“You’re Santino?” Sera sputtered.
Without taking my eyes off the five hostile men who confronted us, I cocked my head to the side and addressed her, “What’s wrong with you? You agree to marry a man, sight unseen?”
“I haven’t agreed.”
“That’s not what Luca told me.” Santino detached from the group and took a threatening step forward.
Sera kept trying to get in front of me, but every cell in my body screamed to protect her.
“You misunderstood, then.” She managed to get around me, but I corralled her waist and dragged her against my chest. Sera’s ass wiggled against my crotch and the motion coupled with adrenaline gave me a boner.
Fuck.
“Hand her over,” Santino growled.
“Wrong city,” I told him. “You don’t give orders in this town.”
“This is not your territory, De Lucci. This area is ruled by The Turk.”
“You think he’ll be happy to see you causing trouble in his club?” I asked.
“I have an arrangement with the Rossis.”
“As far as I know, this is still Turk territory, separate from the Rossis.” Alessandro “Sandro” Rossi, also known as The Turk, was an associate and not considered a made man because he was the bastard son of the former Rossi boss and not a full-blooded Italian.
Sera continued to struggle while I fought to stay focused on the threat. “Stop it,” I hissed in her ear.
When Conte exposed the underflap of his suit, revealing a gun, Sera fell limp in my arms.
“I hope that’s a gun poking at me,” she whispered.
I choked on a laugh. “Sorry to disappoint you, baby.”
The danger of Santino finally sunk into her consciousness and she stopped struggling in favor of going behind me.
Good girl.
Santino didn’t like that one bit. “Are you two done making a fool of me? I’m willing to overlook this insult.” He held out his hand. “Come, tesoro.”
I heard a hushed “ew” from behind me. From the looks of it, Santino Conte was rapidly diminishing as a prospective husband.
“I’m not going with you,” she informed him. “And you’re attracting attention. You can’t go spaghetti western over here.”
“You think I’m gonna go pussy like these American Italians?”
“Well you are in America, and you shouldn’t trust what you see in movies.”
The man scowled at Sera, concealing the gun in his jacket once more because he realized she was right. “This is not over.”
They backed away like a quintet of actors on stage, and before Santino turned, he gestured for his men to leave.
I didn’t tell Sera I didn’t have a gun on me. The club checked for weapons, but that was to enter the premises, not the perimeter, including this balcony, which had its own separate stairs from the parking lot.
“He likes Clint Eastwood movies,” she said.
“What? You exchanged dating profiles?”
“Ha. Ha. No. Zio Gus told me.”
I texted Nico. “The Galluzo showed up. Send backup.” If it were just me and Daniel, we could outmaneuver them, but I wasn’t risking Sera or Ivy.
I grabbed her hand. “Let’s go.”
“You mean leave now? They might be waiting for us.”
I shot her an irritated glance and she got my message and shrugged. Still, I told her, “Inside.”
Though the club was in a shady neighborhood, people flocked here to be seen. Rich kids who wanted to hang out with gangsters to look tough or wanting a taste of the dangerous. Wall Street types also came to this neighborhood to score drugs.
I knew the owner, Alessandro, quite well. Or I used to. This club and the territory around it were given to him after he did a big job at only nineteen.
I hadn’t seen him around lately. The De Lucci and Rossi crime families were in a cold war. My concern lay elsewhere.
The inside of the club was safe, the perimeter was suspect because those who refused to surrender their guns hung outside and the whole neighborhood was dicey.
Of all the nights Nico had to work, it had to be tonight. I was aware of our playboy reputation when we prowled the New York nightlife, but it was a front to keep a pulse of criminal enterprises everywhere, and the evenings were primetime for freaks to come out and play.
Our people had lost track of Santino the other day. With Gustavo changing his plans and selling part of his shares to me, that put a chink in the Galluzo’s plan to control Conte Enterprise. But the old man still had the remaining shares up his sleeves, and right now, not a single entity had a majority stake in the corporation.
I had no intention of seeing Sera again, but when Daniel mentioned meeting the women tonight, I had an urge to see her one last time.
I’m an idiot.
She was nothing to me.
Or she was supposed to be nothing.
She wanted Daniel. And Daniel wanted her but was too chickenshit to make a move. He told me he made an effort in the past few days, but he changed his mind again. He said it was too soon. He said he had too much on his plate to consider a serious relationship. He said he probably should leave Sera alone since she was Ivy’s friend.
He pissed me off with his indecision.
I should leave them to their infatuations because it was affecting my better judgement. My friend tried to undo what interest he’d shown her by making a play for the Korean pop singer and I went along with it at first, until I saw Sera’s face.
