Page 20 of What’s Left of Us (What Left #3)

I cringe. He not only said that around my siblings, but right in front of Jo while we were out in the park.

At the time she didn’t know what we were arguing about but Papa made sure no one could understand us despite being out in public.

He wanted to bully me into listening to him and it didn’t work.

“If you choose a woman over your family, then you are a stranger.”

“He doesn’t like Jo,” Xeno says, like I need the reminder. “And he didn’t like Alastair either.”

“You don’t need to remind me of that.”

Xeno sighs. “I heard him talking to some of the men, Jonathan included.” His voice drops until it’s almost too quiet to hear in the crowded room. “ Se mio figlio non onorerà questa famiglia, allora saremo noi a disonorare la sua .”

I narrow my eyes. “What the fuck is he planning?”

“I don’t know,” Xeno tells me honestly, straightening up a bit to smooth back his hair. He doesn’t need to bother since it’s never out of place, and then his fingers trace over the scars on his cheek.

Glancing over my shoulder, I try to see if one of Papa’s men is standing around watching us. But I don’t recognize any of the people standing near us, and other than the few I saw walking paces behind us with Xeno, no one seems to be here.

Then I notice a girl scrambling across the waiting room. I wouldn’t think twice of her if she didn’t pause, glaring across the room at Xeno. They glare at each other for a moment before she continues moving, keeping her eyes on him until she passes through a set of doors and disappears.

I glance at my brother, lowering my voice. “Chi è lei?”

“She’s none of your concern,” Xeno replies with a sigh. “My point, Vinny, is that Papa isn’t going to make things easy. He might actively try and make things harder.”

My skin goes cold, a sweat breaking out across the back of my neck. “What would you have me do, Xeno? Punish Alastair for loving me?”

“For loving both of you,” Xeno agrees. “He’ll never believe that love is for everyone, and that some know how to love enough to extend that to more than a single person.”

I narrow my eyes. I keep my voice low, deciding this might be something that Xeno doesn’t want anyone else knowing about. It’s unusual to see him here with none of his men in the background. “ Parli secondo la tua verità, fratello ?”

He smirks, “My truths are my problem, Vincenzo. Right now your friend needs to ensure someone has his back in court, in the visitations, in every aspect. It can’t be you, and it can’t be Jo. You’re too tangled up. Don’t get me started on Sterling.”

“Then what do you propose?” I snap.

Xeno grins and gestures someone forward. I snap my gaze around again, finding the guy in the suit from before. “Tobias, this is my brother Vinny. Vinny, Tobias McKinney, defense attorney. He’s on my payroll.”

“Discreetly,” Tobias agrees, holding out my hand. For an attorney, he has a lot of old, faded scars on his hands. “Your brother and I have things to discuss now, Mr. Ajello. He’s going to ensure that Constantine is well taken care of.”

“Or Tobias won’t be taken care of,” Xeno agrees, clasping his shoulder.

Tobias shoots him a look, but says nothing in return.

“This time Vinny, Alastair’s going to fight for his rights.

Dad can’t get to him if someone is watching his back, the law can’t fuck him if he’s got someone in his corner, and you don’t have to try and find an attorney on his behalf when I already know someone. ”

“As far as the law and the FBI go,” Tobias agrees, folding his hands in front of him, “I’m working for Constantine pro bono.”

Jo’s fingers dig into my wrist, and I snap my attention back to her. “V.”

Immediately, I stiffen and go into hypervigilance. Jo never calls me V unless something is wrong. I gently push her legs off of me and turn, following her gaze.

There’s a blue SUV parked outside. Like the ones Xeno’s men would sometimes drive when they were watching our backs.

Except Xeno stopped having them tailing us since both Porscha and Alastair are behind bars.

I distinctly remember he had suspicions about two men in particular, Jonathan and Dante, but Xeno never caught them doing anything out of the ordinary.

He had evidence that we were being recorded, though he had no idea why.

He’d never asked them or anyone to record us.

I’m off the couch immediately, moving towards the kitchen. That’s where I left the gun, and Jo chases after me. She’s wearing socks, and her steps are soft as she follows me. “What are you doing,” she whispers.

“No one is supposed to be watching us,” I tell her.

“That doesn’t mean it’s someone from the family,” she hisses, catching my wrist. I shake her hand off, and she huffs at me. “You don’t know if it’s the same person.”

