Page 51 of Into the Fire

He grew quiet and stared at me, his face expressionless.

“I am innocent,” his voice was flat and held no emotion. I didn’t question him on it. The fact Fox was now in the picture threw me for a loop.

He’s family.

I wonder if he knows.

It was too much to unload at the moment, so I pressed on.

“Is Dominic not your son?”

Matteo sighed and stared over my shoulder. “Dominic is. . . he’s my son in ways it counts. In other ways, he’s more my enemy than family.”

“Do you hate him or something?”

“Let’s just say we don’t like one another much and leave it at that.”

Fair enough.

We were both quiet for a span of time before he finally spoke again.

“Alessandro, my boy, will you join me?”

“I don’t know what that means,” I said back honestly. “I’m only interested in saving Rosalie.”

He inclined his head at me. “Then let’s start there, shall we? See where it takes us. Are you agreeable? Perhaps the taste of power will compel you.”

“I will do anything for her safety. Even die for her.”

He regarded me with a sad look on his face before he schooled it. “So be it. What is it Everett wants?”

“He wants me to surrender myself to him by midnight tomorrow. I told the messenger to tell him to collect me himself.”

He chuckled. “Everett is a smart man, Alessandro. He’s also foolish. Sometimes our wit is a disadvantage. We become complacent, thinking we are untouchable. It becomes our weakness. Everett is weak.”

“What should I do? Can you help me?”

He surveyed me. “Yes.”

I watched as he got to his feet, went to his desk, and opened a drawer. A moment later, he pulled out a gun, returned to me, and pushed it into my hand.

“Shoot him in the head when he comes to collect.”

I stared at the gun before looking up at him. “This is your help?”

“To rise to the top in this world, it is by stomping on the heads of the weak. Everett Church is weak. Stomp on his fucking head, Alessandro. He won’t expect it from you.”

“And if he does?”

“Then play his game. Eventually, he’ll mess up enough that we take him out if you haven’t done it. He has many enemies andthe list is growing. Offer him his life in exchange for him backing off. If he refuses, then we kill him.”

“If I kill him when he comes, who will help me clean it up?”

“Call. We’ll make sure things are taken care of.”

I got to my feet and stared into his eyes. I could have just done this on my own but having this moment with him made me feel different. I’d needed this. He was my father. There was no doubt about it.

“You look so much like your mother,” he murmured. “So very much. How is your brother? Truly?”

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