Page 27

T he text comes up on my phone and chills me to the bone. I’m sitting in Lio’s office and I can’t find any words to speak. The entire environment chokes me, but this changes things, and I know I’ll need to address him. Fucking hell.

“Lio…” I hesitate when he turns those steely eyes on me.

Sneering, he corrects me. “You mean Boss, right? After all, I’m in charge.”

I close my eyes, wishing I was far away from this, or that I could fix it. Since there's nothing I can do about it, we just have to keep moving on. Things are too serious right now. It’s why everyone except Antonio and Ignacio are at the mansion—which has been checked for any electronic recording devices that the police might have left.

“Very well, Boss. We have an issue. Carter is in danger. It looks bad.”

Lio gives me a blank stare, as if this doesn’t matter to him at all. Pinching the bridge of my nose, I try to figure out how to say something that will work. Finally, I blow out a breath, laying down everything I can.

“Look, I know you’re furious with me—and with the Amatos—but we need to find Il Padrone, and working with them is the best way to do that. You know that’s why there’s a fucking alliance to begin with. Both the bosses agreed. So I need you to get your head out of your ass, be my logical best friend, and shove everything else aside right now.”

Grinding his teeth, he doesn’t say a word. For a moment, I don’t think I’ve made any progress, until he suddenly picks up a glass paperweight and whips it toward the opposite wall. It shatters like my heart does, pieces flying everywhere, reminding me of what it was like to be whole with him—my other half.

Fuck . The pain of leaving Ignacio has nothing on this. The way he raises his eyes to meet mine, hatred spewing out of them kills me. I swallow the pain and suffering, knowing it’s him who is truly burning.

Pushing away from the desk, he snarls before picking up the phone. “Sarah, get here now. We’re leaving for the Amatos and I need you with me.”

When he hangs up, I interject, “Uh, I want to remind you that they have their own doctor. If Carter is alive, they’re going to want him.”

Snorting, he heads toward the door. “It’s not for that. It’s in case I kill any of the Amatos. She can bring them back to life.”

He paces by the front door as Dr. Ranlen rushes toward us, her heels tapping so quickly along the hallway, it’s almost continuous. She’s not out of breath when she reaches us, and as she assesses my best friend—at least, I hope he’s still my best friend—she breathes a sigh of relief. I don’t know what she’s looking for, but she must see something I can’t.

Lio rushes us out, but is stopped by Marcus, who decides to grab a ride with us. Growling, Lio snaps, “What the fuck are you doing? You weren’t invited, and I don’t need the Amatos stealing another Martelli.”

“Well, Boss, I thought you might want some updates, and this would be the quickest way to do it, since we’re headed that way. Of course, if you want me to get back out again, we haven’t left yet…”

Tugging his hair violently, Lio gives up. Letting go of his now roughed up locks, he bangs against the partition, instructing the driver to head toward the Amato mansion. My skin itches to be there, even if those I want may not be there.

“Alright. Both of you, I want information. Marcus, you’re up first.”

“I talked to the gang. They’re willing to provide security while this shit is going down. They wanted free product in exchange, but I talked them into fifteen percent off for six months, unless it needs to be negotiated after that, and it’s contingent on your approval.”

Humming, Lio nods. “Agreed. That’s not too bad. Especially if it gets the LEOs off our ass long enough for us to focus on finding Master—and Cristian, of course.”

“They said they likely wouldn’t be able to find Il Padrone. However, they’ll put their tracker on gathering as much information as possible. She’s going to coordinate with Ignacio, and hopefully Antonio, when he is available.

“Ignacio had a couple of ideas. Some are…extreme. However, he thinks he’s found a few people who will take the fall for certain ideas. It may not be their own choice, but…well, I’ll leave it to him. There certainly will be chaos.” Frowning, Marcus taps his fingers on his leg. “Hopefully, Antonio will be available soon. I think he’ll be the best person to work with the tracker. Ignacio isn’t as…controllable.”

Rolling his eyes, Lio doesn’t comment, but Sarah interjects. “I think this is where I add some information. Nicolo will make it. He’s not out of surgery yet, but I’ve been reading the progress notes. While it didn’t look good originally, he has the best surgeon we have on staff. If he didn’t, I would be at the hospital now.”

