Page 29 of Vincenzo (The DiMaggio Crime Family #3)

VINCENZO

I whip into the back parking lot of Diamonds Gentlemen’s Club and scour the area for Amalia’s white Audi. I had Cassius get me every single little thing he could on her when I couldn’t get a hold of her. As soon as I find it, I speed over, not breaking until I’m right in front of it.

Jumping out of the car, I run to the driver’s side where the door is already getting pushed open.

“Enzo,” she says, and I scan her body to see if there’s anything wrong.

“Are you hurt?”

“He just got me in the back of the head, but I’m fine.”

I quickly inspect her head, and she winces when I brush my hand over a spot in the middle.

“It’s just a little tender,” she says, and I pull my hand away.

“What the fuck happened, Amalia?”

“I was attacked by some guys. I think my uncle sent them after me,” she says, her voice hoarse.

“Okay, we need to get you out of here.”

“I can go to a hotel.”

“You’re right. You can, and I’m taking you.”

“I have my own car,” she says. “I can do it myself.”

“ Please do not fucking argue with me right now. I understand you’re a strong, independent woman and all, but you were just attacked. Let me help you. ”

Amalia gazes up into my eyes and gives me a small nod. “You want to follow me to a hotel?”

“No, I’ll drive you. Come on.”

“What about my car?”

“Your uncle knows what car you drive, which means he’ll be looking for it. We’re leaving it here.”

She gives me another small nod, then gets out of her car.

When we get in my rental, I take off out of the parking lot and head for a hotel. “I need you to tell me everything you can while the details are still fresh in your mind.”

“There were three of them, but I’m not sure who they were.” She coughs, then rubs the red swollen marks on her neck.

My fingers tighten around the steering wheel, whitening my knuckles to a degree I’ve never seen before. They’re going to fucking die for laying their hands on her.

“One of their names was Miguel.”

“Miguel. You’re sure?”

She nods. “I heard one of the guys say Miguel. He was referring to the one who had the bag over my head… The one I stabbed.”

“You stabbed him?”

“Yeah, he’s the one that punched me in the back of the head.”

Even though rage is filling my body that this fucker laid his hands on my girl, the fact Amalia stabbed him brings a smile to my face.

“Do you know who this Miguel is?’

“No. They all had masks on, but even so, I’m not sure who Miguel is.”

“We need to get you out of here. Miami isn’t safe for you. It would be best if we go back to New York now .”

“No. I can’t. Not when I’m this close to uncovering the truth.”

“The truth about what? What aren’t you telling me?” I demand, which I immediately regret, given everything that just happened to her.

She lets out an exhausted sigh and says, “My uncle wants me dead because I discovered the men he killed a decade ago for my parents’ deaths weren’t actually the men who killed them.”

What the fuck?

My brows crinkle. I want to ask more questions, but I need to get more information about the men who attacked her tonight.

“We’ll talk about that tomorrow. Let’s focus on the men who attacked you. Are there any other descriptors you were able to pick up on other than the name Miguel?”

“No, but my cousin might be able to help with that. He knows everyone.”

“Armando?”

“Yeah.”

I furrow my brow. “Let me get this straight… Armando’s your uncle’s son… the uncle who wants you dead… and you think he’s going to help you?”

“Armando is nothing like his dad.”

“How do you know, Amalia? What if he’s been playing you this entire time?”

She shakes her head. “He’s not like that.”

“How do you know?”

“Just trust me, okay? You don’t know him. He’s nothing like that.” Amalia turns her head to look out the window, shutting me out.

I don’t know this Armando guy, but I fully plan on having an in-depth conversation with him as soon as I fucking meet him.

When I pull up to the hotel, I snag the only suite they had left, then we head up to the room.

“I don’t have any clothes,” she says once we get inside.

“I can go back to your place and grab some things for you. Just let me know if there’s anything in particular you want. For now, I have a T-shirt you can borrow.”

She nods and takes a seat at the table, and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little surprised she didn’t fight me on that.

Watching her sit there, I note the tired-and-defeated look in her eyes. She must be exhausted with everything that’s happened, but even so, she’s still fighting.

Most people would’ve taken the out I gave her by going back to NYC where my family and I are able to protect her… But not Amalia.

She takes her phone out of her pocket and says, “Shit. Armando’s been trying to call me. I need to call him back.”

Putting her phone on speaker, she places it on the table, and I take a seat next to her.

“Where are you?” Armando demands, and the protective instinct in me wants me to tell him not to use that fucking tone of voice with her.

