Page 18

18

ANGELO

A fter landing and securing my helo, I’m about to call one of my brothers to pick me up when a white BMW rolls up outside the hangar. I instantly recognize the car and driver, and my heart sinks.

What the hell is Carlotta doing here? I wonder. The last thing I want to do is drag my baby sister into this mess.

Jogging over, I open the door and lean down to peer inside. “What the hell, Lottie?”

“Nice to see you, too,” she says and nods to the passenger seat. “Now get in. You’ve got some explaining to do.”

I slip into the car and buckle up fast. Carlotta isn’t exactly the best driver and has totaled exactly two cars, though she’ll say neither time was her fault. Turning to face her, I brace a hand against the dashboard.

“Sorry, but you shouldn’t be involved. There are a lot of bad people after me,” I tell her.

“I heard Miceli talking to Vin and Enzo. Fill me in now, Ang,” she orders. “You know I hate when you guys leave me out of the loop, and you always do.”

“Because we’re protecting you,” I insist.

“Yeah, yeah,” she mumbles and spins the wheel. The tires screech as we head for the exit and I prepare myself for a wild ride. “Did it ever occur to you that I don’t need protecting anymore? I’m almost twenty-six years old?—”

“You’re a baby, Lottie.”

“No, I’m not!” Her full attention is on me and I point to the road which she is completely ignoring. She rolls her eyes and slams on the brakes, nearly running a stop sign.

“You were saying?”

“I saw it,” she snaps irritably.

Yeah, sure. But, I don’t comment further. When my sister gets in a tizz, there’s no soothing her. “Look, I know we can be overprotective sometimes, but it’s only because we love you.”

Her face softens. “I know, but I hate being left out. Now please tell me who this woman is who kidnapped you so I can kick her ass.”

A laugh bursts from my throat. My little sister might be sassy, but she isn’t tough and street smart like Blake. I don’t think Carlotta has ever held a gun before, much less know how to use one. And she certainly doesn’t keep a knife in her designer boots. “First, there’s no need to kick her ass because I think I’m falling in love with her.”

Once again, Carlotta turns all of her attention on me, her eyes going comically wide. “What?” she squeals.

“Eyes on the road, please,” I say and she returns her gaze straight ahead, but still keeps slipping bemused glances my way as I start bringing her up to date. “And before you drop me off, there is some place I want to check out first.”

I give Carlotta directions to Blake’s safehouse where we spent most of the night. I know it has been compromised, but I still want to swing by and see if maybe she’s there. I know it’s a longshot, but I’m desperate to find her.

“After we finished playing racquetball last week, I was, um—” Hmm, how do I explain that I was kidnapped? Or, abducted maybe? “Well, let’s just say there was a mixup.”

“What do you mean?”

I let out a sigh. “Blake is a bounty hunter.”

“She kills people?”

“No! Not an assassin! She tracks down wanted people, bad people, and turns them in to whoever is searching for them. Somehow she mixed me up with another guy and she took me instead of him. It turned into a big mess and our names were put on this, ah, list.”

“What list?”

I hesitate, but then decide to come clean. Lottie will find out sooner or later, anyway, so I may as well tell her now. “It’s called the Kill List.”

“Oh, my God,” she whispers. “Is it as bad as it sounds?”

“Yeah, it’s exactly how it sounds. Anyway, we had to escape the city, so I flew us up to my cabin to lay low for a little while.”

“Is everything all cleared up now?”

“Not exactly,” I answer carefully.

“Then why are you back? And where is your bounty hunter?”

“That’s what I’m trying to find out. She left during the middle of the night and I have a feeling she’s on some damn quest to sacrifice herself to save me. We’re heading for her safehouse right now. She’s probably not there, but I want to look anyway. Just in case.”

“She has a safehouse? Wow, she definitely sounds interesting. I can’t wait to meet her.”

When I don’t comment further, her mouth edges up in a sly smile.

“Is she pretty?” Carlotta asks.

“What?”

“You heard me. Is Blake hot? And do you really think you’re falling in love with her? Oh, my God, who are you and where is my player brother?”

“Ha ha,” I respond, my voice laced in sarcasm. But then I conjure up an image of Blake in my head and my temperature rises about ten degrees. Long, dark hair, aqua eyes, long legs for days. And don’t even get me started on how she only wears black. It’s sexy as hell. “And, yeah, she’s gorgeous. More than gorgeous. Fucking stunning.”

