Page 26 of The Sicilian Heir
Vito
Ileft the compound angrier than I had ever been in a long time. Eunji Kim was going to be the death of me. I headed deep into the city for my meeting. I entered Gio's, an Italiano restaurant the Picone Famiglia had invested in a few years ago. We now used it as a meeting place for out-of-town outfits. If shit went down, the staff was trained to help the Picone famiglia take down whatever or whoever the threat was.
This time I was only meeting up with Nicolo Falcone and my bastard brother Luciano. Still, having that extra level of protection while the bratva was trying to wipe us out, was a smart move I had implemented.
My father would've never done something like this. He also would have never married a woman like Eunji. Take her as a mistress, sure, but never give an outsider your last name. I found the booth Nick and Luciano were seated in.
"There you are,fratello," Luciano greeted as he looked up.
We didn't need any menus. We had been here plenty of times. I took a seat after shaking hands with Nick. "Good to see you. How's Rose doing?"
I was concerned about my sister's mental health after everything she had been through. She had always been delicate.
A dark shadow passed over Nick's face that told me everything I needed to know. "Not well. When it's a little safer, maybe Eunji could come up and spend some time with her."
He was pleading, but I chose not to bust his balls over it. I wouldn't know what to do if the same thing happened to Eunji.
"We can figure something out for sure," I conceded.
I motioned for a waitress to come attend us. In this restaurant, the staff knew better than to approach the table until told. They could see or hear something they didn't need to. It was more for their protection than ours. They'd see fewer savory men come through the doors, but we tried to keep them in the dark as much as we could.
"What can I get you all?"
I barely looked at the waitress beside me. I could tell she had dark hair; that's about it. Anything else, I didn't care about because she wasn't my little lotus. We all placed our orders and waited. It was best to eat before dealing with business. Instead, we sat around and engaged in small talk.
"Did you decide to do something about the scar on Eunji Kim's cheek since you're keeping her?" Nick brought up.
I felt my jaw tick. My little lotus was perfect the way she was. She didn't need anything if she didn't want it. I told Nick as much.
Luciano interrupted what could have led to a huge argument. "I figured out what it meant." He stopped at the arrival of our meals.
I had gotten lasagna. My mother didn't cook so it wasn't like I'd know if it was the worst in the world. I waved Luciano on, so he'd continue about his findings. I couldn't lie. I'd been wondering what they put on my little lotus. I hated seeing it because it made me feel like some bratva fanculo thought he had some kind of claim on my woman, and shewasmy woman. I didn't give a fuck what she thought. I was locking that shit down.
"Thief. He branded thief onto her cheek. It got me thinking." Luciano paused to take a bite of his meal, which was manicotti.
"Well, what were you thinking,fratello?" I snapped.
His bite was taking too long and testing my patience. Nick was shoveling his Stromboli in his face. I doubted very seriously if he was even paying attention. If it didn't involve the Falcone famiglia or Rose outright, he probably wouldn't even be at this meeting. All I could hope from him would be support. With what he must deal with at home, his mind was elsewhere.
"I started following Eunji every time she left the compound. I also tapped her phone." Luciano shrugged his shoulders like it was no big deal.
"You, what?" I growled.
Luciano held up his hand to placate me, but I was ready to choke the motherfucker out. "I was worried, and your dumbass didn't have any details on her. Is that how you treat your future wife's safety?" he sneered at me.
I was stumped. I did leave Eunji without anyone watching her. I knew the bratva had approached her and threatened her. Still, I barely changed anything up. She could've been severely hurt, and it would have been my fault. Sometimes I forgot that Eunji was just one small woman. She was a force, strong and sassy. She refused to act meek and submissive.
"You did this without permission," I barked at Luciano.
He was always breaking the rules. He had no care of how it made me look like a leader.
"Got results, didn't it?" Luciano pointed out smugly.
I contemplated stabbing him with the steak knife I had yet to use. No one would say anything. I wouldn't have to deal with him anymore. I shook the idea off because Luciano was my best enforcer and he also was family, no matter what my late father believed.
"What did you find?" I chose to eat my food rather than fight my half-brother. It was too good not to eat.
"The bratva are harassing her about the girls. They show up wherever she is, out of the compound. They text her that she has a countdown, to give them what is supposedly theirs. They have given her a week to do this, or she pays with her life." Luciano shot me a grave look.
