Page 5 of Dark Breaker

“Then there’s going to be a lot of spilled blood on both sides,” Luciano states grimly.

No. It’s my fault. I pray our families can come to some sort of agreement. Pray with all my heart. The last thing I want is for any of my brothers to get hurt. I should have never texted Luciano.

Then again, what would Fabio have done to me if I hadn’t?

I hop on my bike and follow Luciano back to the ferry. We board without issue, and head toward the island of Ustica, where we live.

I’m worried sick about his leg the whole time. And I’m even more apprehensive about what’s going to happen in the coming days. If we can’t avert war, one or more of my brothers could die before we settle this.

And it’s all because of me. Once again, I regret ever texting Luciano. I should have tried to work this out on my own, but I was scared.

What have I gotten us into?

* * *

I’m sittingin the media room of the mansion I share with Luciano, my brother Massimo, and his wife Angela. Luciano is being tended to by the family doctor in the next room, while Massimo and Angela are here with me in the media room, mostly to comfort me. Her belly is quite swollen from the child she carries.

“I shouldn’t have summoned Luciano,” I tell Massimo. “This is my fault.”

He shakes his head. “You can’t take any chances with people like this. I’m glad you called. I’m sure Luciano is, too. You did the right thing.”

Angela nods. “Fabio D’Alimonte is a very dangerous man. He’s not someone you want stalking you.”

“That’s the thing, I don’t think he was stalking me, not after what happened,” I try to explain. “That’s why it was a mistake to call Luciano. None of this had to happen. He wouldn’t have gotten shot. I was just about to fetch my Mace.”

“I thought you said he grabbed your hand when you reached for your purse,” Angela says.

“True,” I admit.

“Either way, Fabio would have still blamed you for what happened to his car,” Massimo says. “Regardless of whether you actually did it or not.”

I sigh. “That’s a very good point.”

When Luciano walks in with a limp, I give him a hug.

“How are you?” I ask him.

“Doc says I’ll live,” Luciano replies. “The more important question is, how areyou?”

“I’ll live as well,” I tell him with a brave smile.

Luciano glances at Massimo. “So, have we decided what we’re going to do? Have you talked to Stefano, Roberto and Enrico yet?” Those are my other brothers.

“When I told them what Fabio did to you, they started grabbing guns from their respective armories,” Massimo says. “They wanted to pay him a little visit. I persuaded them to hold off for now.”

Luciano nods slowly. “Have you been able to reach his father yet?”

“No,” Massimo admits.

Angela glances at me. “Raffaele D’Alimonte is the real boss of the family. Unfortunately, he’s currently—”

“In jail,” I finish for her. “Yes, while I’m not involved in the day to day operations of our business, I know a little bit about the different families. It’s going to take a while to get a message to him.”

“It is,” Massimo agrees. “Considering we can’t go through the usual avenues—in this case, his son. Because Fabio is likely to change any message we send.”

“Or not send it at all,” I add.

“Or that,” Massimo says. “Lucky for us, Stefano has a contact in the same prison. I should be hearing from this contact, or Raffaele himself, shortly.”