Chapter 27
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Idon’t care who the fuck you are. If you’re pointing a gun anywhere in the vicinity of my wife, we’re going to have a problem.
“I agree with Rosie. You should put that down before I shove it up your fucking ass,” I tell Ares, holding Dani firmly behind me, no matter how much she’s pushing at my back to get past me.
“What the fuck is going on here?” Aurelio decides to join the party, and then Rosie steps in front of Ares. Without a care in the world that he’s holding a gun. “If you’re going to shoot him, you’re going to have to put that bullet through me first.”
“Again, what the fuck is going on here?” Aurelio picks Rosie up as if she weighs nothing and moves her aside.
Ares looks to his cousin. “Rosie, you want to break the news or should I?”
“This is none of your business, Ares,” she counters.
“Mmm, I think a soldier screwing around with royalty is very much family business,” Ares says before looking to the soldier, who is staring right back at him, fear written all over his face. “You touched something that was out of your league, mate.”
You can see the moment that it all clicks in Aurelio’s head. He spins around and faces Kevin. “You touched my sister?”
Kevin doesn’t answer. He looks to Rosie, as if begging her for help.
“Aurelio, no. It’s not what you think,” Rosie says. “It’s not him.”
“I read the messages. Don’t insult my intelligence,” Ares tells her.
“Ares, stay out of my fucking business!” Rosie screams. “Aurelio, it’s not his fault.
It’s mine. I wanted Kevin. He didn’t do a damn thing, wouldn’t even kiss me.
Are you all happy now? You see my embarrassment at being rejected?
Did you read about that too, Ares?” Rosie is shouting, her arms waving around in hysterics.
“What? My sister not good enough for you?” Aurelio asks Kevin.
The poor guy doesn’t know what to do or say. I, however, don’t have time for this bullshit. “Either someone shoots him or we let him get back to his job. We have more pressing matters to deal with than whoever is or isn’t dating Rosie.”
All eyes turn to me.
“You don’t run shit here, Bianchi,” Aurelio says.
“There’s a crazed cartel prince with his eyes set on my wife.
I don’t give a fuck who you think you are, Aurelio.
Deal with this, before I make the decision for you all,” I warn.
I have no qualms about putting this kid out of his misery.
Rosie can hate me all she wants. Better me than her brother or cousin.
“Well, when you guys deal with this, come find me.” Daniella steps away from us, taking Rosie by the arm as she pulls her down the foyer.
“Don’t you dare leave my eyesight, Daniella Bianchi!” I call out after her.
“Then you best be following me, Carlo Bianchi Junior, because I’m about to turn down this hall,” she calls back.
“Yeah, I’m going with them. Don’t get messy. We have lunch with my parents soon.” Zara looks to Ares.
He puts his gun down. “This is your mess now. I’m out,” Ares tells Aurelio before following his girlfriend.
It’s now just me, Aurelio, and this Kevin guy left standing in the foyer. “You know, I do have some pent-up rage I could use on this fucker,” I say to Aurelio.
“It’s been a while since I’ve had a good session in the basement. Could be a great way to bond with my new brother-in-law,” he suggests.
“I didn’t touch her,” Kevin manages to chime in.
“No, but you did make her cry.”
“She was crying?” Kevin asks with a frown.
“Yep, because you dumped her over text,” Aurelio grunts. “What kind of guy dumps someone over text message?”
“I didn’t dump her. We weren’t dating,” Kevin counters. “She wanted me to take her out. I said no. Repeatedly. It’s not my fault if your sister has a messed-up version of reality in her head.”
Oh boy, wrong thing to say, dude.
Aurelio’s fist swings out, connecting with the idiot’s jaw. “You two, take him downstairs, without my sisters seeing.” Aurelio snaps his fingers at two soldiers watching from a few feet away.
“Wait, no. I didn’t fucking touch her!” Kevin screams.
“Shut him the hell up,” Aurelio orders. “Now, tell me who the fuck is after Daniella?”
“You don’t know?” I quirk a questioning brow.
“If I knew, I wouldn’t be asking you.”
