Shield (Demonio Brotherhood #2)

1. Matti

Matti

B y the time I return to Dragovari Tower, the building I own in Tribeca, I’m physically and mentally drained.

I’ve spent the last week sitting awake by Siena’s side as she slept at my house on the Demonio estate.

Food, sleep, sanity are all a distant memory, and I can’t stop worrying about her—both her health and her life—should Aurelio decide to send someone after her again.

The two-story concrete doors glide open slowly as I climb the steps to the entrance. Eleanor greets me at the threshold with her usual efficiency, holding out a cup of coffee and a stack of mail.

“Thanks, but I’m headed to bed soon, Eleanor,” I murmur, waving away both.

Eleanor, the CEO of Dragovari Tower and my point person for day-to-day operations, is as impeccably put together as always. Her tailored charcoal-gray pantsuit and short, silver hair tucked behind her ears give her an air of unshakable authority.

“Of course, sir. I thought you might appreciate a little extra boost. Your companion for the evening is waiting for you in the penthouse.”

My companion? Shit. Valentina.

We walk into the expansive lobby. The ceiling looms forty stories above us, interrupted only by the giant glass sculptures suspended from its apex.

Each of those forty stories is home to dozens of apartments and storefronts occupied by business partners and family friends, designed in an open circle with glass railings so that anyone can step out their door and look down to the lobby below.

My penthouse and rooftop spa occupy the top two stories. Where Valentina is waiting.

I sigh, dreading the encounter. Valentina’s moods are always a coin flip. She’s always ready to either rip your clothes off or claw your eyes out. You never know which version of her you’ll get, and tonight, I don’t have the energy for either.

“On second thought, Eleanor,” I say, taking the coffee from her hands. “Have someone escort my, uh, companion from the penthouse. Let her know she’s no longer needed.”

Eleanor presses her lips into a tight line, but she nods. “It is after 11 p.m., sir.”

Fucking chivalry. If it were a man, I wouldn’t think twice about kicking him out. But even though she’s a terrible person, I can’t tell Valentina to do the same. “Fine. Offer her a car to any hotel she wants or a flight back to wherever she came from. But, Eleanor—”

“Yes, sir?”

“She cannot stay in this building.”

“Understood,” Eleanor replies crisply. There’s a flicker of disapproval in her eyes that Valentina is here at all. She’s been with the Demonio family since I was a kid, practically a second mother to me and the Demonio boys, and she’s never hidden her distaste for Valentina and her choices.

When she doesn’t leave to carry out my instructions immediately, I sigh softly. “What is it?”

Eleanor hesitates. “I just thought you should know… she’s in a mood. And her attire may not be entirely… professional. No judgment, of course.”

I smirk, knowing Eleanor’s ‘no judgment’ is always loaded with plenty of it. “Don’t worry. It was never a date. She was here strictly for—”

“Yes, sir,” Eleanor interrupts. “I understand her purpose. I’m not sure she does, however, and I don’t foresee her taking the news of her dismissal well.”

She’s saying Valentina may make a scene.

As we cross the open space, employees pause to nod respectfully or offer a polite “Hello, Mr. Dragovari.” Most I ignore, but Jacob Bennett, a trusted associate and one of our lawyers, waves from his office. He steps out as I approach.

“Eleanor,” I say before turning away, “bring a couple of people with you in case she needs convincing. Use the service elevator to escort her out.”

“Of course, sir.”

Bennett greets me with a firm handshake and a lowered voice. “Vin’s been looking for you. He sounds stressed.”

The mention of Vin’s name is like plucking an exposed nerve. He’s called and texted several times since I left him in Aurelio’s office with Siena, but I’m not sure I’m prepared to handle that conversation without blowing up.

I gesture toward Bennett’s office, and we both take a seat as he fills me in on Vin’s messages.

I’ve made it a point to keep the people I trust close to me here at Dragovari Tower so that I can keep an eye on them. One Pearl Park is, in part, Aurelio’s version of that, which is why Luminous & Co has an office over there and not here.

Though both buildings have a similar purpose, the atmosphere is very different.

The floors here are a deep chocolate stained concrete and not marble.

The furnishings and details downstairs are rosewood with living edges with a mix of champagne-colored linen and leather rather than the heavy carved walnut pieces and thick red velvet that Aurelio prefers.

Every metal accent, door frame, and light switch is titanium instead of gold.

