Chapter 61
CHAPTER SIXTY-ONE
Ace
One Week Later…
I haven't slept in six days.
Not properly. I get maybe an hour at a time, lying in a bed that still smells like her.
I've thrown myself into the work. Up before dawn.
Out on the fence lines, checking every inch of wire that Paulie used to check, doing his rounds because nobody else knows them as well as I do, and I'm not letting them fall apart.
I train in the barn until my arms give out.
I ride Seven until we're both soaked with sweat.
I sit in Hunter's office and listen to plans for Carson, for Ranch 42, for the war that's building under the surface of this town, and I nod in the right places and offer my input and pretend that the man sitting in that chair is whole.
He isn't. I'm running on caffeine and rage and the dim, distant hope that if I keep moving fast enough, the grief won't catch me.
It catches me anyway. Every night. In the dark. When there's nothing left to do and nowhere left to go, and the house is quiet, and my phone has no messages from her because she's not mine anymore.
She texted once. Two days after. I stared at her name on the screen for eleven minutes and then deleted it without reading it. I regret that. I do. But I have to let her go and focus on the present and my future without Harper.
Today, the focus is Gianna.
Hunter agreed to the meeting three days ago.
She delivered Carson, gift-wrapped and breathing, exactly as promised.
He's in one of our spare ranch houses, being guarded by Xander.
The fact that she managed to extract a man the Greeks had hidden and hand him over without a single shot tells me everything I need to know about Gianna Milano.
She's not playing. She's performing at a level that most of the men in our world can't touch, and she's doing it in heels.
And now, I'm sitting at the table with Colten to my left, Hunter at the head, and Romeo across from me. Jett and Tate are posted at the front. We’ve got guards at every post with a view of this house.
We hear the cars before we see them. Two black SUVs pulling up the dirt drive. I watch through the window.
Gianna steps out first.
Red heels on the gravel. Black tailored trousers.
A black silk blouse, open just enough to show the ink running up her sternum and across her collarbones.
Tattoos that climb her neck. Her black hair is pulled back tight, showing every angle of her face.
Red lipstick that matches the heels. Dark glasses she pushes onto her head as she looks up at the ranch.
She takes it in. The house. The barn. The land stretching out behind it. I watch her eyes move across the property. Four men exit the cars behind her. Three are security.
The fourth is her brother.
Dominic Milano steps out of the passenger side and buttons his jacket.
He's younger than Gianna by a couple of years.
Dark-haired, sharp-jawed, built lean. There's something almost boyish in his face, even with the tattoos on his hands and the way his eyes sweep the perimeter with the same calculation as his sister.
And then there is Fabio. The middle brother. A smaller version of Dominic.
Gianna says something to her security. They stay by the cars. She walks toward the house with her brothers behind her, which is either a show of trust or a show of power. Probably both.
Jett opens the door. I hear him say something. I hear her laugh as they walk in.
She doesn't hesitate in the doorway. She walks straight to the table, pulls out a chair directly across from Hunter, sits, crosses her legs, folds her hands in her lap, and looks at each of us in turn.
Hunter. Romeo. Colten. And finally, me.
I look back. I know I look like shit. I haven't shaved in a week. The bruises from the championship ride are still fading yellow across my jaw. My eyes have that hollow, red-rimmed quality that comes from grief compounded by insomnia compounded by heartbreak.
Dom sits beside her on the left and rests his hands flat on the table. Fabio takes the seat on her right.
"Ace. Right?" Gianna says.
"Yep. That's me."
She studies me for a beat longer than comfortable. Then shakes her head.
"I never believed in love, you know. Growing up the way I did, the way my family created my path, love was never part of the design.
" She pauses. "And then I met Harper. And the way her eyes lit up when she told me she was quitting, that she was coming home to you, I almost, for a split second, believed that love was a reward in this life. "
She leans back and crosses her arms. I honestly don’t know what to say; she’s performing quite the opener.
"And now I sit here, opposite you, and I know my first instinct was correct." She leans forward, her elbows on the table. Eyes locked on mine. "Love is a weakness. Love will kill you faster than anything in this world. Love is evil."
I open my mouth to argue, but quickly snap it shut. I guess she has a point.
She pours herself a whiskey from the bottle Hunter set on the table and takes it back in one motion.
