Page 32 of All Your Lies (All or Nothing #2)

twenty-six

Alexa

ROSIE’S WEDDING

“ M ay I cut in?” Marco asks from the other side of Gage.

I go still in Gage’s arms. Throughout the night, I attempted to keep my distance from Marco. While I’ve moved on from being upset, I still have little interest in being in his presence.

“Absolutely the fuck not,” Gage spits.

“It’s fine,” I say, stepping back. I don’t want him to ruin Rosie’s day by making a scene. I don’t believe he will, but I also don’t know. His fuse seems to be a lot shorter than it’s ever been.

Gage mutters something to Marco as they have a stare down.

I can’t help but compare the two as I’m stuck between them.

Gage is reminiscent of a fallen angel who screams temptation, sin, and rebellion.

While Marco still looks like the boy next door—ordinary, likable, probably writes in a calendar and irons all of his clothes before he puts them on.

At one point, I believed Marco was the one who made my heart race, but he never did. It was always Gage.

“Graphic, I dig it. No worries, baby bro,” Marco says to Gage.

A huge smile graces Marco’s lips as he pulls me into his arms. “Laugh as if I said something funny to piss him off.”

My head tilts back, and I laugh. Because why the hell not? I’m down to be petty and piss Gage off a little.

“I wanted to apologize,” Marco murmurs.

“There’s no need.”

“There is,” he says as he leans closer to my ear. “You will always be one of the most beautiful girls in the room, and I’m sorry for making you feel less than you are. I just never had the courage to tell you I’m-I’m only attracted to men.”

I pull back and look into his eyes that are a mix of sorrow and vulnerability.

“But I saw you.”

“You walked in on me with someone who had long brown hair,” he says as he looks over to the right.

I follow his gaze and land on my older cousin, Vinny. His long brown hair in a tight ponytail at the back of his head. With a scowl on his face, he skillfully spins a knife between his fingers, never taking his eyes off us.

“You mean?”

“Yeah,” he says as he looks back at my cousin with love in his eyes and a grin on his face. While Vinny still looks two seconds from wanting to stab someone. Probably me. Marco leans back in and whispers in my ear. “Watch.”

Vinny gets up from the table, almost knocking over the chair, then storms away.

“He’s such a drama queen sometimes.”

I smile up at Marco. “I should’ve known. Good luck with my cousin. From the looks of it, you’re going to need it.”

“I can handle him,” he says with a smile. “Are we all good?”

“Yes. I hope you two will be happy.”

All of his erratic behavior when we were younger makes sense. He went about it the wrong way, but he was hurting.

“You know we can’t be together. Only in secret.”

“It doesn’t need to be like that. We’ll talk to Gage. You both deserve happiness and acceptance. Love is between hearts—”

Marco pulls me into the tightest hug I think I’ve ever received.

“Thank you…” he whispers as he takes a deep breath. “Your dad’s coming, and I’d rather not have another chat with him. I hope you and Gage will be happy, too.”

“Yeah, I don’t know about that,” I say as I glance over at Gage regarding us with an expression I can’t decipher, but it makes my stomach flutter. Why does he do this to me?

“Gage may be different, but his heart is still the same. It’s only ever beat for you. Give him hell, but give him a chance. After everything, he deserves it.”

“You can’t swap brothers on a whim, Alexa. This isn’t your decision,” Manuel sneers.

“Fuck you!”

“I don’t like sloppy thirds,” Manuel spits back at me.

Gage’s gun is out of its holster and aimed at Manuel before I can blink.

Tony’s eyes widen in shock as he raises his hands and positions himself as a shield between his brother and the gun, which is ominously aimed at his sibling’s head.

“He didn’t mean it. Rocco, let’s table this discussion.

We have time. Gia, why don’t you go out to the living room? We’ll be out soon.”

She looks over at Marco and then her gaze shifts to me while her mouth turns into a sneer. I give her the same, my eyes piercing with a mix of annoyance and amusement, and then a smirk forms on my lips as she walks out of the room.

I’ve never liked Gia. She’s self-centered, spoiled, and a total bitch.

I went to her birthday party at her house last year and that was all I needed to see.

She yelled at the house staff because “they were beneath her” as she said.

And when she didn’t get the car she wanted, she threw a fit and actually stomped her feet.

No way am I letting Marco end up with her, even if I didn’t know he was in love with my older cousin.

Gage places his gun on the desk with a heavy clunk while its barrel stays aimed toward them. The unspoken warning hangs in the air.

