Page 53 of Rosetti Family New York

“I was busy.”

“Don’t even fucking start.” Matteo’s lounging in a chair, flipping a silver coin. “You’re not that pussy-whipped. Yet.”

Rafe cuts in. “He’s getting there.” He’s by the window, black-gloved hands gripping the ledge. “You said fifteen minutes. We’ve been sitting here with our thumbs up our asses.”

I crack my knuckles. “Could’ve been longer.”

There’s some laughter at my crude innuendo, some grumbling. I feel like a kid caught sneaking in after curfew. Only Emilio seems distracted, staring at the screens of his laptops.

Dom steps in, voice hard. “Let’s just get this over with.” He levels his gaze at me. “We nabbed that shipment from the Albanians. Rubies.”

“But they know it was us,” Emilio murmurs. His eyes flick up. “They know.”

“The hell did they find out?” I lean against the wall, crossing my arms. “Wasn’t me who fucked up.”

“It’s not about who fucked up.” Dom’s jaw is tight. “It’s about what they’re going to do.”

I force a grin. “Can’t be that bad. Unless they’ve got the Russians helping them.” The joke falls flat. I glance at Emilio, who shrugs. My mind wanders back to Eleanor and how she looked when I dropped her off. Upset about her sister but trying like hell to hide it. Twisting that ring like she always does. I need to protect that damn sister of hers just to keep her happy. Nothing is more important.

Fuck, since when did I care about Eleanor’s happiness more than anything else?

“Leo.” Matteo flicks his coin my way, clocks me right in the temple. “You spacing out?”

I pick up the coin of the deep carpet and pocket it. “Just waiting for the important part.”

“The important part,” Rafe says, “is that they’re gunning for us.” He’s still by the sound-proofed window, looking down over the club lounge, and I wonder if he’s more worried than he’s letting on.

“They’ll hit us where it hurts,” Dom says. “Fast and hard."

“The Red Hook warehouses?” I ask.

Dom shakes his head. “They’re taking this personal. They’ll hit us at home, I’d say. The mansion.”

Those words rip through my thoughts, cut me down to size. I just dropped Eleanor at the mansion. A burn starts in my gut. If anything happens to her while I’m here dealing with this... It won’t happen. I won't let it. “What the fuck are we doing here, then?” I don’t wait for an answer. I’m already gone, running back to my car. I’ve got to get to her. I’ve got to get to her now.

27

Eleanor

The mansion looms around me, still as a grave. Every sound has vanished, and my ears ache with the quiet. When did I become so desperate for the chaos? The absence of the Rosettis is like a weight in every room. I can't take the empty anymore, so I walk outside until I'm in the wooded part of the garden. There’s a freedom out here that reminds me of home, of Juliet. We pick her up tomorrow, but then what?

It feels unreal that we'll finally be together. I’m excited but terrified, because what if she leaves me again? I imagine a million ways to keep her with me, then scold myself. I will never be like him. I will never hold her against her will. We’ll pick her up in the morning, and if she doesn’t want to stay, I’ll set her up in a place far from the reach of our father. Maybe once she knows what the Rosetti family is really like, she’ll change her mind. Or maybe not. My breath catches with panic at the thought of letting her go.

The crunch of tires on gravel makes my heart skip. It gets louder, and I hear Leonardo calling my name. He sounds panicked. I run, desperate to reach him, imagining the worst.That bleeding man, Marco, flashes into my mind, and I push myself faster, afraid of finding Leonardo wounded or worse.

I see him outside the house, looking wild and angry, but he’s unharmed. I crash into his arms.

From inside Leonardo's fierce embrace, it takes me a moment to see anything other than a blur of dark red hair and wild eyes. My relief is a rush so powerful that my knees almost give out. He’s safe. He’s here. I pull back to look at him, heaving breaths that barely fill my lungs, and I see how untamed he looks. His hair is a fiery mess. His shirt is wrinkled and untucked. In his face, I see a storm of anger and panic. Streaks of sweat run from his temples. His hazel eyes snap with fury, and his mouth is a hard line. He looks like he's been through a war just to get to me.

"Juliet!" he says again, his voice raw with urgency, as if saying my name anchors him. I expect his embrace to soften now that he knows I'm okay, but instead, his grip tightens like a vice and almost crushes me. A quick, harsh breath shudders through him, and I realize how scared he must have been.

“What is it? What’s happening?” My mind leaps to a thousand terrifying possibilities as I try to read the expression on his face

“The Albanians are attacking tonight.”

My mind races. Is it just here, or is everyone at risk? Is anyone else in danger? I open my mouth to ask, but Leonardo is already answering the question that screams the loudest in my head.

"Here," he confirms, his tone dark and damning. His gaze sweeps over the mansion as if assessing its defenses. Grabbing my hand, he tugs me inside, leading us swiftly towards the security room. "Come on, I'll show you how I’m going to keep you safe."