Page 61 of The Price of Power

“And I’m happy to give it.”

Even though the conversation was light on the surface, my heart was still hammering. Tension filled the room as I waited for him to pounce.

“I know Gabriel appreciates you, too,” Matteo said, his stony gaze drilling into mine. “Your calm presence in this house diffused what could have been a nasty situation with your brother.”

“I didn’t really have a choice about that.”

“Maybe not,” Matteo said with a shrug. “But you have to admit, things could have been worse. Much worse.”

Sick of pretending, I dropped the fake smile. “They still could be.”

“True,” Matteo agreed. “The situation with your brother isn’t resolved yet. And from what I can tell, your family hasn’t yet made the kind of major financial moves that would lead to a happy ending.”

That’s what I was afraid of. “I knew they wouldn’t take this seriously. No matter what I say, they never listen. They?—“

I closed my eyes.

Oh shit.

Sure enough, I’d taken Matteo’s rope and slipped right over my neck.

“Hmm…so you have been in contact with them. Good.” What looked like a genuine smile started to crack through his granite mask. “I was hoping that was the reason you were digging around in that drawer and poking at the phone Gabriel threw in there.”

My brows pulled together. “What else would I want with it?”

“To call your friends and ask them to help you. Or maybe the NYPD. Even the FBI.”

“God, no!” Even the thought was enough to make me wince. “I’m not stupid, Matteo. I know what would happen if the authorities got involved in this mess. You, me, my brother, your brother—we’d all be screwed.”

Matteo nodded. “You don’t know how glad I am to hear you say that.”

And I wasn’t just telling him what he wanted to hear. I didn’t realize it until I said the words out loud, but I really meant them. “The only thing I want is for this to end peacefully. I don’t want anyone getting hurt.”

“For what it’s worth, neither do I,” Matteo said before nodding politely. “Which means I should probably take these new numbers and leave you to finish what I interrupted.”

Really? I wasn’t expecting to be let off the hook so easily.

“Matteo,” I said as he turned toward the door. “Are you going to tell Gabriel about this?”

He looked back at me, his brow furrowed and heavy. “Do you want me to?”

“Yes. Wait—no.” I briefly closed my eyes and drew in a steadying breath. “I mean, I don’t know. I don’t want you to lie. Besides, secrets are part of what brought on this whole mess in the first place. But I also don’t want to upset Gabriel, especially since…”

I trailed off, not wanting to give away any more than I already had.

But it was far too late for that.

Matteo shot me a look that made it clear he already knew.

“Especially since you can’t promise that you can talk your mercurial brother into doing the reasonable thing?” he finished my thought before giving me a conspiratorial wink. “I might know a little bit about what that’s like.”

No doubt he did.

“Do you have any tips on how to get through to him?” I asked.

“Which one?” Matteo cocked his head to the side. “My brother or yours?”

“Either,” I answered. “Or maybe both.”

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