Page 26 of Vincenzo (The DiMaggio Crime Family #3)

VINCENZO

W alking into my brother’s house, I make my way to the kitchen where I can already smell coffee being made.

“Let me get one of those,” I say, rounding the corner, then I’m met with my sister’s confused gaze.

“One of what?” she asks with an arched brow.

“What’re you doing here?” I ask, confused since she moved in with her boyfriend a while ago.

“Didn’t I ask you a question first?”

I chuckle while ignoring her question, and walk up and take the freshly poured espresso from in front of her. “Thanks, baby sis. I really needed this, this morning.”

Smirking, I rest my back against the counter and take in the invisible steam I know is billowing from Izzy’s ears.

“Did I say you could have that?” she asks, annoyance seeping deep in her tone.

I take a sip. “Of course not, but when has that ever stopped me before?”

Izzy rolls her eyes and puts another espresso cup under the spout and presses the button to start the machine.

“So, what are you doing here this early in the morning? Trouble in paradise already?” I ask, poking at her and Nicco’s relationship.

Izzy furrows her brow at me. “Of course not. Nicco’s just busy unloading a large shipment with Leo and Dante today, so I came over to see Lux. Between work and Nicco, I haven’t seen her much, and I need some girl time.”

“We all need girl time,” says a voice from behind me.

“Liana,” I say in greeting. “Should’ve known wherever one of the three of you is, the other two aren’t far behind.”

“Vincenzo,” she says with a smirk as she walks over to the espresso machine and takes the freshly brewed cup.

“Seriously?” Izzy says, throwing her hands up in the air.

Liana quirks a brow over the small brim of the cup. “What? This was for me, right?”

Izzy laughs and says, “Sure,” then finds another espresso cup and starts on her third cup of the morning.

“Alright,” I say, putting my empty cup in the sink. “It’s been fun sharing my morning coffee with you ladies, but I need to go find Teo and ruin whatever good mood Lux has put him.”

“Why, what’d you do?” Liana asks.

“What makes you think I did something?”

“Oh, please,” Izzy says. “You’re stiff. You’re never stiff unless you fucked up.”

Arching a cocky brow, I say. “Well, actually , I?—”

Izzy raises her hands to stop me. “Ew! Do not finish that sentence, Enzo.”

Liana scrunches her nose as if I’ve offended her. “You’re disgusting, you realize that, right?”

I laugh and give them a loose shrug. “Izzy said it. I was just clearing things up. Can’t have you guys thinking I’m imp?—”

Izzy raises her hands to stop me again. “I swear if you finish that?—”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” I laugh and wave them off.

“Enzo,” my brother says, and my head lifts at the sound.

“Big bro. It’s about time you got up,” I say, walking toward him.

“I told you eight. It’s eight-oh-one,” he grumbles while rolling up the sleeves of his perfectly pressed shirt.

“Yes,” I say, giving him a pat on his shoulder before breezing past him down the hall. “And now it’s going to be eight-oh-two by the time we get to your office, so chop, chop.”

We take a seat across from one another at Teo’s desk. I cross one leg over the other and set my elbow on the armrest.

“So,” he says, lacing his fingers together and setting them on his desk. His shoulders are lifted and tight, and I know this conversation is only going to make him even more tense. “What the fuck did I miss last night?”

“It’s more like what we both missed.”

Teo sits back in his seat and narrows his gaze on me, waiting for me to continue.

“I don’t think Amalia and Carlos were sent here to get port access.”

Teo raises a brow at me. “Oh, yeah?”

“I think they were sent here because of Amalia. Her uncle called a hit on her, and I think this entire trip to NYC was a way to get her killed.”

“Killed by Carlos? He could’ve done that in Miami.”

Shaking my head, I say, “No. That text to your phone. I think that was his attempt to get us to take her out for them.”

“Get us to take her out? Why the fuck would they need us to do it?”

I shrug. “Less of a mess on their hands. They have a ‘valid’ reason for her death. Nothing suspicious on their part.”

Teo nods. “Did they say why her uncle wants her dead?”

“Carlos didn’t know, and I didn’t give him a chance to try and figure it out. That asshole would’ve been useless anyway.”

“And Amalia?”