Guilt twisted my insides.
I got what I wanted out of this deal without Sera even agreeing or knowing the real reason behind it, and in the end, she was left holding on to nothing. She became collateral damage.
I didn’t regret following her outside. If I hadn’t, God knew what Santino would have done.
Another plan formed in my mind and I ignored the alarm bells that trilled with it. I didn’t trust Daniel to keep her safe. Not with Santino and his men running around New York. She needed my protection. Luca shouldn’t have pulled her bodyguards, but he didn’t know what we did.
Because we interfered with Gustavo, the threat to Sera was no longer the Russian mafia. It was Santino. In a way it was good she saw the man’s true colors.
I owed her that much at least.
This was not the nineteenth century. Sera, for all her seeming devotion to family, didn’t seem the type to agree blindly. She would consider options. She wasn’t archaic in her beliefs, that was for sure, but she was anchored by duty.
Some of the Galluzo like Santino would see her rejection as an insult.
Impatiently, I weaved through the crowded club, tugging Sera along with me. Clubgoers glared at me for my rudeness, but I was on edge.
I was sure Santino had more than four men with him. He wasn’t lying when he said he had arrangements with the Rossis. The Harlem gang came to mind. Daniel was still at the bar with his sister, embroiled in an argument. Well, all their sibling disagreements could wait.
“We need to leave.” I pulled a couple of hundreds from my wallet and threw it on the bar.
Daniel’s brows drew together.
“Santino is here.”
His face grew hard and he nodded. He turned to his sister. “We have trouble.”
“What?”
“This is not a drill, Ivy.”
I stared down a guy to vacate his seat and planted Sera on it.
Her mouth fell open. “Excuse me? What is this manhandling?”
“Oh, I don’t know,” Ivy said. “I find it hot.”
“Since when are you on his side?” She glared at her friend.
“I’m not. I’m just saying it like it is.”
I left the two to argue, biting back a slight smile, but my eyes were alert to the surroundings. Scanning the bouncing people on the dance floor and the multiple lines of patrons crisscrossing in front of us, I marked several potential threats as the throbbing of the music receded.
I typed another message to Nico. “ETA?”
“Five minutes. Trevor’s group is closest.”
I pocketed the phone.
Exactly five minutes later, a message from an unknown number popped up on my screen. “Back of the club. Two Patrols.”
I was glad I brought an old Subaru instead of the Jaguar. One of the guys could pick it up later.
“Let’s go.” I helped Sera down from her seat and proceeded to the back of the club.
“Where are you taking me?” Sera yanked her arm from my hold, but I grabbed it again, and this time, it was a challenge to get her to move and it was almost as if I was dragging her.
My molars ground against each other.
We exited the club, my eyes immediately scanning the crowd outside. People here appeared rougher than the ones inside. I wasn’t sure if any of them were part of The Turk’s security or the type looking for trouble.
A couple of guys were smirking at my attempt to keep Sera by my side. But more than a few were glaring at me too.
“You okay, mamacita?” one of them called out.
“Are you seriously going to cause trouble here?” I gritted at her.
When I opened the door to the Patrol, she dug in her heels, letting me know she wasn’t getting in it.
“I’m not going anywhere with you.”
I stopped, clinging to my temper because I needed Sera to listen to me. I loved sparring with her, but now was not the time.
I let her go and shoved my hands in my pockets because I had the oddest desire to wrap them around her neck. “Are you willing to marry Santino?”
“Of course not.”
“You know why he’s here, why he wants to take you?”
“Gustavo is my godfather and he’s going to have his balls if he hurts me. Not to mention he’ll start a war with Chicago.”
“You think that psycho cares?”
Sera considered this briefly. “Are you talking about my uncle or Santino?”
“Hey, move that thing.” One of the club’s bouncers tapped the SUV’s hood. Trevor rolled down the windows. “Just a second, man. We’re having a lover’s spat.”
If the situation were different, I would have found that statement hilarious, but amusement wasn’t flowing in my veins at the moment.
“De Lucci,” a low voice said behind me.
Fuck. I didn’t want to deal with him too. I turned to face the man known as The Turk. We were almost the same height and build. He could have passed as our brother, but his features were sharper. Everyone knew he was the Rossis’ enforcer. Everyone knew if you want to get a hit done with precision, you called The Turk. But most of all, everyone knew if he wasn’t a half-blooded Italian like me, he would have been next in line as boss to the Rossi crime family.
“What’s going on here?” He nodded to Sera. “Doesn’t seem like you to force a woman into your car.”
“I’m protecting her.”
He crossed his arms. “You really want to get in between Conte and his bride?”
