Giovanni’s grip tightens around my thigh. “Nothing I do should ever interest you,Donnina.”
I sigh in relief when my questions don’t turn into an argument. I don’t know what changed.
I used to view Giovanni as a cold-hearted man who was detached from everything that makes people human. But it’s the way he is showing his interest in me.
He made Kirill leave. He’s the one who watches over me.
That thought makes my heart ache. Diving into how I view Giovanni is not something I want on my plate right now.
He releases his grip on my thigh as he shifts the car into park.
“Stay here.”
“Gio?” I ask. “No, this is really sketchy.”
He opens the door on the driver’s side, slamming it shut before I can protest more.
Who the hell just willingly parks on the side of a creepy road in the middle of the night?
Or walks into a dark, abandoned warehouse?
12GIOVANNI
Nina’s soft voice sent a crack through my heart.
My blinks feel heavy as I walk in through the back door of the warehouse. The faded memory of my mother’s face appearing in the shadows beneath my eyelids. Her face changing each time I try to remember how her smile made her eyes crease.
The memory of her begins to slip away every waking second.
“Gio, I need you to stay in here, okay?” My mother speaks to me in the soft voice she always uses, but she seems different in this moment. “Take this, just in case?” She places a revolver in front of me with her hands shaking. She can’t even look me in the eyes. “This is the trigger.” She nods, trying to reassure herself that handing me a gun is a good idea.
She walks over to the entrance of the house to answer the pounding on the door.
Something isn’t right; I can feel the twist forming in my stomach. I suspect this is a problem my father should be dealing with, but as usual, he isn’t home.
“Tommaso non è qui adesso, vi posso aiutarti?”Her voice sounds smooth like butter.
It would be in Nina’s best interests to stay the fuck away from me, but I’m too selfish to push her away.
I want what I want.
If she knew the reason I’m staying here now Carlo’s married, I don’t think she could stand the look of my face anymore.
I shrug, shooting the lock off the large iron doors and kicking the door open. Walking forward, I see five men surrounding another man in the middle of them.What the fuck are they thinking?
“I asked for the file, not the fucking man.” I step toward the jackass of a man who has his arms tied. Bruises leave his face yellow and purple.
I look back up and stare at Enzo in the face. He has been my right-hand man for years. With my father still alive, I am not Don yet. There is a lot of respect with the title, but I want to make more of a name for myself before I take over.
“Boss,” Enzo says as he hands me a file. “He has been working against the Romanos.”
I reach for the knife in my pocket. My hands begin to sweat as I tear open the file. I knew something wasn’t sitting right. My family is stronger than the Stepanovs. If Rolando were to think things through with a brain, he would realize giving Nina to me would work out better for him.
But there is more to this story.
The best thing about Enzo is his heart is cold.
Ice-fucking-cold—just like mine.