Page 13 of His to Hold

I suck a breath in through my teeth. Giulia Costanza was a school friend of Matteo and also Isabella. A sweet girl, she had a crush on my brother when she was younger. Her parents married her off to an older man who died on their wedding night. Matteo, being the asshole he is, made some crass remark at the funeral and offended Giulia. They haven’t spoken since, but I made sure she’s okay and warned her parents not to force her into marriage again.

“And she wouldn’t be happy about her brother fighting?” I guess.

“Not if I’m getting a cut of the prize money.” Matteo’s tone is flat. Although he would never admit it, losing Giulia’s friendship and then Isabella’s hit him hard. He’s always enjoyed female company, and not just for sex. He’s the only one of us who goes out of his way to spend time with our younger sister.

“You could try making things up with her.”

Matteo shakes his head. “Nah, if she wants to be a bitch, let her.” He tries to sound as if he doesn’t care, but the flippant tone doesn’t fool me. He’s hurting over their broken friendship. “So, what did you want to talk about?”

“Not here.”

There are too many people milling about, and I prefer to keep family matters private. I head through to the office at the back of the warehouse, my brother following. I sit on the leather sofa that runs the length of the wall behind the door while Matteo rests his ass on the edge of the desk.

“I’m taking off for a few days.”

My brother’s eyebrows shoot upward. “You’re going on vacation?”

I’m not sure I’d characterize it as a vacation since I don’t envision much relaxation happening. “I’m taking Isabella to Westport.”

“Okay,” Matteo says slowly. “First Leo takes Vinnie to the zoo and now you’re taking off with Isabella. What’s the world coming to?”

I shake my head, still unable to believe Leo took his wife to the fucking zoo. The way he’s indulging her worries me. Is he blind to the possibility she’s a danger to our family?

“It’s not the same thing.”

“Okay.” Matteo shoots me a skeptical look but doesn’t dispute what I’m saying. Brothers or not, I’m still his boss, and he knows not to push me too far. “So, what do you need from me?”

“I’ve asked Sandro to keep an eye on things at the Volante Group and I need you to make sure everything else runs smoothly.”

Matteo grimaces. “Shouldn’t Leo take charge?”

Being the second youngest brother, Matteo is acutely aware of the family hierarchy. He’s used to deferring to me, Leo, and Alessandro.

“He’s got his own shit to deal with right now. There’s a shipment coming in from the Balkans this week. I need someone whose focus is entirely on the job to ensure nothing goes wrong.”

“You expecting trouble?”

“No, the Bianchis have been quiet recently and our alliance with Reznov will keep the Russians and Albanians off our back.”

There’s always the possibility of some new group popping up and trying to rip us off or one of the local MCs trying their luck, but I trust Matteo to ensure they don’t give us any headaches.

“Okay. How long are you planning to be away?”

“A few days, a week at most.”

Matteo’s eyes widen. The longest I’ve been absent is the three days I allowed myself to take off after I was shot. My brothers are more than capable of filling my shoes, though. Alessandro has decent negotiating skills and understands the way the Volante Group conducts business. Matteo isn’t afraid of getting his hands dirty and has earned the admiration of our men. My father groomed me to take over our organization, but I made sure to bring my brothers in on every important deal so they could step in for me if I needed them to.

“Mamma’s party is on Friday,” Matteo points out.

Damn! I forgot about that. My mother is throwing a party to officially welcome Vinnie to the family, since my brother married the girl without any of us present.

“She’ll want to know where you’ve gone.”

He’s right, but I’m not ready to reveal to my mother that I’ve brought Isabella back from exile.

“Tell her it’s a business trip, unavoidable.”

“Okay, but what about Livvy? You know there’s something going on with her, right?”

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