“What the hell?” Sera whipped out her phone, swiped at it, and held it to her ear. “You guys must be part of an exclusive phone tree I’m not aware of. Well, let’s get it straight from the horse’s mouth because I, for one, had no idea I was betrothed to anyone.”
I grabbed the phone from her, dropped it on the ground, and smashed it under my shoe.
“Was that fucking necessary?” she yelled.
“It’s none of your business,” I told Sandro, then jerked my head at Sera toward the Patrol. “Get in the fucking car. Now.”
Without another word, she got in.
My brows shot to my hairline. Huh. Maybe the only way to get through to her was not give her too many options.
“We’re out of here,” I said. “Sorry to bother you.”
“Not so fast.” He got within a millimeter of my face.
“Mind backing up a step?” I asked softly.
He gave me a little space, but not much. It was a pissing contest. “If you’re going to cause trouble, I don’t want it anywhere near my club. Got it?”
“That’s why we’re leaving.”
“Not in my neighborhood either.”
I got into the SUV beside Sera. “The first strike won’t be mine. Can’t say the same for the other guy but…” I shrugged. “Outta my hands, man.”
I yanked the door and shut off the crowd and The Turk.
“I can’t believe you destroyed my phone,” Sera griped the second our vehicle started moving. I ignored her lament and asked Trevor, “Any chatter in the area?”
“No,” he said. “But on my way here, I could feel the neighborhood on edge.”
I looked at Sera. “You should have gone back to Chicago.”
“That could easily be arranged”—she got into my face—“if you hadn’t destroyed my freaking phone! And I came with Ivy. Why were we separated?”
My phone rang. And I didn’t need to look at the screen to see who it was. “Yeah.”
“My sister is demanding to talk to Sera.”
I could hear Ivy’s rapid-fire rant.
“Would you wait,” Daniel told his sister.
“Tell that son of a bitch if I don’t talk to Sera right now I’m calling Luca.”
“I saw you destroy her phone. Was that necessary?” Daniel asked me.
Instead of answering him, I said, “Hand the phone over to your sister.”
“Sera?” Ivy demanded.
“No.”
“Fucker. If I don’t talk to her right this second—”
“Keep it short—”
I handed Sera the phone, ignoring the death glare she shot my way. I met Trevor’s eyes in the rearview mirror. I could see his smirk from the crinkle of his eyes.
“Nothing to see here,” I told him.
“Sure, boss.”
“Don’t call Luca,” Sera said. “Let me find out what the hell is going on first. No, I don’t think he’ll hurt me.”
I wasn’t sure if she meant me or Santino, probably both.
The SUV carrying Daniel and his sister crossed W 143 Street. When we were about to follow them, three vehicles joined our convoy from the left.
Trevor’s phone on the dash went off. He put it on speaker.
It was Nico.
“About time you got here,” I told him.
“Traffic.”
“Head to Hell’s Kitchen.” The third vehicle that arrived with Nico followed their tail while Nico’s and the second vehicle sandwiched our Patrol. I still couldn’t believe Santino confronted us at the dance club. Did he think Sera would just go with him or did Luca give his blessing?
Nico’s vehicle up ahead hit a traffic light essentially breaking up our convoy. We told Daniel not to wait for us.
Sera stopped talking to Ivy. “Wait, you’re not taking me to Brooklyn?”
“It’s not safe.”
“Gotta go, Ivy.” Sera ended the call and poked the phone at my chest. “It’s not your place to protect me.”
“Ah, see…” I pinched the bridge of my nose. “I think it is.”
“Because you were seen with me?” she scoffed. “You can take me straight to the airport and I’ll return to Chicago. I’ll be out of your hair.” She averted her gaze. “You don’t need me anymore.”
I flattened my mouth. I was blinded by my single objective of getting Gustavo to cave, and now that I was successful, it made me sick to my stomach that Sera got hurt. Damn Daniel’s fickleness. He was worse than a squirrel wanting to cross the road.
“Daniel’s an idiot.”
She reared back as if surprised by my admission. “You just hate admitting you were wrong reading him. I never thought I was his type anyway.”
“You can do better than him.”
“Wow, that’s a strange compliment seeing that you’re more his friend than mine.” She patted my hand. “I forgive you for misreading your friend.”
The spikes of guilt pierced deeper.
The light turned green, and before I could say anything else, Nico came over our comms. “We’ve got company. A blue van just pulled in front of us.”
“Daniel, we have probable hostiles,” I said. “Anything on your end?”
“We’re clear so far.”
“They probably had a plant watching at the club,” Trevor said.
“You think?” I muttered. Turning to Sera, I said, “No matter what happens, stay in the Patrol. It’s bulletproof.”