My jaw sets in a straight line, and I take a moment before answering. “She claims to not know.”

“Claims…” Teo repeats with intrigue.

“Yeah, I don’t think I believe her.”

Leaning forward in his chair, he sets his arms on the desk again. “You don’t think ?”

“I could tell when I asked her. She told me she doesn’t have any idea why her uncle would want her dead, and I almost believed her. After all, she is still working for him, and who would work for someone that wants them dead?”

“But …?”

“But it’s like I could see the wheels spinning in her head. She might’ve said she has no idea, but I think she was starting to put the pieces together.”

I rest my chin in my hand and stare at nothing in particular on my brother’s desk. I need to figure out what she’s hiding. If her uncle wants her dead, it has to be something dire. But what the fuck could it be?

The vibration from my phone goes off, so I take it from the inside of my jacket pocket and answer it.

“What’s going on, Nicco?” I say.

“Hey, you got a minute.”

“Anything for my favorite future brother-in-law.”

“Velasco and Montoya checked out of The Arlington.”

My back straightens and my stomach hollows out at his words. The stiffness in my body radiates up my spine and into my neck. “What?” The rigid tone in my voice has my brother perking up from across the desk.

“She checked out using the app early this morning. House cleaning went to their room and all of her shit was gone, but all of his shit was still there. I thought that was strange.”

“Fuck,” I hiss out, ignoring my brother boring his gaze into me.

“Okay, not the reaction I was expecting,” Nicco says on the other line. “Am I missing something? Didn’t we want them gone?”

I squeeze my phone so tightly to try and calm the sudden rage I feel at knowing Amalia has left the city. “Not exactly,” I grind out. “I gotta fucking go. I’ll call you later.”

“Uhh, yeah, sure… sounds good,” Nicco says.

Ending the call, I slowly raise my gaze to my brother, who’s already staring at me with intrigue in his eyes.

“What?” I snap.

“What the hell was that all about?”

Clenching my jaw, I grind out, “Amalia checked out of The Arlington.”

“She’s gone?” he says, and I nod.

“So she’s finally done exactly what we’ve wanted her to do this entire time.”

“Yup,” I say even though it wasn’t a question.

“Then why the hell are you so damn pissed?”

“I’m not.” Even though it’s fucking obvious I am.

Teo is quiet for a few seconds, then says, “Well… I’ll be damned.”

“What?”

He quirks a brow at me. “When did you fall for her?”

“I didn’t fucking fall for anyone.”

“Oh, cut the shit, Enzo. I’m your brother. I can read you better than anyone. You fell for the girl.”

“I said, I didn’t fall for anyone,” I repeat, the irritation of being called out on something I don’t want to be true ringing through.

“That’s where you’re wrong.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I snap.

“You’re forgetting that you and I are a lot more alike than you think. You don’t want to fall for anyone because of what happened with our parents.”

Out of all the things Teo could’ve said in this moment, that’s not what I was expecting.

“I get it. Not letting a woman in, in fear of opening your heart up to something so incredibly fucking vulnerable. I get it. ”

I remain silent, just staring at Teo, taking in his words that I’ve thought of so many times before.

I’ve always been adamant about my stance on relationships.

Why open myself up to that vulnerability?

Losing my parents was fucking earth shattering.

The love and pain I felt for them that day isn’t something I want to ever experience again, so I vowed to never open myself up to anyone.

To never allow myself to get put into a weakened position like that.

“Talk to me, Enzo,” my brother says, interrupting my thoughts. “Just talk to me.”

Taking a deep breath, I say, “I’ve been perfectly content playing the role I’ve been playing in our family. Adding in a woman— love —that’s not something I need.”

“But is it something you want?”

“No,” I rush out far too quickly, and my brother lets out a humorous sigh.

“I felt the same way. You know this. Getting married for me was always about taking down our enemy. I didn’t care whose name was on that contract because I knew I wasn’t going to give a fuck about her.”

Teo pauses as if he’s trying to figure out the next words he wants to say.

“But I was wrong. Lux did something to me. Quickly. I felt the need to protect her, to be around her. I just wanted… her .”

“I know all of this, so why are you telling me again now?”

