Page 77 of Ruthless Oath

“What if she doesn’t want to go back?” I asked.

“That is not your problem.” Lucas pointed at me. “We’ve let this go on long enough. She is not your responsibility. She has a father and a man who is waiting to marry her.”

“No.” I slammed my fist on the table. “She never agreed to marry him. She doesn’t want to marry Collins. I won’t send her back.”

“Marchello,” Lucas said. “Let’s be reasonable. You cannot divide your focus and take on another battle. If Gallanti turns out not to be the reason your father had to abandon his territory, then we will have to place all our efforts on fighting the real enemy.”

“We’re going to have to come at this from another angle. Do you understand?” I rubbed my temple. “Even if Gallanti isn’t responsible for my father’s current situation, he is most definitely coming for the territory, which makes him a threat.”

“We’re dealing with the threat,” Milo said. “We’re taking out the shipment.”

“Let’s focus on that.” I looked at Lucas. “Am I clear?”

“Fine,” Lucas said. “I’ll do what you ask.”

“My father trusts me with this. Initially, I made a mistake when I took Lissia, but that action may have opened up other doors for us. We can turn this around.”

“You have to concentrate on everything. Not just Gian’s daughter.” Lucas stood and buttoned his suit jacket.

“What are you saying?” I asked.

“It means you crossed the line with your hostage.” He waved his hand to prevent me from speaking, and while I didn’t like being dismissed, I would hear him out. “It’s written all over your face. You’re emotionally involved, and I know your father wouldn’t appreciate that.”

Milo shifted in his chair.

“That’s not your concern,” I said. My father’s stance on feelings and business were crystal clear. I had broken his rules and allowed Lissia to make me do things I shouldn’t have.

“You’ve gotten too far off course. You put your family in the middle of a war, and you don’t have the benefit of your father’s advice.”

“We have you,” Milo said. “We trust you.”

“Do you?” Lucas looked at me.

“Of course we trust you.” I held my hands up. “You have to trust me.”

“I’m trying,” Lucas said. “But right now, you’re going rogue, and that doesn’t sit well with me.”

“Once we hit back, we’ll have a better perspective. We can throw Gallanti off his game, and Bello will fall in line.”

“And Collins?” Lucas arched a brow. “He’s a loose cannon. He has no allegiance to our organization or the way we do things. He doesn’t come from men like us.”

“Then he’ll lose,” I said. “We’ll destroy him.”

“He didn’t even try to hide hitting the dealership.” Lucas shook his head. “He’s coming for you because you have something he wants. That’s a problem you don’t need.”

“This is what I’ve been trying to tell you,” Milo said. “No more distractions.”

“I’m not distracted.” I leaned back in my chair. “Just because I’m not in the city, doesn’t mean I can’t run things.”

Ricardo hurried into the room, disheveled, flustered, and dripping with rain.

“I’m sorry. I, uh…” He motioned toward the window, peering out of it as if he searched for something…or someone. “I apologize for interrupting.”

“What do you want?” I stood.

The ire in my tone was obvious; I still wasn’t over how he cared for Lissia. Or how she responded to him. She needed him in a way she didn’t need me. He was her friend. Her confidant. Their relationship shouldn’t have bothered me, but it did.

I should have listened to my father. There was a reason we didn’t let women get in the way.

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