“Where are Aiden and Elias?”
“Follow me.” Aurelio leads me out the back of the house, where I find my brother and cousin both sitting on fucking deck chairs with beers in their hands.
“Having fun?” I ask them.
“No, it’s fucking hot here,” Elias says.
“You, I’m fucking pissed at.” I point at my cousin. “You didn’t think to tell me that some fucking Mexican cartel prince was after my wife?”
Elias laughs. “Wannabe cartel prince. They’re not worth a piece of shit.”
I roll my eyes. “You should have told me.”
“You never would have left Vegas if you knew.” He shrugs. “And my job was to make sure you two were far away from that city.”
“I don’t care what your fucking job is. You should have told me!” I yell at him.
“Okay, well, we’re all here now. What’s the plan?” Aiden cuts in.
“The plan is for us to sit still, wait for the oldies to eliminate the problem.”
“Really? That why they’re sending Aunt Lailani in? Because there’s no threat here?” I counter.
“Aunt Lailani’s coming? That I didn’t know,” Elias grumbles.
Aiden sits up straighter. “Shit just got real.”
“You think?” I huff at him.
Aurelio disappears back into the house with his phone to his ear. No doubt to call his father to try to get more intel on what’s happening.
“I need to go find my wife,” I say.
“You know you could just call her Daniella—that’s her name,” Aiden tells me.
“I like saying my wife way better.” I grin at him. “You’ll get it one day.”
“Fuck, I hope not,” he grunts.
“Well, I for one am not falling down that rabbit hole of a shitshow.” Elias stands. “There is no woman on earth who is ever going to turn me into the raving lunatic that you all seem to become when you get hitched.”
“Daniella De Bellis, get your ass out here right now. Where the hell are you, bitchface?” A female voice echoes through the house.
“Who the fuck is that?” I ask, already walking inside.
I stop when I see a woman with fire-engine red hair, very unnatural coloring, standing in the foyer looking around in a circle.
“I know you’re here somewhere, Daniella. Get out here. I’m not walking through this entire house to find you.”
I stare at the woman, who I now recognize as one of my wife’s friends. I’ve seen her in pictures on Daniella’s social media.
“Who is that?” Elias stops right beside me. I look at my cousin and then back to the tiny woman in front of us.
“That would be Faith Williamson. One of Daniella’s friends,” I explain as I approach the girl. “Can I help you?”
“Yeah, where the bloody hell is Daniella hiding? And you.” She points a finger at me. “You went and married her and no one thought to tell me?”
“Faith, what are you doing here?” Daniella walks into the foyer and runs for her friend.
“What am I doing here? Your bitchface got married without me. And you didn’t even call,” Faith says as the two women embrace each other.
“Interesting friends your wife has,” Elias mutters under his breath. When I look at him, I can see a puzzled expression on his face, as if he’s trying to figure something out.
“Elias, don’t fuck with my wife’s friends,” I threaten him.
“Pfft, I have no interest in fucking with your wife’s friends.” He huffs as he turns and walks out towards the back of the house again.
“I was a little preoccupied. I’m so sorry,” Daniella says to Faith. “But come meet my husband. CJ, this is Faith. Faith, CJ.”
“Nice to meet you.” I nod at the woman.
“How did you already know who I was?” Faith asks me.
“I know who everyone connected to my wife is,” I tell her.
“Oh, he dropped the my wife.” Faith rolls her eyes. “Well, as Daniella’s slighter older and wiser friend, that’s not going to work on me. I don’t care what kind of caveman ownership bullshit you think you have on her. She was mine first.”
“You really don’t want to challenge me when it comes to who my wife belongs to,” I warn her.
“CJ, calm your farm. She’s kidding.” Daniella pats my chest. “I need a drink, and I happen to know where my father keeps the really good stuff.”
“You need to tell me everything! How did this happen? I thought we hated him?”
“I never hated CJ,” Daniella says.
“No, I hated him for both of us, remember?” Faith clarifies.
Daniella laughs. And me? Well, I follow behind the two women as Daniella leads us to god only knows where.