Chapter Twenty
Marco
HE STARED out the big windows in his office, not even the beautiful view of his backyard was able to curb some of his anger. The drink in his hand hadn’t helped so far, either. His own men were stealing from him. How they’d thought they could get away with it, he didn’t know. They had to be delusional. Or perhaps they knew something he didn’t.
His phone buzzed with an incoming text. He didn’t bother looking. He knew exactly what it would say. He’d sent Rome out to take care of some business. Said business was an asshole who’d thought he’d get away with stealing from him. He wouldn’t live long enough to regret it.
First, he’d discovered that his accountant Cosimo had been skimming off the top and he’d suffered the consequences of that betrayal. The man Rome would end tonight was a street dealer named Antonio. The man was a sleazebag to begin with but along with Cosimo, he’d been ripping Marco off for months. The books weren’t matching up and Cosimo hadn’t just known, he’d been in on it with Antonio.
He didn’t think either of them smart or brave enough to have started it on their own. Someone had given them a push. Someone who wanted Marco to suffer. Figuring out which one of his enemies was behind it wouldn’t be easy.
His life had been anything but sunshine and rainbows since Alicia’s death four years ago. He did what he could to give Dante a better life and upbringing than he’d had, but it was tough with the life he had to lead.
He could never relax. Not truly. There was always someone who wanted to challenge him. Someone who wanted to kill him. They thought they could rip his crown off and take his kingdom. They would soon learn. No one got to take anything from him anymore. He would kill them all if he had to. He would leave no one alive who could hurt Dante.
He turned around and pulled open the desk drawer to grab the bottle of alcohol he kept in there but the damned thing got stuck halfway. With a groan, he reached a hand inside, fingers searching for whatever had jammed it. He managed to jerk the drawer open and the contents of it all slid forward and one of those things had his heart skipping a beat.
It was a picture. One Alicia had taken.
He hesitated for a moment before grabbing the picture. He sat down in his chair with a heavy thump and stared at a younger version of himself. The man in the picture was happy. He was in love. That was clear as day to see.
He didn’t know when Alica had the photograph printed but he knew she was the one who’d taken it because he recognized it. Neil’s profile was visible in the picture but mostly, it was Marco’s face as he looked at Neil with so much love and trust in his eyes it almost made him nauseous to see now.
He hated that that man was gone. Hated that that man hadn’t appreciated every single second with Alicia. He hadn’t known then that he wouldn’t have his sister for more than a few years. He hadn’t known he would lose the two people he loved the most.
Looking at the picture, at the way he was so clearly in love with Neil then, hurt too much and he put the picture back into the drawer and grabbed the bottle of vodka, unscrewed the cap, and drank straight from the bottle.