Page 54 of The Cost of Corruption

But I had to admit it was a far more entertaining way to spend the evening.

But as our father, Giuseppe had always liked to remind his sons—every pleasure comes with a price.

And apparently, payment for last evening’s affair had come due.

“Good morning, brother,” I said after softly closing the door behind me. “I was just about to get breakfast in the kitchen. Want to join me?”

Chastity was still asleep in bed, and I didn’t want our conversation to wake her. Especially not if it turned out anything like yesterday’s argument.

But Gabriel just shook his head. “The only thing I want is to know when you lost your goddamn mind.”

So that’s how this was going to be.

“I’m guessing you heard about last night,” I said.

“That’s a good guess,” he shot back sarcastically. “Now go ahead andguesswhich part I heard first—that you made a show of kicking every Costa out of Bianco’s or that you did it so you could screw Michael Costa’s daughter loud enough for all of lower Manhattan to hear.”

I straightened up, pulling my shoulders back.

Gabriel might have been my twin, and I was loyal as hell to him, but there was a limit to how much of this bullshit a man could be asked to swallow.

“Stop referring to her as that man’s daughter,” I demanded. “Her name is Chastity.”

“That’sthe part you have a problem with?” Gabriel demanded. “So itistrue? All of it?”

“Every goddamn word.” But if my brother thought I would be ashamed or apologetic, he didn’t know me.

He cursed under his breath. “What the hell were you thinking?”

“That a display of strength would make the Costas rethink any desire they had for a war,” I explained. “Andit appeared to be effective. Not one Costa soldier gave us pushback.”

“I don’t doubt that for a second.” However, although Gabriel seemingly agreed with the outcome, he didn’t appear pleasedwith the method. “No man with even half a brain would put his life on the line for some other asshole’s pride.”

“So what the hell are we arguing about?” I asked.

“Shit, Matteo. You’re supposed to be thesmartbrother,” he said. “So why are you acting like a fucking idiot over some girl?”

“First, she’s notsome girl,” I hissed, the vehemence in my voice surprising even me. “She’s?—

“—Chastity,” Gabriel said, rolling his eyes. “You keep saying that.”

“And I’ll stop when you finally start listening and get it right,” I shot back. “How would you react if I called Oliviasome chickor kept referring to her as Theo Collin’s sister?”

My brother’s face turned deathly serious. “We’d have a fucking conversation.”

“That’s what I thought.”

“Watch it, brother,” Gabriel warned, even though I knew he’d rather die than do anything to harm me. “Liv is my wife.”

“And Chastity is both my guest and my responsibility for the next two weeks. Maybe more,” I told him plainly. “That means she deserves respect.”

The line of Gabriel’s lips tightened as he reluctantly accepted the truth of what I was saying. But that didn’t mean he was ready to give up his own argument.

“Fine,” he said. “But I am the boss in this family, and if you come up with any other bright ideas about how to deal with this Costa situation, I expect to hear about them beforehand. Not through the grapevine afterward.”

Strangely, it didn’t help to know that he was right. Gabriel’s position as head of the family didn’t just mean he got to make all the decisions. He also had to take all the responsibility if shit went sideways.

And, if I put myself in his shoes, I could almost understand why he would be reluctant to do so for the sake of some Costa he hadn’t seen since childhood.

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