"But in this life, I was taught to fight for what I want. That's why I'm sitting in the lion's den surrounded by a bunch of cowboys." She glances at Hunter, then back to me. "I know what I want, and I won't stop until I have it."
Her gaze sharpens. "You've stopped fighting. Harper deserves better. Better than you. Sure as hell better than Hudson."
The words should make me angry. A week ago, they would have sent me across the table. Now they just land on the pile with everything else. Another truth I can't argue with from a woman who has no reason to lie.
She looks to Dom beside her. Grabs his cheek with genuine affection, the kind that breaks through her composure and shows you the sister underneath the boss.
"Someone like this guy. You see, Dom would have put a bullet through Hudson's skull, kidnapped her, and locked her away until she came to her senses."
I choke on a cough. She grins as Romeo looks her brother over.
"You and Harper got on well, didn't you? At the gala?"
Dom smiles. "Yeah. We did."
I clench my fists under the table. Every muscle in my body fires at once, the jealousy surging through me before I can stop it, and then I let it go. I know exactly the game she's playing. She's poking at wounds to see which ones bleed.
I’m too numb to play her games.
"Then go ahead and save her yourself," I say.
Colten shoots me a look. I don't react.
"Enough," Hunter cuts in. "We aren't here to discuss Harper. Or the past. Or my brother's private life. You brought us Carson, so you've got our time. What do you propose?"
Romeo rolls up his sleeves, crosses his arms, and sits back, his gaze still locked on Dom. He's here to listen for Enzo. They're making moves on LA in the background, and the final chess piece to take is the Milano family itself.
"An alliance," Gianna says. "Between the Sterlings and the Milanos. Our first act will be removing the Greek bloodline from existence. Here in Arizona, back in LA, and I'll go as far as Greece if I have to."
Hunter nods. We all understand the fury. She lost her eldest brother. We lost Paulie. Hunter almost lost Lola and Wyatt. Whatever our differences, the Greeks are a common wound.
"And why do you think we need you, Gianna? You know who we work for. You know how far our organization runs across the states. What does an alliance give us that we don't already have?"
She pulls out a cigarette and a lighter. "Can I smoke in here?"
"Yes," Hunter grunts.
I know he hates it in the house.
The flame dances in her eyes as she lights it. She takes a slow inhale, tips her head back, and exhales toward the ceiling. Then she passes the cigarette to Dom to hold. He takes it without blinking.
"An alliance gives you California. We cut you in on our supply lines.
Cocaine. Weed. Guns. Whatever other ventures we're involved in.
" She taps her nail against the table. "I run the real estate arm.
Properties in every major city. Eyes everywhere, including a handy motorcycle club.
A team that can hack any system on the planet.
A team that can track anyone, anywhere. And of course, it connects you to our family in Sicily. That's reach you don't have."
Hunter takes it in. Doesn't respond yet. Letting her fill the silence the way people do when they're selling.
"We want to play on your team. We understand the power Enzo holds, and we have no interest in undermining it. We want to add to it. But to take full control of the territory, we need the Greeks gone first."
Hunter runs a hand over his stubble. "So why are you here and not Vito? Your father is head of the family."
She smiles and glances at her pointed black nails.
"Because my father finally came to his senses that the Milano family can only survive if we evolve.
I've spent my entire life proving that to him.
" The smile fades. "After my brother died, he gave me a shot.
One shot to prove I'm worthy of heading the family now that Max, God rest his soul, has passed. "
The pain in her voice isn't a performance. I understand it in a way I wish I didn't. Fabio watches her, his sadness seems different. Something I can’t pinpoint… yet.
The difference between us is that she's channeling her grief into taking an empire. I'm channeling mine into burnout.
"Enzo doesn't look for alliances," Romeo says.
She turns to him and arches an eyebrow. "I'm sure he can be persuaded."
The problem is, Romeo's right. Enzo wants LA for himself.
Her gaze lands back on me. "You'd have free rein in LA, Ace. You could walk right in, shoot that motherfucker who stole your girl, and take her back. No consequences. I'd even help you."
I can feel Hunter's stare burning into the side of my head.
"But if you step foot in my territory without this alliance, you won't make it back out. That I promise you."
The threat lands. She doesn't bother to dress it up.
I sit back. Cross my arms over my chest. "I don't need to go to LA."
