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“Because of me. Lili let it slip about our one-night stand but, in her defense, she’s also the one who found out you were in trouble and led us to the boathouse.”
“Thank God for that. Otherwise I really would be sleeping with the fish right now.”
A shiver runs through me. “Don’t even say that,” I chastise and press a kiss to his lips.
Enzo glances down at his watch and frowns. “Well, guess we better go. Don’t want to be late to the inquisition.”
Ugh. “This is not going to be fun,” I warn him.
Little do I know at the time, but that’s an understatement. The meeting takes place in the back room of a fancy hotel in downtown Manhattan. It’s a little more flashy and out in the open than the usual places they choose. Enzo and I walk into the windowless room, holding hands, a united front. All gazes zero in on our laced fingers.
“Have a seat,” the head of the Caparelli family says and waves a hand toward the large round table.
At least we aren’t lined up in front of the others like Miceli had been. It was like he’d been standing in front of a firing squad. That gives me hope, but it’s short-lived. As I look around the table at the other families, no one looks happy or like they might come to our defense. And that infuriates me. Why are we the ones under fire after what my cousins did? Shouldn’t they be the ones in the wrong?
Biting my tongue, but getting ready to strike, I wait for Caparelli to start the meeting because he’s clearly the one running things today. I’ve never cared for him overly much. He has a head of shocking white hair and likes to order his enemies killed execution-style without so much as a conversation first. I’d hardly call him fair or a good listener, and I think he’s about as empathetic as a brick.
At least all of the Rossi siblings are here, including their youngest sister Carlotta, and that makes me feel better. I still want to get to know her better because she reminds me a lot of myself—an absolute pistol, trying not to be overshadowed by her older, very protective and extremely alpha brothers. She sends me a little smile and I smile back.
“Now that we’re all here, I’d like to know what the fuck happened last night,” Caparelli states, his voice sharp as a dagger. “Miceli, you’re fucking family is going off the goddamn rails and becoming a serious problem.”
“That’s not true!” I blurt out and Enzo squeezes my hand beneath the table.
“Then why don’t you explain to us what is true, Gabriella,” the head of the Milano family says. He’s in his late fifties, balding, and his two sons sit on either side of him. Everyone stares at me, blank-faced, waiting for some kind of explanation.
“I began seeing Enzo,” I state calmly, “and since I am a grown woman, I don’t see how that is anyone’s business. But Tommaso and Romeo made it their business.”
“Your cousins were looking out for you.” I glance over at my great Uncle Sal. He rarely comes to meetings anymore and has passed the responsibility on to me, Tommaso and Romeo. We’ve always gotten along in the past, but his dark eyes are filled with turmoil and I have no idea how this is going to go—if he’ll be on my side or theirs.
“I understand that,” I say carefully, “and I would have appreciated it if they’d come talk to me if they had concerns. But, instead, they viciously attacked Enzo in front of his loft.”
“They did,” Angelo says, backing me up. “I drove up and saw they had jumped my brother, so I stepped in to help.”
“Then they came after me again the other day,” Enzo informs everyone. “I was going to go check on Gabriella because she wasn’t feeling well when they appeared, tased me and tossed me into their car. There wasn’t much I could do against the repeated taser attacks and when my muscles finally started to cooperate again, Tommaso and Romeo had taken me to a boathouse and tied me to a chair. They were furious that I was with Gabriella and kept saying they weren’t going to stop until they’d wiped out my entire family. They wanted retribution for Rocco and they said they were starting with me.”
“My friend Lili found out Enzo was in trouble and called me. She got their location and I immediately left, calling Angelo for help,” I inform the table.
“Tommaso and Romeo had come unhinged,” Angelo states. “I called Miceli and Vincentius for backup. By the time we got there, they were pouring cement into a bucket and planning on tossing my brother into the harbor.”
“We surrounded them, told them to stop, but they wouldn’t listen,” Vin says. “That’s when all hell broke loose and they began shooting at us.”
“So what were we supposed to do?” Miceli asks. It’s a rhetorical question and no one speaks. “We fired back. Protecting each other, the people we love, is the most important thing.”
“Tommaso was shot and knocked Enzo into the water,” I continue, backing up the others with a nod. “Me, Miceli and Vin jumped into the water and swam down to save him.”
For a long moment, no one says anything. Maybe they’ll side with us, I think hopefully.
“Why were the police called?” Aldo DeLuca asks. “We are supposed to handle things ourselves, not involve outsiders. And especially not law enforcement.”
“Because Romeo was still alive,” Miceli states. “There was no way we were letting him walk away after what he and Tommaso did.”
“Who killed Tommaso?” Uncle Sal asks, looking at the Rossi brothers, eyes narrowing into slits.
No one breathes a word.
“Too much blood has been spilled between our families,” Caparelli states angrily. “It cannot go unpunished. Otherwise, it’s becoming a fucking habit.”
“That’s because of the Bianche family,” I cry, throwing my own family under the bus. “The Rossi’s did nothing but defend the people they love. But, Rocco, Tommaso and Romeo are guilty of kidnapping and attempted murder. If they did that to your sons would you let them get away with it?”
