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CHAPTER SIX

Enzo

“Well, it’s definitely a bomb,” Rafael confirms, placing it gently back on the counter.

“Thanks, Einstein,” I snort, shaking my head at him. “I got that.”

“I just don’t understand it,” he continues, eyeing the bomb and ignoring me. “The cryptic messages, the bomb, what is all this?”

“We’ve never really encountered… an attack like this,” Uncle Joe confirms, glancing at Rafael desperately as if he’s the one with all the answers.

“Can we have it tested for fingerprints or something?” Jack muses, rifling through my pantry.

“You think we’re on an episode of CSI: Miami or something?” I ask, elbowing the younger cousin in the ribs. “We don’t have the skills for shit like that. Even if we got some prints, we can’t run them in the database unless we can somehow get access to it. Besides, the security footage showed nothing of use. Whoever did this knew how to place the package at the doorman’s post undetected."

We mull the idea of hitting up some of our sources on the police force until Uncle Joe shuts it down. The core family members have gathered at my penthouse to debrief the situation, but we’re getting nowhere.

I guess there’s no chapter on defused bombs or coded messages in the mafia playbook.

“Enzo, you can’t do any of your hacker shit on this?”

“On a defused bomb?” I laugh. “What exactly do you want me to hack into?”

We silently stare at the tiny black box perched innocently on my kitchen counter. Everyone is stumped—and nervous.

I can feel the sizzling tension in the air, especially from the older family members who are used to playing by very defined, well-known rules.

“Okay, well…” I start, but the elevator dings open, interrupting me, and Lux breezes into the kitchen. She’s balancing a slim paper package with baby Rosie, who’s happily perched on her hip.

I motion to Jack to move the package away from here.

“Hello, hello, my terrifying little family.” She grins, waving at the group of stone-faced men packed into my kitchen. “Can I have my husband back now?”

Rafael’s face lights up for the first time since he arrived this morning, and he swoops in to grab Rosie and place a soft kiss on Lux’s mouth.

I watch the exchange, feeling jealous like I sometimes do. What Rafael and Lux have is an unmistakable, undeniable soul bond—something I’ve always deeply craved.

They complement each other perfectly. Her sunny disposition softens his dark, brooding ways, while his logic and steadfastness balance her chaotic nature.

And then there’s Rosie, their darling one-year-old and my goddaughter—an immaculate mix of Lux’s infectious smiles and Rafael’s toughness.

Rafael tosses her into the air, making her squeal with laughter, and even Uncle Joe cracks a smile. As the family gathers around Rosie, teasing her and making her laugh, Lux sidles over to me.

“You okay, bestie?”

“It’s been a rough day,” I admit. “Lot of weird shit happening around here and I just don’t know if I’m capable of handling it all.”

I nearly whisper the last part, feeling like a failure in my new role. Lux slips her fingers into mine and gives my hand a couple of quick squeezes.

“You’re going to figure this out,” she says, keeping her voice low. “You’re the smartest man I know, but don’t tell my husband I said that.”

“It’s in the vault,” I confirm, pretending to lock my lips.

“Oh, this is for you!” she says, thrusting an envelope into my hands. “I started chatting with the doorman while I was waiting for the elevator, and he was bringing this up for you, so I grabbed it instead.”

Great, another unmarked mysterious package.

I stare at it, twisting it around in my hands. It’s a slim envelope, the kind people usually use to send legal documents. Well, at least it’s not another bomb.

While the rest of the family is distracted by Rosie’s antics, Rafael wanders over to us and cocks his eyebrow at the envelope.

“Another one?”

“I don’t even know anymore,” I mumble, tearing the seal open with shaky fingers.

I hold my breath, staring at the innocent-looking envelope, and then pull myself together and peek inside.

“It’s just a paper.” I sigh with relief, pulling it out.

“A photograph,” Lux corrects me, leaning over to get a glimpse. The three of us stare at the picture in confusion.

“Who is she?” Rafael wonders, leaning closer.

For a brief, hopeful second, I think it might be a mistake. This photograph of a little girl with dark curls and bright green eyes wasn’t meant for me. The doorman probably got the address confused. I need to talk to him about this and the previous package.

I almost laugh at the paranoid mess The8 have turned me into, until Lux flips the photo over.

Matilda Rossi got your eyes six years ago, but I always have my eye on you.

I read the message again. And then a third time. Then it clicks, and the room starts to spin. I sink onto my haunches, dry heaving into my hands.

“Get him some water!” I vaguely hear Lux call out. A warm hand comes down on my shoulder, but it does little to comfort me.

Matilda Rossi. Five years ago. My eyes.

I gingerly pick up the photo from where it fell to the floor and stare at the small child—my child. My daughter has my mossy green eyes and identical dimples, one deeper than the other.