“I can’t believe all that’s happened and in such a short amount of time. And, of course, I’m the last to know.”

“I’ve only talked to Miceli,” I tell her. My phone buzzes and I pull it out of my pocket, looking down at the caller ID. “Speak of the devil. Hey, Miceli.”

“Ang, are you back in town yet?” Miceli asks.

“I am. Carlotta just picked me up.”

“Yeah, can’t say I’m surprised. She wasn’t too happy to find out she was left out of the loop.”

I glance over at my sister and it occurs to me that she and Blake, though very different, are also a lot alike. They have similar qualities when it comes to fighting for what they believe in. They’re both fierce, little tornados that will upend a man’s entire world. But in the best possible way.

“Yeah, I’ve been properly scolded already,” I tell him wryly and Carlotta looks over at me and I toss her a wink.

“Anyway, I was calling to let you both know that I’ve called an emergency meeting with the Five Families.”

“When?” I sit up straighter.

“One hour. I’ll send you directions. I want to know everything about this Gallo character.”

“I need to find Blake,” I remind him, getting ready to fight him on this. Finding Blake is my number one priority right now, not sitting in some meeting.

“I know and we will,” he assures me. “We’re going to inform the others about what’s going on and utilize every resource we have to track her down faster. Okay?”

“Yeah, okay,” I say, calming down.

“You two be careful. I have a bad feeling.”

“Yeah, you, too, bro. See you soon.” I hang up and inform Carlotta about the meeting. But first things first. We’re getting close to Blake’s safehouse and I guide Carlotta the rest of the way and tell her to circle the block first a couple of times. I’m looking for trouble, making sure no one is following us. Damn, Blake sure has taught me well. After not spotting anyone suspicious or out of the ordinary, I direct Carlotta where to park. But, just because I didn’t notice any trouble doesn’t necessarily mean that none is lying in wait somewhere. Waiting.

“What exactly are we doing, Ang?” she asks.

“Looking for Blake. This is where she brought me to hide, so I thought maybe…” My voice trails off when I catch sight of Vixen loitering in the shadows. “Shit. Go!”

Dropping down out of sight, I hope she didn’t see me.

“What? Who did you see?”

“Someone who was chasing us earlier. Just go.” My phone buzzes again and I read off the address to Carlotta that Miceli just texted me. She plugs it into her GPS and turns the BMW toward the warehouse district. “Miceli must’ve gotten some important intel from Archer.”

A frown creases her brow. “Who’s Archer?”

“An old informant, I guess.”

“Dammit, Angelo, why am I always the last to know everything?”

“Because we’re trying to protect you, Lottie. And, if it makes you feel any better, Miceli said Archer is like a ghost. Even he barely knows the guy, so don’t feel bad.”

“Wait a second. Isn’t Archer the one who helped Miceli find Alessia after she’d been kidnapped?”

“Yeah.”

“Hmm, and how can we trust him?”

I shrug a shoulder. “I’m not sure we can. At least not fully.”

Tapping a finger on the top of my thigh, I start growing frustrated. How the hell am I going to find Blake? I really hope this Archer guy came through with information about Carmine Gallo because the more I think about it, the more sure I am that Blake would track the man down and confront him.

So stupid . Dammit, I want to wrap my hands around her throat and…well, maybe not exactly throttle her. More like kiss her into sweet oblivion. I can’t believe she just took off on me. I mean, I know we weren’t exactly partners but, in a way, we were. And she left without a word. Without saying goodbye, and that hurts more than I care to admit.

Carlotta keeps asking me a million questions, but I don’t have any more answers. Everything is up in the air. By the time we reach the warehouse on the edge of the city where the meeting is taking place, I’m at my wit’s end.

I need some fucking answers.

I need to find my girl.

The worry has set in hardcore and I’m so scared she’s in trouble, but there’s no way I can help her if I can’t fucking find her. My main goal is to get an address for Gallo then go over and confront him.

Carlotta parks the car and we get out. As we walk across the parking lot, the hair on the back of my neck stands up. I pause and look around. It feels like someone is watching me. My sister pauses and looks over at me, concerned.

