we have given them all the ammo they need to come for us, guns blazing.”
With anger pulsing through my veins, my vision nothing but shades of red, I started to pace, the itch to take care of those fuckers once and for all crawling all over my skin. “They won’t get near her, Dante. I will kill every motherfucker who dares to come near her.”
Dante’s expression settled into a somber look when his eyes finally met mine. “I don’t think this is about Karina anymore, Stone.”
The prickle of warning in the back of my skull traveled all the way down my spine as the realization dawned on me. Of course, they didn’t want Karina anymore. The only reason she had been the target was because of Enzio’s sick obsession with her. But he was dead, killed by my hand, and that meant…
“They want me.”
Dante didn’t move. “Not all of you.”
“What does that mean?”
“What they want is revenge for what has been taken away from them—their blood. They want payment for the wrong that has been done to them.”
“Wrong? What wrong has been done to them? Karina was the one who got kidnapped, for Christ’s sake.” Good God, I was about to have a fucking aneurysm. “Their son was one twisted son of a bitch with issues, issues only a bullet in the chest could cure. How can they exact payment if I did the fucking world a favor?”
Dante got up and straightened in front of me. “They don’t see it that way.”
“Well, someone should help them open their fucking eyes.”
“Stone.” Dante pinned me with his stare. “The only way the Mancusos will let this go is if they have your head.”
I froze, no longer feeling the need to pace, since everything inside me turned into ice. How did I not figure this out sooner? Of course, the Mancusos would want revenge. No one went around killing Mancusos and got away with it. They would want to inflict the same kind of pain, the same kind of loss they were forced to experience, on me.
Oh, God…
“Fuck.” My legs weakened as a thought popped into my head, and I fell back onto the couch, staring but not seeing anything but the dread spreading through me.
“What is it?” Dante took a step forward, and I looked up at him.
“I think you’re wrong, man.” I pulled my palms down my face.
“Why do you think that?”
“Dante, they don’t want my head.”