A grin twitches on her lip. "Then Harper belongs to me."
"The fuck does that mean?" I hiss, sitting forward.
She tuts. "There's the switch. Interesting." She laughs, looking at Dom. "Love. His weakness."
"You think threatening me is going to get us to open this door? I thought you were smarter than that," I say flatly.
She shrugs with an elegant rise and fall of her shoulders. "I'm just doing my job. Reading you all. Seeing what makes you tick."
"And what makes you tick, Gianna?" Colten asks from beside me.
Her eyes flick to his, and something passes between them that charges the air in the room like a storm front moving in. Colten's breath hitches. His hand grips his thigh under the table, and I'm close enough to see his knuckles whiten.
She holds his gaze. But doesn't blink.
"Being told no. Being underestimated because I'm a woman in a man's world." She taps a finger against her chin. "But who am I kidding? I thrive on that. It will take you a long time to work out how to truly press my buttons, Colten Sterling."
Colt grins. "Whatever you say, darlin’.”
She tuts. “I don’t do cute nicknames.”
“Okay, viper,” Colten says coolly.
Her eyebrow arches, she almost smiles, but it never comes.
"So, what now?" Gianna says, turning back to Hunter.
He stands. Rests his hands on the back of his chair.
"We take your proposal to Enzo. We weigh it against our goals. And we'll be in touch."
She stands. Dom and Fabio follow. She stubs out the cigarette her brother's been holding in the ashtray. Barely smoked.
"Well, until you reach your decision, we remain enemies."
When she says it, her eyes find Colten's. A look that has absolutely nothing to do with business and everything to do with whatever just detonated silently between them.
He just grins.
"Word of advice," she says, adjusting her sleeve, revealing more dark ink trailing up her arm. "I'm a much nicer person to have as a friend than as an enemy."
She pauses, looks right at me, and something shifts in her expression. "I never thought much of friends. Until a blonde-haired country girl walked into my life and taught me the power of it."
My heart sinks through the floor. That sounds like my girl. I swallow past the lump in my throat, just about manage a nod, and nothing else.
"I'll speak to you soon," she says. “And Ace, unless an agreement is in place before July sixteenth, I don’t expect to see your face at the wedding.”
My heart hammers as they walk out. The front door opens and closes. The SUV engines start, and the gravel crunches as they pull away.
Three weeks. July fuckin’ sixteen. She has to be talking about Harper’s wedding. Three damn weeks away? I clench my fists, trying to steady my breath, just staring out of the window.
None of us says a word for a full minute. The cigarette smoke hangs in the air. The silence is thick enough to choke on.
"Jesus fucking Christ," Colten finally exhales, tipping his head back.
That was quite something. She left us damn speechless, and we achieved nothing in that meeting.
He leans closer to me and drops his voice low enough that only I catch it. "I want to bend her over this table and fuck the brat out of her. I’d die for a taste of Gianna Milano."
I bite back the first laugh I've felt in days. Even with the bombshell of the wedding date. I’m trying to hold this shit together.
"Enzo won't bite on this," Romeo says, pulling us back to the room.
Hunter nods. "Once we get Ranch 42 signed over from Carson and handle the Greeks here, we don't need her. Not on our turf."
“Gianna is a no. But Dom? He might fit our organization better,” Romeo says, his face unreadable.
Colten arches his brow, turning to him. “Yeah, I bet you fuckin’ think that.”
I frown. I have no idea what that is about.
"Enzo is almost done assembling his team to take down the Milano family," Romeo adds.
"Take down?" Colten cuts in.
Romeo glares at Colten. "Gianna is far too smart to waste on a body count.
The kind of mafia boss she's becoming, that's exactly what Enzo's organization needs.
If she proves useful, she could be brought in.
But don't let her fool you. Just because she's a beautiful woman doesn't make her any less ruthless than the rest of us.
If anything, she's worse. Because she has something to prove. "
Colten groans quietly beside me.
"You need to get laid, brother," I say.
He clears his throat as Romeo glances at us. "Yeah. I do. And so do you."
I roll my eyes. The same thing Jett has said to me every day since Harper left.
All I can think about is a blonde-haired girl who taught a mafia princess what friendship meant.
And I wonder if she's okay.
And I hate myself for wondering.
And I wonder anyway.