“What’s wrong?”

Nothing seems out of the ordinary, so I run a hand over the back of my neck, squeeze it, and shake the strange feeling off. “Nothing,” I mumble as we walk up to the entrance.

Two huge bruisers guard the door, but they let us through without an issue because they must recognize us from previous meetings. Before disappearing inside, I glance over my shoulder one last time.

“Everything alright, Mr. Rossi?” one of the enforcers asks.

“Yeah, fine.” I’m not sure why it feels like someone is watching me, but I look down at my arms and see goosebumps. I’m probably just being paranoid. It’s probably because my name is on that damn list and I know everyone and their brother is hunting me down.

Following Carlotta, we walk into the huge, abandoned warehouse with an extremely high ceiling covered in rafters. A quick glance around and I see all the usual suspects seem to be present. A table with chairs has been set up and it’s purposely round so no one is technically seated at the head of it. We’re all to believe we have an equal say and are on equal ground. But the truth is Miceli and my family run this town. And they all know it and defer to us.

I spot my brothers—along with Enzo’s wife, Gabriella Bianche Rossi who is another very strong woman. They recently had twins—Rosa and Bianca—and have their hands full and then some. So, it’s nice to see them both here supporting me. I appreciate it more than I can say.

We walk over and exchange hugs and back slaps. Miceli is the tallest and biggest of the four of us, but not by much. I’m not surprised to see Enzo in a suit because he’s always dressed for the office, but I almost chuckle when I notice some crusty, white baby puke on the lapel. He seems to be loving fatherhood, but he looks a little more tired than usual. Guess having two infants at the same time will do that to a person.

And, of course, Vincentius is more casual in jeans and a Henley. I’m probably the most athletic because I like working out. No one else except Carlotta has a gym membership, but you’d never know. We’re all muscled and know how to fight if necessary, courtesy of our dad.

“Good to see you back in one piece,” Enzo says, slapping me on the back. He wraps an arm around Gabriella, pulling her into his side.

“His heart may not be in one piece,” Carlotta says and I roll my eyes. “Our brother is in love.”

“Love?” Gabriella echoes exchanging a look with Enzo who shrugs.

“For chrissake, Lottie, this is why I didn’t want to tell you,” I grumble. Damn, she has a big mouth.

“Well, they’re all going to find out sooner or later, right?”

“I already knew,” Miceli states. “I just know how to keep things quieter than you, little sis.”

“Wait a second,” Vin says, his green eyes widening. “Love? Who are you in love with? And if you even say the woman who kidnapped you?—”

“Her name is Blake,” I interrupt, “and the main thing I’m concerned about right now is finding and protecting her from Carmine Gallo.”

Enzo whistles under his breath. “I never thought I’d see the day a woman would sweep you off your feet.” He chuckles and I want to punch him. Punch them all for being such pains in my ass.

“You guys are lucky I love you,” I murmur.

“She must be a very special woman to have caught your attention,” Gabriella says with a smile.

“C’mon, let’s start this meeting.” Miceli motions for us to follow him to the table. “I spoke with our elusive Archer and you’re going to be interested in what he told me. Everyone here is going to be very, very interested.”

Twenty minutes later, my brother has told everyone what he found out from Archer—that Carmine Gallo recently moved to town and has a hard-on for the alliance of Five Families. He’s desperate to be a part of it and willing to do anything to stake his claim and territory. It’s exactly what we’d thought and Archer’s confirmation seals the deal. Gallo needs to be dealt with.

No one at the table is happy. For years, through all of the ups and downs, through generations, this table has consisted of five heavy hitting families—The Rossi’s, The Bianchi’s, The DeLuca’s, The Caparelli’s and The Milano’s. Despite the in-fighting, we all agree on one thing and that is no outsiders are welcome into this alliance.

Everyone erupts in a fit when they hear about Gallo and how he wants a position at the table. And after I tell him how Gallo put my name on the Kill List, they’re all really pissed. Because I know they’re all thinking the same thing—who’s next?

No one likes Carmine or his methods, and no one wants him as part of the Five Families. Thank God, we’re all on the same page. But, I’m still no closer to finding Blake and I’m worried as shit.

Where the hell is she? And when the hell can I get out of here and go find her before something terrible happens?