Page 54 of Bittersweet Endings
“So,” Eva said, breaking the silence, “are we actually having dinner?” Her tone was light, teasing. Innocent.
I smiled. Not the real kind. “Depends,” I said. “You planning on introducing me to your new boyfriend, or is he just keeping the seat warm?”
Alessandro tensed. Not much. Just a flicker. But I saw it.
Eva blinked. And then she laughed. Too loud, too quick. “You’re ridiculous,” she said, brushing me off with a wave of a hand. “Alessandro’s like family.”
That word sat wrong in my mouth.Family.Not with the way she looked at him. Not with the way his jaw clenched when she said it, like it tasted like a lie.
I draped an arm over the back of the chair, keeping my posture loose even as heat crawled up my spine. “That right, Ale?” I asked, turning my glare on him now. “You feel like family?”
His eyes met mine. Steady. Controlled. But not convincing. “Always, sir,” he said. “Because you’re a good boss. All your men are family.”
The lie was so smooth I almost respected it. Almost. I let the silence stretch just long enough to make him sweat.
Alessandro held my stare like he wasn’t afraid. Maybe he wasn’t. Maybe he thought he had a right to whatever this was between him and my sister. Or maybe he was just too used to hiding it until recently.
I leaned forward, resting my elbows on the table. “There’re a lot of lines. In the world. In thisfamily. Ones you don’t cross. You know what the first one is?”
Eva stiffened beside me. Her fork hovered above her plate, her hand frozen mid-movement. Alessandro didn’t speak.Smart.
“Family,” I said. “Blood. That’s the line. And anyone who forgets that, they get taught a lesson. In fuckin’ blood.”
“Carmine—” Eva started.
I cut her a look. Not loud. Not angry. Justsharp. She clamped her mouth shut.
Across from me, Diego hadn’t moved. But he was alert now. Jaw tight. Eyes flicking towards the windows. He felt it too—that creeping itch down the spine. Like something worse than this conversation was coming.
I tapped the rim of my glass once with my ring. Then twice. Alessandro opened his mouth. I didn’t let him speak. “I trusted you,” I said, my tone a degree colder now. “I gave you one job. To protect her. Not touch her. Not make her look at you like…”
Pop.
The sound was small. Sharp. Like a cork from a wine bottle. Then the vase in the center of our table exploded. Shards of glass flew in every direction, water soaking the tablecloth and the flowers hitting my chest like dead weight.
For a beat, everything held still. Then the screaming started. Anotherpop. Louder this time. Then two more. Gunfire.
I was already moving, pushing Eva down behind the table, flipping it for cover. Diego had drawn his weapon before I even registered it, his eyes scanning the room. “Two shooters. Front left.”
Alessandro had Eva shielded a second later, his body coiled in front of hers like it was instinct. I didn’t like how natural it looked. But I liked the bullets flying past my head even less.
I pulled my Glock from the holster at my back, my finger steady on the trigger. Heart cold. Mind sharp. Perhaps little Peiro had found someone to pick up the contract.
I commanded Alessandro to stay with Eva as Diego and I took off. We spread out, and within seconds, we were moving outof the restaurant towards the threat. Our little hitmen had abandoned their posts and were running for their lives. One shooting wildly over his shoulder. A woman in the parking lot screamed, falling backwards while holding her bleeding arm.
I slowed down, took a breath, and raised my gun. The idiot was trying to bob and weave—back and forth. As he went left, I shot right. And he moved back to that spot just as my bullet plowed into his spine.
He went down like a ton of bricks. Diego got to him first, kicking him in the face. The fucker’s body flung backwards.
“I already have a name.” I lowered my gun to his face. “But I want to hear you say it.”
When he didn’t answer right away, Diego stepped on his dick. The guy jerked and screamed but he was fading. I pulled the trigger and shot him in the leg.
“Let me put you out of your misery.” I pressed the barrel of my gun to his forehead. “Say. It.”
He licked his lips before closing his eyes. Resigned to his fate. “Peiro.”
I pulled the trigger.
