2. Elio #2
And I was glad about it. Marriage didn’t change him.
It just brought out a side to him I never thought I would see again, especially after the Russians had managed to capture him when he was sixteen.
For a week, they held him and tortured him.
It had been nothing more than pure determination and luck that we managed to find him and get him out of there, but the damage had been done.
He still bore the scars of it to this day, including the three vertical scars that ran down one side of his face.
We got to the office, and I helped myself to the small makeshift bar he had placed in the corner. I held up one empty glass. He shook his head and settled into the chair behind his desk.
I joined him with a glass that held about a finger of scotch. I took a small sip and eyed my brother.
“What?” he asked.
I shook my head. “You look different.”
“I don’t feel any different.”
“Sure you don’t,” I said. He might not see it, but I knew better. “I’m glad you got married. And to Luna.”
He raised one eyebrow at my words. “Is this your way of saying you want to get married as well? ’Cause I can arrange for that.”
I scowled at him.
He shot a small smile at me.
“No, fucker, I don’t want to get married.”
And I didn’t fucking know why, but the image of Isa suddenly came to mind. I quickly pushed that away. It was because Valentino was talking about her this morning, worrying like a fucking old woman with nothing better to do with her time.
Massimo’s inquisitive eyes narrowed on me. He didn’t say anything, just relaxed further into his chair. I maintained a neutral expression, showing nothing. I wasn't the ten-year-old boy I had been, caving under his gaze. He should know better than to think he could pry anything out of me.
He opened his mouth, probably to interrogate me, but thankfully, Romeo and Matteo showed up.
Matteo was wearing his usual cocky grin, sauntering over to the other remaining chair, while Romeo was his usual quiet self, his expression giving nothing away. He leaned back against the wall close to the desk, taking us in.
“I am here,” Matteo announced. “You may now feel at ease.”
“Oh, yeah. ’Cause we were so worried,” I said.
Matteo’s grin widened as he leaned back against the chair, putting his legs up on the desk. Massimo narrowed his eyes at the move before turning to me.
I pushed his legs off, making him lose his balance. He caught himself before he could fall face-first to the floor. So close.
My youngest brother glared at me, and I shot him a grin.
He looked like he wanted to tackle me to the ground. Matteo was never good at impulse control. My eyes held a challenge, egging him on.
“Why are we here?” Romeo said, diverting the attention away from us.
Massimo shook his head. “First, Matteo, stop being a little shit.”
Matteo gasped in mock outrage. Romeo cracked a small smile as Massimo turned to me. “And stop challenging him. He’s not going to let it go, and you know it.”
I laughed and patted Matteo’s shoulder. “We can work this out in the ring later.”
Matteo smiled widely at me. “Can’t fucking wait.”
The little shit hadn’t had his ass kicked by me in way too long. His head was starting to get just a little too big. Surprised he even fit through the door.
Massimo drew our attention back when he pulled out a small folder from the desk drawer and opened it.
I took in the picture of a man I had never seen before.
“Anyone recognize this man?” Massimo asked. I looked around to see both Matteo and Romeo shaking their heads.
“Who’s this?” Matteo asked.
Massimo looked at each of us before he spoke. “This is Waylen Thompson.”
Matteo shook his head. “Never heard of the fucker.”
Neither had I, and Romeo wasn’t saying anything. I was sure it was the same for him as well.
“This is the new president of the Devil’s Wings MC.”
I frowned. “Didn’t the MC disband when we killed their president? I thought the entire MC was disbanded after that.”
It would have been a smart move. They fucked with us, and any fucker wearing the Devil’s Wings MC cut would have been shot on sight.
Cameron O’Connor was the former disgraced president, whom we beheaded just a few months back when he and Andre Lombardi, Luna’s stepfather, attacked us during Giulia’s birthday party.
For a while, it had been a fucking mess.
The heir to the Novikov Bratva, fucking Boris Novikov, had led the charge with Andre, trying to throw us off.