“At least there’s some good news,” Lio mutters. “Benjamin, once we get the official notice that Nicolo is out of surgery, I want you to send a text to Antonio and get him to start taking care of what needs to be done. And no, I don’t give a fuck if he doesn’t want to leave his lover. As long as Nicolo is not at risk of dying, he needs to be working. If we don’t get this shit figured out, everyone’s life is at risk—including his other lover’s.”

I purse my lips, not wanting to agree, but fuck, he’s right. We need all hands on deck for this shit. I nod, agreeing to wait for the go-ahead from Sarah before I deal with an enraged Antonio.

“Speaking of Antonio, he did give us a name to check out. A fed. He thinks that while the guy isn’t in charge, he’s up there. Benjamin, why don’t you ask your new best friends to look it over when we get there? I’ll send you the information.”

I bite my tongue against Lio’s sarcasm. Lashing out will do no good. I fucking miss Il Padrone. Not only would he keep Lio in line, but at least when he punishes us, it’s with instruments, not this—the constant freezing out, the cutting comments, and the crushing of what we had. And since we’re in emergency mode, I can't say shit. Afterwards? Well, once Il Padrone comes back and gets my friend under control, we’ll have a conversation about this—a really fucking loud conversation.

“Alright, I’m up. I don’t know much. Leandro sent me a text, saying shit was going down with the Amatos, and that Carter was in danger.”

“And we’re dropping everything to rush to their aid because…?” Lio blinks at me, as if I haven’t already answered this fucking question.

Gritting my teeth, I slowly say, “As I said earlier, they’re our allies. Yes, we’ve got our own shit to manage, but everything is in progress. You need to show up for your counterpart.”

“So this isn’t because you’re wanting another hit of your addiction?” His scorching glare hits me and I’m not impervious to it.

Fuck, what does he want me to do? Marcus’s pitying look makes it clear that my best friend would like me to burn to ashes, to die a thousand deaths. And hell, I’d even consider it, if it wasn’t for him being a jackass. Yes, we promised each other forever, but damn it, he needs to understand my feelings. He’d do the same for his Master. I clench my hands into fists, trying to keep everything in.

“I’m sure he’s not even there, but Roman is. And if there’s something we can do to help, then we need to do it. They would do the same for us.”

With a short, disgusted laugh, Lio stretches out his legs. “You fucking jackass. They’d simply come, grab you, and let the rest of us die. But sure, whatever. Let’s just get there, I want this shit done. We’ll go, figure out what we can do to help, and then get back to our own shit. Oh, and Benjamin? Don’t even think about staying. If you do, you won’t like the consequences…”

The temperature in the air plummets to where I almost feel ice on my skin. Both Marcus and Sarah carefully keep their eyes averted, but Lio does not. He’s waiting for my response, and I don’t know what to say. Do I promise my Boss I'll listen to his edict? Or do I admit that if Tennant asks me to stay, I’m not sure which I’d choose?

Lio shakes his head, slumping against the seat. We’ve known each other for too long, he can read it on my face. As we slow to a stop, Marcus springs out of the limo first to let us out, muttering about wanting to live as I follow him. I’m sure it’s directed at me, but fuck if I give a shit at this point.

Dr. Ranlen manages to exit the limo as if she’s a queen, all grace. But Lio? When he exits, that coldness lingers. I’ve never seen him so locked down, and I want to say something, but what do I say to someone I know I’m hurting? I can’t take it back. I can’t fucking change it, and I don’t want to, so I stand still, knowing I’m responsible for his misery.

I bow my head for a moment, taking the time to breathe, before following Lio and Sarah. Marcus disappeared back into the limo, most likely to wait for a ride home. Lucky fucker .

We’re led to where Roman is, and while I’m not a fan of his, my heart goes out to him. The pain radiates off him like visible waves. Lio gives a quiet sigh before moving forward and embracing his friend. Hollis shifts to the side and catches my eye. I don’t know what his expression says, but fuck if I care right now. I never expected my best friend to reach out to someone else when he won’t even accept me.

We stand there in a frozen tableau until a beep comes through. I hope to fuck it’s good news. I can’t tell from Roman’s expression, and that pisses me off.

“We’ll get whoever is doing this,” Lio says fiercely. “Whatever is going on, they can’t fight the two of us. I’m here. Always.”

Always . It pierces my heart hearing him say that to Roman. That was me once upon a time. He may hate the Amatos, but he’s forgiven Roman. Why won’t he forgive me?