Rather than a coffee shop downstairs in the lobby, the entire first floor of Dragovari Tower is an open space that is often turned into a pop-up nightclub.

There are a few glassed-in offices lining the side walls and a reception desk at the back with a bank of elevators in a hall behind it.

When Jacob finishes updating me, I nod. “Tell Vin I’ll be in the 17th-floor lounge for the next thirty minutes.” I have to find something to do while Eleanor extracts Valentina from my penthouse, anyway.

Jacob nods and retreats to make the call.

I step into the elevator, heading to the 17th floor, a VIP space with private couches and a bar. It’s where we retreat when the ground floor turns into one of our pop-up clubs and we want a quieter space. It’s a neutral location that lets Vin know that I’m ready to talk.

It’s also a good place to nap while I’m waiting, but as the elevator doors slide open, I see I won’t have that opportunity. Vin is already there, seated on a couch. He looks up from his phone as I enter.

“That was fast,” I say, settling into a chair opposite him.

“I was already here,” he replies gruffly .

I wonder how often he’s been here over the last week while I was nursing Siena back to health after what his father did to her.

Though I have a place on the Demonio estate, I spend most of my time here at my penthouse.

Vin, on the other hand, stays exclusively on the Demonio’s private island, so when he wants some space, he often comes here.

Vin clears his throat. “When I heard you sent Siena home, I figured you’d show up eventually.”

“How’d you hear that?” My voice is more threatening than I intended, but while I don’t view Vin as a threat to her, the fewer people who know her whereabouts the better.

“I reached out to Grit, asked him for a favor with Tommy, but he was taking Siena home.”

I grimace at the mention of her name. If Valentina is here already, that means Siena was dropped off and driven to her house in New Jersey a while ago.

Though I told Grit, my head of security, to watch her from a distance and update me regularly, I’m ready for Vin to leave so I can open my surveillance apps and see for myself.

We eye each other warily for a minute before Vin speaks. “You can’t kill the old man,” he says, his voice gruff.

My expression hardens. “That’s not accurate.”

He shakes his head, irritated. “What I mean is that the time isn’t right.”

“He touched Siena.”

“She’s not your wife, your mother, your sister, or even your girlfriend,” Vin counters.

“That’s all you’ve got?” I growl, leaning forward, my elbows on my knees. “He kidnapped her, beat her, and would have raped her if I hadn’t intervened. Since when do we condone that kind of violence against a woman who doesn’t have it coming? Who the fuck are you? ”

“She’s withholding information we need.”

“That you need,” I say, sitting back in my chair. I glare at him, and he narrows his eyes back at me. I can see him figuring out that I have some idea of the role he played in creating the flash drive in the first place. He’s silent a moment, staring me down.

“She also got her own revenge, if I recall.”

I smirk. Yes, she did. Watching her stab Aurelio in the dick with that poker was the only good thing about that day. “Didn’t kill him, though, so he’s still a threat to her.”

“No, he’s not dead. He’s been in an induced coma for the past week and will stay that way for awhile until he heals.”

“Is that medically necessary or because you don’t want to deal with him?”

Vin’s eyebrows twitch in irritation. “Why didn’t you tell me from the start that Siena was Franco’s sister?”

“Why didn’t you tell me from the start that you’re setting up Aurelio?

” It’s just a guess, a stab in the dark at why he was recording Aurelio committing a murder, a video I found on the flash drive Siena was hiding.

A video I must have watched a thousand times this week trying to figure out its significance.

The way his jaw tightens tells me I hit the nail on the head.

Vin frowns. “It’s bad for business to fuck an associate’s family member.”

“It’s bad for business to take out a boss without a solid plan and not tell your partners about it,” I retort. “And Franco’s not an associate. He’s a fucking corrupt cop.”

“He’s erratic,” Vin states. “And I was going to tell you. I just wasn’t sure….” His shoulders slump, and he shifts un comfortably in his seat.

“If you want Aurelio out of the picture, why did you stop me from killing him?”

“Two reasons. No offense, but he’s my father, and I will be boss of the family when he’s gone, so it’s my responsibility. Not only that, but if there’s fallout from the men, I want it to me, not you.”

I nod. That’s fair. Aurelio has fucked with Vin in so many different ways over the years that what he did to Siena is just a drop in the bucket by comparison.

