Page 50 of Bittersweet Endings
The car pulled up outside a club and hordes of people were lined up trying to get in. We headed to the front, but not without pissing off a small crowd. They started throwing insults. We paid them no mind. Normally.
My brother lost his composure and his hand spun out fromunder his shirt. The Glock waved around at the crowd, and the screams echoed down the block.
I grabbed Carmine’s wrist. “Put. It. Away.”
He shrugged me loose and tucked the gun back into his waistband.
“The hell is wrong with you? We have enough eyes on us after that mess in New York.”
My brother was many things, but until recently, rash wasn’t one of them. Since he took the Agostino girl, he’d been a mess. She was supposed to be revenge, but she was something more now, wasn’t she?
The worst parts of my father were the pieces of Carmine I hated. We all were fucked up because of the old man’s lack of parenting skills, but Carmine had protected us. He’d taken the brunt of it. And with it came his own form of chaos and a brutality that would ensureil famigliasurvived once he took over.
It was those parts that caused Octavia pain. At the same time, the parts of my brother that protected his siblings, the people he loved, were protecting her as well. The issue was the back and forth was killing him. He couldn’t focus on JP when his mind was constantly on her.
The club was packed but we marched right inside and up the stairs. People gave us a wide berth. Between Lorenzo’s size and Carmine’s murderous glare, they were smart enough to let us be.
Carmine darted towards AJ. “The fuck is she?”
“Center VIP room. Her guards are in there.” He paused. “And her brother—the little one.”
Marco Agostino wasn’tlittleby any means. Kid wasn’t as large as Carmine and certainly not Lorenzo. But he could hold his own.
I grabbed my brother’s arm. “We shouldn’t be here.”
“What? Thought you wanted to party?” Carmine nodded towards Lorenzo, who was talking to a half-naked shot girl.
Disregarding me while not wanting to face the issue he knew he was causing, Carmine then climbed the stairs. We shouldn’t have been here. Her mere presence was sending him over the edge and I couldn’t allow that to happen. My intuition told me this wasn’t going to end well.
The door opened and Carmine waited, but no one stopped him. So he stepped inside and disappeared as I hung back, confused. Not hearing any raised voices, I then followed him and froze.
Cold steel pressed to the side of my head, and the door slammed closed. Marco Agostino sneered in my face, forcing the gun harder into my skull. Carmine had his hands at his sides while Rocco’s barrel was aimed between his eyes. Except my stupid-ass brother didn’t have his focus on the immediate threat. Nope. His glare was glued to thelargestthreat in the room.
Octavia. Agostino. My brother’s poison.
“Hello.” She stood, turning to place her drink on the bar. “How have you been, Carmine? Last time I saw you…” Her face glowed red.
Carmine was practically beating down an invisible door between them. Her dress was as tight as a second skin. Backless too. But even from the front, the way her full breasts pressed against the thin fabric told you she wasn’t wearing a bra.
“Iwasgreat, Octavia.”
Rocco pushed Carmine back when he tried moving forward.
“Until I learned my little doll was partying it up in my city.”
“Ruined your night, did I?” she mocked. “I’d say it’s a pity but there’s nothing here for you.”
“Just a fuckin’ bullet,” Rocco growled.
“Why are you here, Carmine?” she asked before looking to me, her words softening slightly. “Good to see you, Matteo.”
A moment passed between us, no doubt each of us remembering how I’d saved her from Carmine’s cruel hands. Yet I couldn’t find myself feeling sorry for what was about to happen.
“I’m going to enjoy this,” Marco hissed in my face. “You touched my sister and now?—”
“No. Matteo didn’t. He protected me from this… beast.” Octavia motioned to Carmine.
“You. Liked. It. No, you fuckin’lovedit, little doll.”