“Same license plate,” I tell her, nodding to the door as I turn. “I’d prefer if you’d stay in here-”

“Fuck no-”

“-but since I know you aren’t going to,” I continue, shooting her a glance before I open the door. “At least stay behind me.” I tuck the gun into my waistband where it’s hidden by my loose shirt.

She huffs again, but there’s no protest as we slip on shoes and she follows me outside. The SUV doesn’t move, making me narrow my eyes as we approach. If the driver was worried they would tear off down the street.

And there’s definitely someone sitting in there.

Banging on the driver side window, it rolls down a moment later. I expect to see Jonathan, and I’m surprised to find Dante sitting there alone. “Hey, Vincenzo.”

“The hell are you doing out here?” I snap, and his eyebrows lift. He has a piercing through his left brow, a little silver hoop, and part of me wants to rip it out.

“Following orders. Watch you, ensure you both are safe.”

“Bull,” I say, leaning against the car. I can feel Jo behind me, and hopefully she stays back. I really don’t know what’s happening here, but I don’t like Dante being back when he doesn’t need to be out here. “Xeno sent you?”

His lip twitches, and I know I’m about to catch him in a lie. Every time I’ve spoken to my brother he repeats that he doesn’t have eyes on us in the street anymore. “Course-”

I reach into the car, grabbing the front of his shirt. “Liar.”

The calm facade shatters then, and Dante grips my wrist. “Let go.”

“You know,” I say leaning into the car. “You don’t belong out here watching us. And I don’t think we’re that interesting to you. So who are you reporting to?”

I feel Jo moving away from us as Dante spits at me, and I can’t help wondering why the hell he isn’t swinging. Then I see her circling the car, and my nerves stand on end.

One thing. I wanted her to just do one thing if she came out here with me.

“ Non rispondo a un traditore ,” Dante growls.

I don’t report to a traitor. “Then who the fuck do you report to?”

Dante throws his weight against my arm, and the awkward angle against my wrist has me loosening my grip. I reach through the car and grab his throat, the two of us struggling against each other.

I don’t want to shoot him. I just want answers about why he’s still here. I might be a little paranoid right now with everything else going on, but we don’t need someone watching us from the outside.

He swears in Italian, and I drag him closer to me. Fuck it, I’ll drag his ass out that open window. If Xeno doesn’t trust him, neither do I.

Releasing his shirt gives my arm a bit of wiggle room, and I uppercut towards his face. It sends his head snapping back at the same time that his first collides with my cheek.

I can hear Jo on the other side of the car scrambling around for something, but my focus is on him. He seems to be the only person here from the family, and he’s the only one I’m worried about.

Dante isn’t wearing a seatbelt, and I grab his shoulder and he tries to punch me again and start dragging him out of the car. He flails again, striking my chest, and I rip him halfway out before driving my elbow into his head.

It stings, but does enough damage to momentarily stun him. Grabbing his torso I yank him the rest of the way out of the SUV head first, but he manages to catch himself instead of landing on his skull.

He sweeps his legs out, knocking me off my feet. We go down together in the neighbor’s yard, and I manage to get on top of him before he can pin me.

Then I’m swinging, and I don’t care if he screams. The sting in my knuckles where they collide with his nose is a welcome sensation, and distantly I realize this might be a rash decision.

I can't care. I'm sick of people watching Jo. She's never going to feel comfortable or safe again if this keeps happening.

Dante manages to grab my ear, digging his fingers in before he pulls. It hurts, and as I swing again I black out for a moment.

“Vinny!”

I’m positive it’s Jo calling to me, but I’m just focused on this. It’s been a long time since I had a reason to fight anyone like this.

“Vinny!”

Something crashes to the ground beside us, and when I pull back my arm again I spare a glance upward before I pause.

It’s a laptop. The corner looks dinged, but Jo is behind it ripping the screen open. Whatever played before on the monitor loads again, and Dante doesn’t swing as I glare at the screen.

It’s a recording. Taken from a distance, I’m pretty sure all he did was record us while sitting in the car. It’s pretty far off, and if I didn’t know those curtains and what the back of Jo’s head looks like I might not recognize it right away.

Then it zooms in, and someone is standing right outside the window, almost pressing the device to the glass. Jo and I are kissing inside, and from the position of the frame I block most of her.

I turn and glare down at Dante, who has his hand raised again. Instead of fighting me, like I expect from someone employed by the Ajello family, he’s shielding his face. “Who were you recording this for?”