Page 37 of Gilded Princess

I blow out a breath, purposely pausing before I voice what I know we’re both thinking. “A declaration of war.”

“That’s my thought. Where you at? I’ll meet you.”

“I’m on my way to Blue Lotus Café. I promised I’d look for their girl. He wants eyes on her given his situation, and fuck, I don’t know, man. Something doesn’t feel right. It’s in the air. It feels ominous and foreboding—and fuck, I’ve been watching your horror movies too much lately or something.”

“No, I feel it too. And there’s no such thing as too many horror movies.”

“Good to see you haven’t lost your sense of humor in the middle of war—”

“Possible war. We don’t know for sure yet. Or who’s behind it,” he interrupts me.

“Yeah, I hear you. Did anyone claim Mama Rosa’s yet? If not, I’d be willing to bet that it’s the same person behind it all. And it’s not whatever punks were at the scenes.”

A cab honks in the background wherever he is, the noise shrill in my ear. “Nah. Not yet.”

My mind spins with all the possibilities. It feels like the walls are closing in on me, forcing me into a position I didn’t plan for. Surprisingly, I didn’t have a contingency plan for how to take over the family while we’re at war. I see now that was a mistake.

“Okay. Who else knows about this?”

“Not sure. You were my first call after a few of our boys called me,” Dante says.

I exhale a breath, preparing to put on my dutiful-son mask. “I’ll check-in with him. And Dante? Watch your six.”

We end the call without another word. After another scan of my surroundings, I dial my father.

“What,” he answers, forgoing pleasantries.

“I just heard from a few of our soldiers. Gio’s and a few bodegas are down. Not sure how widespread it is or if the other four families have been hit.” I keep my tone even and my words clipped.

He’s quiet for a moment, no doubt signaling for his consigliere, who’s always nearby. “How bad?”

“Possible declaration, at the very least, a message.”

“Do we know from whom yet?”

“No one has publicly stepped up yet, but I’ve got our boys in the streets searching for the people spotted at the scene,” I tell him, staring at two guys wearing gray hoodies with the hoods thrown over their heads and obscuring their faces.

I slide my hand into the pocket of one of my favorite suits. It’s dark enough to hide the blood I’m no doubt wearing, and the pockets conceal my favorite pair of brass knuckles perfectly. I leave the gun tucked in the back of my pants. That’s a last resort.

Sliding my fingers through the holes and grasping the weapon, I casually look over my shoulder with my phone to my ear and see the two guys still behind me. My heart thumps loud in my ear, and my gaze darts around for a half-assed plan on the fly.

Dad makes a noise in the back of his throat. “Good. Let me know what you find. And, Matteo? Do I need to remind you how we treat our enemies?”

“No reminder needed,” I say through my clenched jaw. I’ve been clenching it so much today, it’s throbbing. I need a fucking aspirin.

While the reminder isn’t new, his phrasing is. My father is many things, but subtle is not one of them. I chalk it up as a new phrase he picked up on and dismiss it.

He hangs up without saying anything else. I grip my phone tight as I pocket it.

I need to find out who’s targeting us and fast. I won’t be derailed from my ultimate goal, and whoever threw the gauntlet down is going to regret it.

I’ve had another taste of my girl, and the need to have her by my side only increases by the day.

If anyone thought I was dangerous before, they haven’t seen anything yet. There’s no way I’ll back down from my ultimate goal.

I’m so close, I can practically taste it.

Chapter Fifteen

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