Page 14 of Destruction

“Careful, Amore,” Hollis warns. “We don't want to put them off right away.”

I grit my teeth but don't respond. Too many things are running through my brain to come up with an appropriate response.

The sharp knock on the door is a welcome distraction, and Joel pushes it open when Tennant gives the okay.

As the Martellis file in, my heart pounds, and I want nothing more than to sink into the chair behind me to prevent my knees from buckling.

Lio looks…determined. He's not my friendLioanymore. He's Emilio, Allesandro Martelli’s future husband, and the Head of the Martelli Family.

“Thank you for coming,” I say, flicking my gaze briefly over everyone, stopping momentarily on the last face I expected to see. I might not have met him before, but I’d be stupid to not know all of the players on their side.

What I don't have is the brain power to figure out why fuckingLucais here when he should be far away from either of our territories, and I certainly can’t ask right now.

“Thank you for extending the invitation. We have a lot to discuss.”

“We do. First,” I gesture to Jude. “This is Jude Manassero. He is my Second in Command. And that's Soren, he's assisting for now.”

Luca scowls and takes a step forward. “You gave explicit instructions on how many of us were allowed. You want to be Boss? Follow your own damn rules.”

Before Lio or anyone on his side can protest, or do anything about his outburst, Tennant is moving. His hand is around Luca's throat, and I imagine his knife is pressed against him.

“Did you miss exactly what Soren is doing?” Tennant asks in that familiar, spine-tingling conversational tone of his.

Stepping to the side, he forces Luca to look at Soren and Jude. “Would you like to tell my lover that he can't have his interpreter here again? Just so I can make sure I heard you right.”

Luca struggles, but Tennant squeezes his throat until his face turns red.

“I will gut you right here and drench your Family in your blood if they try to save you. Speak about things you don't understand one more time, I dare you.”

Fuck!This is not how I wanted to start this meeting. The only reason I brought Luca is because he’s more familiar with the area and this type of situation. He was a Second for years. Andnowhe wants to fuck up?

“Luca! You will apologize to our allies—now.” I grind my teeth while trying to keep my face blank. I want to tell him to shut the fuck up, but I’m already starting at a disadvantage as a Boss thanks to him.

“I apologize for my outburst.” Scowling, he dips his head toward Jude. I ignore it for now, but I learned from the best. If he thinks he’ll escape punishment, he’ll learn otherwise. I wave him back as Benjamin comes forward to stand beside me.

“Benjamin serves as my Second, and we are honored to meet Jude.” I bite back the urge to ask if there’s anything we need to do differently. They would have told me, and from the glareswe’re getting, asking such a question would only cause more offense.

I know my friend. He wouldn’t pick just anyone to be his Second, so it’s best to not seem as if I’m questioning his decision.

“If you would please accept our apologies so that we can move forward.”

Roman lifts an eyebrow before nodding decisively. “Let's get this done.”

We take our seats quietly. I’m surprised Roman doesn’t sit at the desk, reinforcing that we're in his territory. Instead, he sits next to me, forcing our Seconds to take up spots nearby. The last time we were here, it was Roman’s father and Master sitting exactly like this as they laid out a truce. Now we’re the ones enacting it as we prepare for war…

“Our Family had a conversation with the person who set Il Padrone up. It was one of the wedding planners. She was chosen because she didn’t want to work for ‘criminals’ after her brother died of an overdose.”

There’s a snort from someone in the office, but I don’t pay attention to it. The irony of her calling us criminals when she set someone up to be kidnapped and possibly killed… Well, I took care of that situation.

“How was she communicating with this asshole? This shows some major premeditation. Whoever is pulling the strings had to search for someone like her.”

“Via phone. Marcus brought it for Hollis. And yes, that level of research is disturbing. It makes me wonder just what resources they have. After all, they had to comb through different backgrounds and then make a guess on who would turn—because only a fucking idiot would take on the Family. And knowing Cristian is gone? Whoever has them signed their death warrant. They have two of the best Families coming their way.”

“I’ll take the phone,” Hollis interjects, snapping it out from Marcus’s hands. I want to roll my eyes at his impatience, but I’m anxious enough that I don't. However, it doesn’t mean I can’t throw my weight around a little.

“Marcus sent you the CCTV footage. Were you able to get anything from them, or should I have had my men on it?”

I bite the inside of my cheek at the rising tension in the room. Benjamin draws closer, but stays out of it. Going after the hacker extraordinaire, and partner to probably most of the people in this room, including Roman? Yeah, I’m going to say this is probably a bad idea, but damn is it worth it.

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