“I’m at The Palms.”

“What the hell are you doing there? I told you to stay at your condo.”

Amalia swallows deeply. “Yeah, I know, but here’s the thing. I kind of went to Diamonds without you.”

“Yeah… I gathered that since you’re not home right now. Why are you there?”

“You know how you said my place probably isn’t the safest place to be? Well, I decided you were right, and now I’m at The Palms… with Enzo.”

“Enzo?”

Amalia clears her throat and says, “Yeah. Um. He’s actually sitting next to me right now.”

“Oh, is he now?” His tone is laced with intrigue rather than disapproval.

“Don’t start, Armando,” Amalia says. “Besides, I have something extremely important we need to talk about.”

“Oh, you think?” he says, and I have to cough to cover up my laugh.

Amalia eyes me sharply before turning her attention back to her phone. “I was attacked tonight. Some guy named Miguel and two other men.”

“Shit, Amalia, are you okay?”

“I’m fine. I promise.”

“She got punched in the back of the head,” I interject.

Amalia cuts a glare at me when Armando says, “Fucking hell. I’m coming to pick you up and bring you back to my place.”

“She’s fine with me,” I say, and there’s a pause on the other line.

“Enzo, I presume?” Armando asks.

“Nice to meet you. Your dad’s a fucking dead man, by the way.”

“Enzo,” Amalia says in warning.

“Tell me something I don’t know,” Armando mumbles. “Amalia, I’d feel a lot fucking better if you were staying with me.”

“I assure you, she’s safe with me. Safer than she could ever be with your family, clearly,” I state, not able to mask the irritation of Armando trying to take Amalia away from me.

“Okay, enough you two,” she says. “Armando, I’m fine where I’m at, but I need to tell you what I found out about Pedro.”

“Pedro? What does he have to do with any of this?”

“José said Felipe was there the day of the driveby, and that he saw Pedro pull the trigger.”

“Fucking hell, Amalia. If this is true?—”

“It is true. Why would he lie about that? And if it weren’t true, why would your dad try to have me killed?”

Armando’s silent on the other line.

“Think about it. My dad was a few years younger than yours, but our abuelito put him in charge of the North American region, something your dad always wanted.”

“Fuck,” he mutters. “So you think my dad had Pedro kill your dad for power?”

“Exactly.”

“But then why did he have Pedro kill my mom?”

My eyes widen at that information. What the fuck is going on in this family?

Amalia sighs. “That part I haven’t been able to figure out yet, but I fully intend to right before I kill them both.”

“Amalia—”

“Don’t Amalia me. You’re basically a big brother to me, and I’ll always see you as such, but I need this. Taking out those assholes for what they did to my parents is something I need .”

Her voice is desperate, pleading for the one thing in life she needs to move on from this hell.

I can’t imagine what it’s like to have thought the men who killed your parents were taken care of years ago, to find out the ones responsible for it have been playing you this entire time and raising you to do their dirty work.

I want to help her, to take care of this problem for her, but I know Amalia. She needs to avenge her parents’ deaths, just like me and my brother wanted to avenge our parents’ deaths. I won’t step in the way of that— I can’t —but I can do everything in my power to help her see her mission through.

“Fine, but you’re not doing this alone. I’m going to be right by your side, and when the confession leaves those bastards’ lips, we’ll do it together. You got Pedro… and I got my dad.”

“You know what that means, right? Taking out your dad means you’ll be the new kingpin. It’s what you’ve always wanted.”

“It is… I just didn’t realize it would come so soon… and at the hands of my mom’s death.”

“I know. I’m so sorry, Armando.” The look on her face makes me want to do everything in my power to never see that pain in her beautiful honey-colored eyes again.

“Do not apologize for those assholes, Amalia. Let’s just fucking get them.”

“I’m exhausted right now, but come over tomorrow and we’ll come up with a plan, okay?”

“Okay,” he says, and they each say bye before hanging up.

I take Amalia’s hand in mine and caress her soft skin with the pad of my thumb. “I’m here for you, Amalia. Anything you need, I’m here for you.”

She lifts her gaze to mine, and there’s a tenderness in her eyes. Like she’s silently thanking me.

With everything that has happened, I haven’t been able to have a conversation with her about why I came chasing after her to Miami…

the strong feelings I’ve developed for her.

I want to, but now isn’t the time. She needs to get some rest after the chaos the past twenty-four hours have brought her, and I need to track down three fucking guys who messed with the wrong woman.