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“Then you and Mr. Giordano have more in common than you understand.”
Laughing, I shook my head. “You might be right.”
“Family is very important. You are now a part of Mr. Giordano’sfamilia, which means he will protect you with his life as I will.”
Just the way he said the words allowed another cold chill to trickle down my spine. “I can take care of myself.”
“Not against the type of people you’ll now face.”
A part of me wanted to ask him about his experiences, but I knew deep down I didn’t want to hear any additional horror stories.
“I will make certain nothing happens to your children. You can count on me,” he said quietly.
“Thank you, Dillon. That means a lot.”
“I will be upstairs if you need me.” He turned to go, and I sensed a sadness in him that troubled me.
“Do you have a family, Dillon?”
He stopped short. “I did.”
Did. The word said everything to me. He’d lost everything because of this job.
“I’m so sorry.”
Nodding, he remained where he was, his back heaving from his heavy breathing. “He does care for you, Doctor Washington. More than you know. You’re the only reason I’ve seen him happy in a very long time.”
Before I had a chance to ask why, he disappeared.
There were many dark secrets inside the Giordano family. I feared that when they were exposed, I’d find myself falling for a man I wanted to hate.
My lover.
My captor.
CHAPTER12
Gabriel
I wasn’t in the habit of being driven anywhere. It wasn’t my style and had never been. My father, although he had a driver’s license, had driven few times in his life, always chauffeured by one or more of his most trusted men. I hated the custom, believing it to be self-centered, but there were times that having the added manpower was necessary.
This was one of them.
Both Bruno and Gunner were musclemen as well as performing other duties. Their backup would provide an instant warning not to fuck with me. And, if Nico had soldiers with him, they would run interference as necessary.
Nico Moretti was a barbarian in my eyes and always would be. He was my age, but he’d grown up more or less on the streets, his ‘higher’ education consisting of being a foot soldier under his father’s helm, working his way up to Capo. Now he was poised to take over as Don, which could happen at any day. While by all appearances Joseph Moretti appeared to be in good health, I’d taken the time to discover that he’d been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer a few months before, which was the reason he was pushing hard for the union between my sister and his son.
I understood part of the reason my father believed it to be a good idea. Together, the force would be almost impenetrable, but there could never be any real trust between the families, marriage or not. I’d paid attention to their activities over the years, curious about their methods of operation as well as their future intentions. I’d finally convinced Luciano that the Morettis would try to destroy our family and our organization.
That’s one reason he’d begun challenging Joseph, which had led to the unfortunate events. Our conversations had been private, at least enough so my father likely had no idea I’d pushed Luciano into challenging Joseph, denying the union.
I was the one who should feel guilt. I’d brought enough evidence to my brother that he hadn’t been able to deny my findings any longer. What I hadn’t anticipated was his level of rage. That had never been like him before. I’d still yet to discover who had called him. I’d checked the phone records, the ‘unknown’ number keeping a red flag in the back of my mind.
The culprit would need to be found, but I had a feeling the caller would only be exposed when a war was set to begin. Did I think it was Moretti? In truth, I did not. But someone had enraged my brother.
Sighing, as Bruno pulled into a parking lot of a local bar Nico frequented, I inserted a new magazine in my Glock. Confronting him in a public space had both merit and possible issues, but it would send a message loud and clear that no one would ever fuck with a member of my family.
Gunner opened the door for me, and I stepped out onto the pavement, noticing the bright moon already in the sky. I wanted this finished in order to return to my beautiful guest. Even as dirty thoughts entered my mind, I forced myself to contemplate the business at hand. Nico always had one man with him, but usually no more. Although I knew the asshole would be on edge. He’d have to be after what he had ordered. I still found it out of character that he’d order something so drastic. He knew I’d come after him.
