Page 68 of Ruthless Reign

“Leo,” I said, shaking my head, blinking against my blurry vision. “I’m in love with him, too.”

“That’s wonderful,”he said, and I sobbed harder. He stood and walked over to me, scooting the chair by my side so he could wrap his arms around me. “Why are you crying?”

“If I love him and he dies, I don’t know what I’ll do. Any man I love ends up in the ground. Call it fate, call it karma, but our family is cursed. You know this.”

“Tsk. Stop being so superstitious.” He sucked in air through his teeth and grabbed my face, holding it up so I had to look at him. “I would not have allowed you to marry him if I thought that.”

I furrowed my brows, confused. “What?”

“He is the leader of a pack of wolves,” he said. “The king of lions. If he’s in love with you, he would walk through fire to get to you. I know this because I am the same way. The Caputis and the Roses are two sides of the same coin.”

I bit back another sob as my brother wiped the tears off my cheeks.

“They are rough around the edges and ride motorcycles and dress in leather, but they have a code similar to ours. We do not allow disrespect. We do not allow treachery or libel. And we protect our women. They protect us.”

“What happens if I lose him?” I said. “I won’t survive it.”

“Yes, you will,” he said. “Because you are Julia Caputi, and you have survived this far.”

I hugged my brother so tight I thought I might suffocate him, but he only squeezed me back just as hard.

“Come with me to the clubhouse tonight,” he said. “All of the chapters have rallied. They need to see you two together. They need to know your marriage is strong.”

I took a deep breath and nodded, my stomach churning at the thought of seeing my husband again after the way I’d left things. But I could pretend. I’d been doing it this long. I could put up my guard and continue to keep him safe.

Tires crunched on the driveway outside, and Leo broke away to check it out. His bodyguards poked their heads inside to alert us that our uncles had arrived. I swiped under my eyes again and took a deep breath to freshen myself before facing these zions of Caputi power.

“And for the love of all my sanity, and yours, stop with this cursed bloodline nonsense. Roman is not Hugo or Vittori. You are allowed to love him,” Leo said before turning toward the door and opening his arms. “Sulli! Frankie!”

I glanced up at the men in front of my brother. Uncle Sulli was my father’s cousin on his mother’s side, practically a brother to Giuseppe Caputi and an uncle to me and Leo. Uncle Frankie was Chesco’s father and my father’s younger brother. The Caputi resemblance was uncanny. All of us had deep-tanned skin and dark brown hair. We’d all inherited the Caputi nose, even Chesco, who came in behind his father and pulled me into a hug.

“Leo,” Sulli said. “It’s good to see you sober and healthy.”

“Thank you,” Leo said, gesturing to the living room. “Please, come in. Get comfortable. Can we get you anything to drink? I don’t keep scotch in the house, but I can send?—”

“Water would be great,” Frankie said.

Chesco helped me get the glasses while Leo, Sulli, and Frankie went into the other room.

“Did you talk to him?” I asked my cousin, keeping my voice low so the other men didn’t hear.

“Of course,” he said. “Otherwise, we wouldn’t be here.”

“Was he agreeable?”

“Define agreeable.” Chesco winked, grabbed the water bottle with one hand, and three glasses with the other before walking into the living room with our family. I followed behind him with the rest.

“Getting rid of Gabriella will be harder than simply rooting her out,” Sulli said.

I bit back my surprise. They’d jumped right into business. Usually, my family liked to beat around the bush until the cigars were lit and the scotch was half gone. Since this was a sober event, perhaps they’d decided to cut right to the chase.

“But you agree she does need to be removed,” Leo said. “As Giuseppe’s only surviving son, that honor falls to me.”

Frankie tsked and leaned back on the sofa, taking a drink of the water after I handed it to him. “That’s if Julian were still alive.”

I swallowed down the wave of shame and grief that usually accompanied the mention of our elder brother. Alba’s husband, KC, had killed him in defense of his sister, and if he hadn’t, Julian likely would have killed both of them. We needed to end this once and for all.

“Well, he’s not. And I’m all we’ve got,” Leo said.

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