Page 47 of His to Possess

So stupid. Dammit, I want to wrap my hands around her throat and…well, maybe not exactly throttle her. More like kiss her into sweet oblivion. I can’t believe she just took off on me. I mean, I know we weren’t exactly partners but, in a way, we were. And she left without a word. Without saying goodbye, and that hurts more than I care to admit.

Carlotta keeps asking me a million questions, but I don’t have any more answers. Everything is up in the air. By the time we reach the warehouse on the edge of the city where the meeting is taking place, I’m at my wit’s end.

I need some fucking answers.

I need to find my girl.

The worry has set in hardcore and I’m so scared she’s in trouble, but there’s no way I can help her if I can’t fucking find her. My main goal is to get an address for Gallo then go over and confront him.

Carlotta parks the car and we get out. As we walk across the parking lot, the hair on the back of my neck stands up. I pause and look around. It feels like someone is watching me. My sister pauses and looks over at me, concerned.

“What’s wrong?”

Nothing seems out of the ordinary, so I run a hand over the back of my neck, squeeze it, and shake the strange feeling off. “Nothing,” I mumble as we walk up to the entrance.

Two huge bruisers guard the door, but they let us through without an issue because they must recognize us from previous meetings. Before disappearing inside, I glance over my shoulder one last time.

“Everything alright, Mr. Rossi?” one of the enforcers asks.

“Yeah, fine.” I’m not sure why it feels like someone is watching me, but I look down at my arms and see goosebumps. I’m probably just being paranoid. It’s probably because my name is on that damn list and I know everyone and their brother is hunting me down.

Following Carlotta, we walk into the huge, abandoned warehouse with an extremely high ceiling covered in rafters. A quick glance around and I see all the usual suspects seem to be present. A table with chairs has been set up and it’s purposely round so no one is technically seated at the head of it. We’re all to believe we have an equal say and are on equal ground. But the truth is Miceli and my family run this town. And they all know it and defer to us.

I spot my brothers—along with Enzo’s wife, Gabriella Bianche Rossi who is another very strong woman. They recently had twins—Rosa and Bianca—and have their hands full and thensome. So, it’s nice to see them both here supporting me. I appreciate it more than I can say.

We walk over and exchange hugs and back slaps. Miceli is the tallest and biggest of the four of us, but not by much. I’m not surprised to see Enzo in a suit because he’s always dressed for the office, but I almost chuckle when I notice some crusty, white baby puke on the lapel. He seems to be loving fatherhood, but he looks a little more tired than usual. Guess having two infants at the same time will do that to a person.

And, of course, Vincentius is more casual in jeans and a Henley. I’m probably the most athletic because I like working out. No one else except Carlotta has a gym membership, but you’d never know. We’re all muscled and know how to fight if necessary, courtesy of our dad.

“Good to see you back in one piece,” Enzo says, slapping me on the back. He wraps an arm around Gabriella, pulling her into his side.

“His heart may not be in one piece,” Carlotta says and I roll my eyes. “Our brother is in love.”

“Love?” Gabriella echoes exchanging a look with Enzo who shrugs.

“For chrissake, Lottie, this is why I didn’t want to tell you,” I grumble. Damn, she has a big mouth.

“Well, they’re all going to find out sooner or later, right?”

“I already knew,” Miceli states. “I just know how to keep things quieter than you, little sis.”

“Wait a second,” Vin says, his green eyes widening. “Love? Who are you in love with? And if you even say the woman who kidnapped you?—”

“Her name is Blake,” I interrupt, “and the main thing I’m concerned about right now is finding and protecting her from Carmine Gallo.”

Enzo whistles under his breath. “I never thought I’d see the day a woman would sweep you off your feet.” He chuckles and I want to punch him. Punch them all for being such pains in my ass.

“You guys are lucky I love you,” I murmur.

“She must be a very special woman to have caught your attention,” Gabriella says with a smile.

“C’mon, let’s start this meeting.” Miceli motions for us to follow him to the table. “I spoke with our elusive Archer and you’re going to be interested in what he told me. Everyone here is going to be very, very interested.”

Twenty minutes later, my brother has told everyone what he found out from Archer—that Carmine Gallo recently moved to town and has a hard-on for the alliance of Five Families. He’s desperate to be a part of it and willing to do anything to stake his claim and territory. It’s exactly what we’d thought and Archer’s confirmation seals the deal. Gallo needs to be dealt with.

No one at the table is happy. For years, through all of the ups and downs, through generations, this table has consisted of five heavy hitting families—The Rossi’s, The Bianchi’s, The DeLuca’s, The Caparelli’s and The Milano’s. Despite the in-fighting, we all agree on one thing and that is no outsiders are welcome into this alliance.

Everyone erupts in a fit when they hear about Gallo and how he wants a position at the table. And after I tell him how Gallo put my name on the Kill List, they’re all really pissed. Because I know they’re all thinking the same thing—who’s next?

---