We weren’t good men, and I knew we had done some very questionable shit in our lifetime, but at the very fucking least, we had never involved the women and children from the other side.
And those fuckers decided to target my baby sister’s birthday party?
Massimo shook his head. “They went underground. And now Waylen Thompson is in charge. And if you thought Cameron O’Connor was bad with his mob connections, he’s got nothing on Thompson.
We need to stay vigilant. The fucker knows we’re hunting him and has gone into hiding.
And he’s known to use whatever means necessary to get what he wants.
And what he wants is this empire we worked so hard to build. ”
“We’re not going to give it to him,” Matteo said, cracking his neck. Behind him, Romeo grunted.
Massimo leaned back in his chair. “You’re right. We’re not going to give it to him. But we still need to be careful. I have Luna under lock and key for now. She’s not going anywhere without me or one of us. I don’t trust anyone else with her safety, and I have done the same thing with Giulia.”
“Have you told her that?” Romeo asked.
Massimo grimaced. “Yes.”
I cracked a small smile. Luna was as easygoing as they came. She wouldn’t have fought Massimo on his dictate, even if I knew she wasn’t happy about it. But Giulia…
Our baby sister was a spitfire.
She was probably fighting with Massimo tooth and nail for a bit of freedom. “I’ll make time this week to take Giulia out,” I said, knowing she might just go crazy if we kept her under house arrest.
Matteo and Romeo nodded in agreement.
I knew Giulia hated the fact that we had so much more freedom than she did growing up. And while we worked hard to train her, to prepare her to take on any trouble that might come our way, she was still a woman. A small woman, at that. And those fuckers in our world…
No matter how much training she had, any fuckers who came for her would have more training. And they would have their size as an advantage.
I shook away the thought. I couldn’t bring myself to think about anything that could happen to her. I would burn the fucking world down if a single hair was touched on Giulia’s head, and I knew my brothers felt the same way.
And it wasn’t just Giulia. Luna was in there as well.
A sister, not by blood, but just as important.
A heavy weight landed on my chest. The number of people I needed to protect was growing. And I didn’t know if I was capable enough to protect them from everything and everyone. Didn’t mean I wouldn’t do it, or die trying, but fuck…
“Make sure you let Valentino know what is going on,” Massimo said, looking at me. “He might want to do the same with Isa. Being an underboss in Nevada has put a bigger target on his back than the other. Isa, being his sister, has the same target on her back.”
I didn’t say anything, but the thought of anything happening to Isa…
My fists clenched.
Matteo glanced over at me, a curious look in his eyes as he took in my clenched fists.
I forced myself to relax and nodded. I would definitely be letting Valentino know about this.
“One more thing. Luna’s birthday is coming up, and Giulia is helping me plan a party for her.”
Meaning our sister was doing most, if not all, of the planning. Massimo might have tried to add his input here and there until he realized there was no winning with our sister and gave her full rein. I grinned.
“Mark that day. I expect everyone to show up, even if you come down with the flu.”
Matteo chuckled. “A party? Count me in.”
Romeo shot our younger brother a look.
Massimo ignored them and said, “Okay, that’s all I wanted to tell you guys. And also, you’re staying for dinner. Luna’s cooking.”
Romeo frowned, and Matteo grimaced. Massimo shot our third brother a pointed look. Not that I blamed Matteo. Luna was sweet, but sometimes, it felt like she was trying to poison us with her cooking.
“Don’t look like that,” Massimo said dryly. “Luna has Beatrice helping her.”
Beatrice was the new cook Massimo had finally hired a couple of months back after letting go of his previous cook and her daughter for disrespecting Luna.
Beatrice was great when it came to the kitchen, but I didn’t know if she had the skills it took to save whatever Luna decided to make. That would take a miracle.
“No fair, brother. You trapped us into coming here,” Matteo complained.
Massimo didn’t say anything, but the glint in his eyes gave him away.
He definitely trapped us into coming here.
Fucker.