As Tony moves back to his seat, Manuel averts his eyes, making a conscious effort to avoid looking toward me and Gage. Good.

“Alexander Petrov’s shipments should reach both docks Wednesday at nine forty-five. See that everything goes smoothly. Bring extra detail just in case,” Gage says. “I want a detailed inventory of everything that makes it to land.”

“We’re really working with the Russians?” Tony’s eyebrow shoots up.

I, too, am shocked. I only met the Petrovs briefly when I was younger while in Italy. The only thing I remember was tension. Steeped in old-world values, the Russians are part of a secret society whose deplorable deeds rival our own.

“It expands our reach. We have access to the ports in Los Angeles again, and our revenue in the gun and drug trade will double. Unless you don’t want the extra money?” Gage says.

“What about the Stockade? Will that open back up now that we’re working with the Russians?” Manuel asks with a smile on his face, which makes me sick. I never went, but I know what it is, and I’m glad it burned to the ground.

“Absolutely not. Anyone who traffics while I’m in charge will be executed.”

You could hear a pin drop with how silent the room falls. No one says anything, so Gage continues, “Hector placed a hit. He wouldn’t divulge who it was for, but the amount was steep, so it could be for multiple people.”

The thought of Gage’s father leaves an acrid taste in my mouth, and I can’t help but imagine bringing him back to life solely to repeat the act of killing him myself. I’m just thankful my dad’s okay, and his plan never got carried out.

“What do you have for me?” Gage looks over at Marco, who’s now his underboss. He wanted out, but there’s no way out for us. He’s always been the best at mingling, charming, and learning secrets, so that’s what he now does.

“I’ve heard more noise from my contact. The hit man, assassin, or whatever you want to call him is in town and has been for a while. Allegedly, he’s one of the best and has never fucked up a kill. There’s some vendetta or some shit, so it’s personal, which means we’re fucked.”

“We find out who it is and pay them off.” Rocco shrugs as if it’s that easy.

“If it’s personal, a vendetta, as Marco says, we’re fucked. Would you allow someone to pay you off and forgo exacting your revenge?” Gage asks with a raised brow.

The room falls silent. All of them too bloodthirsty at the thought of revenge to be paid off. Some infractions are priceless. No amount of money can satisfy that.

Everyone besides Gage, Marco, and me leave because we have close to nothing to go on aside from what we already know and the new fact that someone shot at Manuel last week. He’s a monster, so I’m sure he has more people gunning for him than just an assassin.

“Well, I have places to be, so I’ll just be going,” Marco says as he stands.

The telltale sound of a gun’s safety echoes in the room as the tip of Gage’s gun presses against the side of Marco’s head.

“Gage! What are you doing?” I say as I rise to my feet, my heart pounding outside of my chest.

“What’s going on between you two?”

“Nothing. Put the gun down!” I say as I move to look at Gage’s face. His eyes seem lifeless, devoid of the customary mischievous sparkle I’ve grown fond of.

“You almost had me fooled,” Gage says as he looks at me. “You—”

“What the hell is going on?” Marco says with his hands up in surrender.

“Do you want him?” Gage asks me.

I frown. “No.”

“Then why? Why say no earlier?”

Say no to what? As I try to make sense of what he’s saying, I scan the room, then shift my gaze toward Marco again. Shit.

“Because—he isn’t going to marry her.”

“Why?” Gage barks.

“He—”

“I’m not attracted to her or Alexa,” Marco murmurs.

“You stupid mother—”

“I’m in love with Vinny,” Marco says as a tear drops to his cheek.

Gage’s eyes shift from me to Marco.

“You’re gay?” Gage asks, perplexed, as he removes his gun from Marco’s face and takes a step back.

“Yes,” Marco whispers as his eyes hit the floor.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Gage asks with hurt in his voice.

“I was scared. You know how it is in this family.”

“I’d never do anything. You have to know that. Is this why Vinny was so willing to betray our father and work both sides?”

“Yes. He was trying to protect me.”

“Did our father know?”

Marco looks sullen as he nods. “Why do you think he spent so much time with me? He was trying to change my mind.”

“Fuck,” Gage says as he rubs a hand down his face. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”

“It’s all good,” Marco says as he walks to the door while wiping his cheek.

“Marco,” Gage barks. “I don’t care who the fuck you love as long as it’s not my girl. You will always be welcome, no matter what. I’ll kill anyone who says otherwise.”

A tear threatens to leak from my eye as I watch a shift happen in their relationship for the better. I knew Gage would understand.