“Ever since Amalia came to NYC, have you felt a pull to her that you can’t explain?”

I wait a few seconds before responding. “Not really.”

Teo’s eyes narrow and his lips tighten into a straight line. “Come on, Enzo. Be real with me.”

I let out a sigh. “Fine. I guess … Possibly.”

“Do you feel the need to figure out what the fuck is going on with her and her uncle so you can protect her?”

Fucking shit.

“Maybe.”

Teo shakes his head and laughs. “Yeah, been there, Enzo. You were there when I needed to pull my head out of my ass with Lux, so I’m going to be here for you now.”

“I don’t need to pull my head out of my as?—”

“Go to Miami.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“Take the jet and fly down to Miami.”

My laugh vibrates through me and I shake my head. “I’m not going to Miami.”

“Yes, you are.”

“No, I’m not, Teo,” I say, exhausted with this conversation. I can’t have real feelings for Amalia. It’s impossible.

“So you’re just going to let her die?”

“She’s La Sicaria . She can take care of herself.”

He gives me a few short nods. “Alright, I see how it is.”

Silence fills the air between us, which has me breaking in no time. “What do you mean?”

“Stay scared. Keep telling yourself you’re not feeling what you’re feeling, and see how far that gets you.”

“Okay, dad ,” I say, rolling my eyes. He’s really starting to get under my skin now.

“Well, someone has to be. It’s not like you’re making the best decisions for yourself.”

“Who the fuck are you to tell me I’m not making the best decisions for myself? I’ve been doing a pretty damn good job of it so far, thank you very much, big brother.”

“Then admit it!” he yells.

“Admit what?” My tone matches his. “You want me to say I have feelings for Amalia? Fine. I have fucking feelings for her. Knowing she’s no longer where I can keep an eye on her is driving me fucking insane.

Knowing she’s probably gone back to Miami and put herself in danger is driving me fucking insane .

” I’m so breathless after my admission that I throw myself back in my seat.

My leg bounces while Teo and I sit in silence. He continues to watch me from across his desk, studying me. Trying to figure out what all of this means, and shit . I don’t even fucking know what this means.

This time, my brother breaks before I do. “I get it, Enzo. Caring for Lux has changed my fucking life. If I ever lost her, I’d lose my-fucking-self.”

He pauses, glancing at a picture he has of them on his desk, and a smile breaks at the corner of his mouth. “But I’d chance that over never having her in my life.”

He turns his attention back to me. “Do you think Amalia’s a threat to us?”

“No.” From everything I’ve learned, I was completely wrong about her. She’s not some terrible human being who set out to harm my family. She’s just a girl who was raised in the cartel, lost her parents at a young age, and is just trying to make her way through this crazy fucking thing we call life.

“Then are you really going to make her figure out what the hell is going on with her family by herself? You think you’ll be able to live with yourself if you find out she’s dead tomorrow?”

“Teo—”

“I’m serious, Enzo. Ask yourself that question. What would you do if you found out she was killed by her uncle tomorrow? Can you really live with yourself then?”

I close my eyes and imagine that happening. The pain cuts me so deep at the thought that it nearly takes my fucking breath away. Taking a deep breath, I open my eyes and answer. “No… I couldn’t,” I whisper. Dammit. “I fucking couldn’t, Teo.”

Sitting back in his seat, he smiles. “Exactly.”

“For someone who wanted me to kill her less than twenty-four hours ago, you’re awfully calm about this entire situation.”

Teo shrugs. “I trust you with my life, Enzo. Your instincts are spot on when it comes to people. If you trust her and want to bring her into your life, then I want that for you too.”

I run my hand through my hair as the anxiety of the reality of this situation crawls up my neck. “ Shit , Teo. What if she gets herself killed?”

“You’re not going to let that happen. I’m calling our pilot now to meet you at the tarmac. Pack a bag and get your ass to the airport. I’ll do whatever you need me to do here.”

Pushing myself up to an abrupt stand, I say, “ Fuck. You’re right. I need to fucking go. Thank you, brother.”

“Always,” he says, and I rush out of his office to go pack a bag and get to the airport. If I don’t get to Amalia fast enough, I might never be able to tell her how I feel, or even worse, never see her again.