“I’m not worried,” she retorted. “If Santino wanted me as a bride, he wouldn’t want me dead.” She shrugged. “I can’t say the same about you guys.”
Trevor burst out laughing, and so did many people on the comms.
He looked in the rearview mirror. “Since Matteo refuses to introduce us, I’m Trevor, by the way.”
“She doesn’t need to know you,” I snapped. “Keep your eyes forward.”
“Sure, boss.”
“Are you an asshole to your employees?”
“He doesn’t work for me.”
“Oh…” Sera’s eyes widened. “Boss as in…”
“Not that either.”
“Then…”
Exasperated because I had no plans of explaining whoever the fuck Trevor was, I said, “It’s none of your business.”
But she was mine. If Gustavo wanted Sera kept out of it, he should have sold me all of his shares. Now he was playing a dangerous game, pitting me against the Galluzo, and possibly Chicago. Was that the old man’s play all along? I didn’t think he wanted a war. Or maybe this was still about Aunt Carlotta’s rejection thirty years ago.
The word vendetta originated with Italians and revenge could last generations.
Fuck. I hated mob drama.
A force jolted our vehicle, sending the Patrol spinning.
Sera screamed.
Shouting erupted.
“Fuck, black SUV. Blocked you off.”
The sound of automatic weapons exploded all around us.
“Oh my God! Oh my God!” Sera put her arms over her head.
“Stay down,” I said without looking at the woman beside me.
“I’m already staying down,” Sera shouted.
Trevor handed me two nine millimeters, a sub-machine gun, and a comms device.
“Are you going out there?” she asked shrilly.
“Stay in the car with Trevor.”
“What?”
I fixed the comms and made sure it was working before patting Trevor’s shoulder to let him know I was exiting the vehicle. I closed the door and crouched. Our SUV was cut off from our rear and front escorts. Those assailants were busy firing at Nico and his men in front of us, and the rest of our crew behind us. Six hostiles in front of us with two of them down. No casualties from our side yet.
Sera was right. Santino wasn’t going to harm her, so she wasn’t in immediate danger. But he planned to get rid of us by getting rid of our backup. Did he think I wouldn’t join the fight? Deciding to help Nico up ahead, I crouch-walked to the front of the Patrol and took position at the wheelbase. I snuck a peek around it.
Just my luck, an assailant from the vehicle that cut us off turned and saw me. He was wearing a mask. All of them were. But his plaid shirt and loose jeans gave him away. Harlem gang.
He alerted his friends and started firing at me while running for cover. His bullets bounced off the hood.
The barrel of my gun followed him, and when I had my shot, I squeezed the trigger. He jerked back and fell to the ground. His partner dragged him behind the SUV and continued firing at me.
“Nico. Status?” I shouted.
“Three down,” my brother said.
“These men are crazy. What the fuck?” Trevor said.
Attacking us didn’t make sense. They had no strategy except to fire at us. Unless.
When there was a brief lull in the gunfire, I said, “Trevor, check if Daniel is okay.”
“He’s fine. They’ve made it to Malcom X.”
They weren’t a diversion either.
“What the hell are they doing?” I asked Nico, who had a better vantage point of the remaining attackers.
“They’re bugging out,” Nico said.
“Well, that’s no fun,” one of our guys chimed in.
“I had enough fun,” another one said. “I need sleep and a warm body.”
“Get the plates?” I asked. It was probably useless since chop shops were a common racket for these gangs and they would have an endless supply of fake or stolen plates.
“Yup,” my brother and Trevor acknowledged.
Sirens sounded in the distance. “Police are coming, that’s why.”
I opened the passenger door and slid in beside Trevor. “Let’s go.” I turned to look at Sera. Her eyes searched my face and she craned her neck to look down my body.
I grinned. “I’m in one piece.”
Her eyes snapped to mine again, and there was a hint of irritation in them. “Why is the Harlem gang after us?”
I expected to find her in tears, but her question caught me by surprise.
She waved her hand at my unasked question. “Trevor filled me in. Besides, they didn’t look like Santino’s men.”
Trevor gunned the engine and floored the gas, jolting our vehicle forward and causing Sera to grab the handlebar and swear.
We closed in on Nico’s vehicle, tailing closely while our rear vehicle caught up behind us. Our convoy drove in a tight formation. We weren’t giving anyone a second chance to split us up.
“They’re not, but Harlem has loose alliances with the Rossis and that’s our link to the Galluzo.”
She waited for me to say more, but until I had a handle on Santino’s motives, I wasn’t feeding her any more speculation.
“What’s next?” she asked.
“You’re coming home with me.”