A glass of water is thrust into my hand, and I chug it without even thinking.

“I need to see Valentina,” I say, my voice sounding hoarse to my own ears. The urgency propels me upward, but my bones feel like jelly, and I collapse back down onto the cold, hard tiles.

“Easy, easy,” Rafael coaxes, grabbing me and helping me stand. I take a few deep breaths, feeling Lux’s slim fingers squeezing mine. “I don’t think you need to be going anywhere right now.”

“She didn’t even tell me. How could she not tell me?”

Rafael looks helplessly at Lux, who bites her lip with worry. Anger rushes through me, fueling the desire to destroy something, but I try to breathe through it. Rosie’s laughter echoes from the living room, and the last thing I want to do is scare her by turning into the Hulk.

“And someone’s after her,” I finally say after some deep, meditative breaths. “The8 knows who she is, and they’re using her as a threat against me.”

“That makes things tricky, for sure,” Rafael agrees. “Do you want to send a representative over to the Rossis to get them in the loop? I don’t think you should be the one to do it.”

“No,” I bark out, forcing myself to cool down again. “I have to do it.”

Lux and Rafael exchange worried glances, but I ignore them. This is my problem—and a threat to my child. I nod at Rafael and slip the photograph into my pocket.

Lux looks like she wants to tackle me to the floor and stop me from leaving, but I sidestep her and head to the elevator.

I dial Valentina’s number, but the automated message tells me it’s been disconnected. I try again and again as I jog to my car, foolishly hoping I’ll get through.

It takes me a second to find the Rossi compound and plug it into my map, but once I get on the road, my head finally clears.

The speed limit is just a suggestion at this point, and I ignore it altogether, winding through traffic, cutting people off. Car horns and angry shouts fly in my direction, but I couldn’t care less.

I need to get to Valentina and warn her about this—whatever the hell this is.

When I finally pull up at the wrought-iron gate, the house looks dark and empty. I wonder if they’ve gone back to California. Just then, the security intercom buzzes, and I nearly jump out of my skin.

“Can I help you?” a disembodied voice drones from the speaker.

“I need to see Valentina Rossi,” I gasp, desperately lowering my window. “It’s urgent.”

“Miss Rossi isn’t accepting visitors.”

“I don’t give a flying fuck. Didn’t you hear me? It’s urgent!” I nearly scream. I know this butler or whoever is just doing his job, but doesn’t anyone understand what “urgent” means? “She’s in danger.”

“Stay in your vehicle, please.”

The gates don’t open, but a dark, armored car glides out of the garage and heads down the long, winding path toward me.

I wait, holding my breath, desperate to see Valentina. My fingers twitch nervously, tapping on my phone, praying it’s not too late.

But when the car pulls up to the gate, six Rossi men get out instead of Valentina.

“Shit,” I groan. “Why does it always have to be so fucking hard?”

I slide out of my car, slamming the door closed. Big mistake. Six loaded guns come up, pointed straight at me from the other side of the gate.

I raise my hands immediately, showing that I’m unarmed, and wait for instruction. I hate being vulnerable like this, but I’ll do whatever it takes to get inside this damn house and see her.

An older man finally lowers his weapon and walks over to the gate. I eye the men behind him, guns still trained at my head.

When I finally focus on his face, I realize it’s Luigi Rossi, Lev’s younger brother.

“Luigi, can you tell your guys to pull back?” I ask, aiming for politeness. “I’m unarmed and I need to talk to Valentina.”

“That simply won’t happen,” he says, staring me up and down. “You’re not allowed anywhere near her, remember?”

“She’s in danger,” I growl, pissed off and ready to climb the damn gate. “Can we put this shit behind us so that I can explain?”

“How convenient that you suddenly have urgent information to share with her, now that she’s within your reach again.”

“Has she received any cryptic messages?” I ask, trying to get to my point. That gives him pause, and he stares at me with cold, calculated eyes.

“Why do you ask?”

“Because she’s in fucking danger!” I yell, throwing my hands up in frustration. The guns behind him promptly lock in on my face again. “Oh, relax, would you? I’m unarmed!”

“Have you been sending her cryptic messages?” Luigi asks, ignoring the firing squad behind him.

“No,” I spit out, barely holding my sanity together. “I’ve been receiving them as well. Today, I got this.”

I pull the photograph out of my pocket and smack it against the metal gate. Luigi’s face pales, and I have my answer. Matilda is mine.

“ She’s in danger, too,” I add, a little more softly this time. I flip the photograph over for him to read the message.

“The8?” he gasps, pulling the paper out of my hands. “Valentina got a message from The8 as well.”

Fuck.

When I find the motherfuckers behind all this, I’m going to tear them from limb to limb.