And Vin will be boss one day. It makes sense for him to do it himself, own it, and then step into the big seat instead of standing by while I do it, when I’m slated to be the underboss.

“And the second reason?” I ask.

“Tommy.”

Right. Aurelio is keeping Tommy’s girl, Giovanna, hidden away somewhere, held hostage. Tommy wants her back, and if Aurelio is dead, that information dies with him and potentially triggers her murder.

I nod. “I should have told you about the risks associated with Siena. But I honestly didn’t know it was going to get so complicated.”

“I did. I knew it was going to get very fucking complicated the minute I saw your face when you caught sight of her on the steps outside of One Pearl Park Plaza.”

I don’t say anything, remembering the day we tracked Siena down at Aurelio’s building in the Battery, and I frisked her, looking for the flash drive.

I’m annoyed that I was so transparent. But Vin’s one of my best friends, a brother to me, so I guess if anyone would see through any pretense, it would be him.

There’ s a long pause as he runs both hands through his hair and leans forward, resting his elbows on his knees, as he lifts his gaze to meet mine.

“So we’re holding off on plans to handle Aurelio until Tommy finds Giovanna, is that it?” I ask, trying to swallow the rage that comes with that statement. When I’m not fantasizing about being balls deep inside of Siena, I’m dreaming about strangling Aurelio until he’s blue.

Vin gives me a short nod. “And what’s happening with Siena? Is she okay?”

“She will be. She’s home now.” I glance at my phone, making sure there are no notifications from Grit or from her.

“Home? Here or at her house?” When I don’t give anymore information, he nods and looks away for a second. When he meets my gaze again, he sets his jaw, determined. “We good?”

Taking in his sagging shoulders, his sallow skin, and slightly disheveled appearance, I cock an eyebrow at him. He looks worse than I feel and that’s saying something. “Are you good?”

“I will be. But I need this shit with you and me fixed.”

Vin is usually an asshole, a guy who talks shit nonstop and with a grin on his face. But not today. Today, he’s sincere, serious, on the edge of losing his shit. I know he regrets what happened with Siena if only because it means something to me. Because we’re brothers.

“We’re good.” I stand and pull him to his feet, clapping him on the back.

As we head for the elevator, I open the surveillance app on my phone and check the cameras I have planted all over Siena’s little house. She’s there, safe but angry, stomping around her living room, picking things up and slamming them back down .

I smirk, remembering how I fixed up her place and replaced all her furniture after Franco broke in and tore everything apart. Let her be mad. As long as she’s safe.

The elevator arrives, and I switch the camera to the ones I have on the plane and playback the interaction between Siena and Valentina with the sound up. Grinding my teeth, I watch Siena’s expression change from curiosity to anger to embarrassment as Valentina runs her mouth.

Fuck. Siena looks self conscious, fixing her hair in the reflection of the window. How can she be so insecure when she’s so fucking beautiful?

Vin scoffs next to me in the elevator as we listen to Valentina say she’ll send me to come tuck in Olivia when she’s done fucking me, then gives a short laugh when Olivia calls her delusional.

He shoots me a look when Valentina claps back that I sent for her, and I give him a little shake of my head.

Putting Valentina on that plane with Siena was intentional, but not because I want anything to do with Valentina.

I knew I could count on her to be the raging cunt that she is and send a message to Siena that we are over.

Watching Valentina make Siena feel insecure makes me want to grind Valentina under my heel more than I ever have. But I can’t help loving the fact that Siena seems to be very fucking irritated at the idea of me with someone else. Even though she thinks I’m a murderous monster.

Rubbing my hand over my face, I shake my head, trying to erase the memory of Siena and the last conversation we had. The sadness in her eyes. The way she pleaded with me to let her go. The memory slices right through my resolve to stay the fuck away from her.

But it was better than if she begged me to stay. I don’t know if I would have been strong enough to do what I needed to do—what she needs me to do to keep her safe by keeping her far away from me—if she had asked me not to let her go.

Vin gives me a side glance as the elevator doors open to the lobby. “Everything alright?”

I flip the camera view back to Siena’s house and watch her explore her injuries in the bathroom mirror, noting the bandage on her shoulder is still firmly in place.

“Just business,” I say, sliding my phone into my pocket.

“Business,” he murmurs, chuckling softly.

Siena is my business now. And when this is over, I’ll get her home with me where she belongs, whether she wants to or not. Until then, I’ll do what I have to do.