Page 60 of Nicoli

“The guy you killed was Felix Salvatore.”

“That name means nothing to me.”

“It’s Nunzio’s cousin, Nicoli.”

“That’s funny,” I sneer contemptuously, shaking my head. “You say that as if I’m supposed to care.”

“YoukilledNunzio Ferrero’s cousin.”

“I don’t give a shit if it’s the president’s motherfucking grandson.”

Alexius rubs the back of his neck, then places his hands on his hips, shaking his head. “You started a war tonight, Nicoli.”

“That motherfucker started a war the moment he laid a hand on her.”

“I know,” he mutters. “Believe me. I would have done the same if it was my wife.”

“Then why does this feel like I’m standing in front of a goddamn jury right now?”

“You’re not,” Caelian says, snuffing out his cigar in the dollar sign ashtray. “We all would have done the same. I want to crack his skull open so badly that I’d let him come back to life just to do it. And I’m pretty sure Maximo here would do far worse if—” He stands and rounds the table. “But we all know the shit’s already hit the fan. The Ferreros want our business. They want in on our trade, and the perfect way for them to accomplish that is by declaring war against us and garnering support from other families. All they needed was a reason, and now they have it.”

“They don’t have shit.” I ball my hands in fists. “This fucker had his filthy goddamn hands all over her. What was I supposed to do? Ask him nicely not to fucking rape her? And then buy him a motherfucking beer afterward? Jesus.”

“Caelian is right,” Alexius starts as he sits at the table. “They’ve been waiting for a reason to challenge us, and now they have it. They won’t give a shit how justified your actions were. They will not let this go.”

“And what about them killing Maximo and Mira’s parents? We let that go.”

“That was Dad’s decision, not ours. He had his reasons.”

“Bullshit!” I slam my fist into the table with such force it shakes beneath my rage. “What reason could he possibly have had?”

“He was protecting them,” Alexius exclaims. “Dad was protecting Maximo and Mira. He knew starting a war would only endanger their lives even more, and keeping them safe was more important than vengeance. You, of all people, should understand the need to keep loved ones safe, Nicoli.”

“Yeah, well, maybe if he did us all a favor and killed those fuckers, we wouldn’t be in this mess right now.”

“Nothing can be done about that now,” Alexius snaps. “What matters now is how we move forward. We need a plan, and we need to work fast before Nunzio even thinks about challenging our power.”

“That’s easy. We kill them,” I say coldly. “One by one, we slit their fucking throats and make the world a better place without those motherfuckers.”

Alexius’ phone rings, and silence drops in the room like a bomb. He takes his phone out of his pocket and gives Maximo and me a knowing glance before slipping out of the room.

My jaw hits the fucking floor. “Is he serious?” I look at Maximo with disbelief. “Is he seriously taking that call in private?”

“Relax.” Isaia shoves another glass of bourbon in my hands. “Take a goddamn breath, and let’s wait until he returns. Alexius knows what he’s doing.”

“Of course,” I snort. “Just like he knew what he was doing when he agreed to go to that fucking club in the first place. If he had just listened to me, none of this would have happened.”

“There’s nothing we can do about it now,” Caelian growls through gritted teeth, shooting me an icy warning glance. “It is what it is, and it can’t be undone. Now we need to deal with it.” He whips around to face Maximo. “I’m assuming you’ve tightened security around here?”

“You know it.”

“Good. No one sets foot off this estate without a motherfucking army truck. Especially not the women.”

“That’s one thing we can agree on,” I say, gulping down more bourbon. “And what is taking Alexius so fucking long?” I swing around and see my twin brother standing by the door, phone in hand. I lift my brow and spread my arms. “And?”

“That was Nunzio.”

“No shit.”

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