Page 49 of Hostile Devil
GIOVANNI
My heart leaps to my throat.
Leo’s shoulders are pulled back, his tiny fists clenched tight, while his lungs work overtime.
I’d shown him a few combat moves over the last year, wanting him to be efficient in self-defense while still allowing him to have fun and be a kid.
Of all the lessons my father had taught me, the main one was to never raise a kid the way he did me or my brothers. I’ve made it my mission to shelter Leo from violence and death at this young age. There’s plenty of time for the brutality of real life in the future.
Then I’ll teach him the Souza way. My way. Not Papá’s.
Despite safeguarding him from danger, he comes to my rescue like I did for him once upon a time. The little guy’s more than exceeded my expectations in courage and loyalty.
He doesn’t need to know the truth. How I could have set up a sniper rifle and fired a clean shot at André the second the chopper landed. I could have assassinated the head of our family and moved on to my youngest brother too, annihilating the Souzas in their homeland. But I don’t need to kill any of them. And Ineverwould.
First, my family is why I’m still breathing. Second, I’m more powerful than all three of them combined, especially nowadays. So, when I tell them India is mine, they’ll fucking listen.
André’s brows snap tight. He glances over at me, something unreadable flashing in his eyes before he catches sight of Lola hurrying towards us. His full attention returns to Leo.
In any other situation, I would have grabbed my son and fired a few rounds in our wake. But there aren’t any warning flares and my instincts to kill haven’t kicked in because deep down, I trust my twin without question.
Inviting my brothers to Blackwater wasn’t the original plan and introducing them to Leo today—fuck, that was definitely not in the cards either. But there’s no way I’d let them steal my woman. No fucking way.
Now they’re all here together––and India is back where she belongs. I guess this is how it had to be.
When André sinks to his haunches, my spine stiffens. Subconsciously, I place my hand on the crown of Leo’s head and gently stroke his chocolate brown curls.
“What’s your name, kid?” André asks him.
My son swallows his fear of the man before him. “Leo Souza,” he answers bravely.
“Well, Leo Souza, I’m your Uncle André. Your Papá’s twin. The better looking brother out of all four of us.”
Matheus snorts in the background, and Leo briefly glances over at him. “Please stop hurting my Papá,” he whispers, and stares right at India. “Are you going to hurt India too?”
“India?” André chuckles. “I’d die protecting that girl. But your Papá—he pissed me off.” He rolls his jaw, no doubt feeling it burn. “Have you got any brothers or sisters?” Leo shakes his head side to side. “Lucky. They’re a pain in the ass.”
I stare down at André, the memories of our childhood blipping in and out of my mind. How I’d challenge Papá when he called André a dumb fuck, earned a black eye and fractured rib for my effort. My brutal punishment was worth the smile on my brother's face, though.
He was there, by my side, through it all. No matter what torture my brothers and I had endured, we came out of it stronger—together. I’d happily set my life on the line for each one of them. Looking back on our lives now, I know it was our old man I didn’t trust with my secrets, not my siblings.
“You should probably know, kid… if a grown man kicked me in the leg like you did, which, let me tell you, fucking hurt, I would have popped a cap in his skull already.” Leo backs into my leg. “But I’m going to give you the opportunity to finish this war instead.”
“How?”
“We’ll fight. You and me.”
“Dré…” I warn.
André angles his head upward and cocks a split brow, the blood sliding past the outer corner of his eye. “He’s a Souza, and this is how we sort shit out, right, brother?”
Not waiting for me to reply, his black irises cut back to Leo. “I’ll punch you, because you hurt my leg. That’s only fair, right?” Leo nods slowly. “And you can punch me back since I was about to knock out your Papá. Deal?” He holds out his hand and wiggles his ringed fingers.
“Okay,” Leo mutters, looking uncertain.
He cautiously slides his hand against André’s, the size of it quickly vanishing in the great expanse of my brother's palm.
“Right. Let’s do this. Brace yourself, kid. I won’t go easy on you just because you’re my favorite nephew.”
