Page 44 of His to Claim

“You can’t fix dead,” he states flatly. “And your family killed my boy.”

My eyes widen. I did not expect him to say that. “What are you talking about?”

I do my best to sound concerned, sympathetic even.

But he doesn’t answer my question and, instead, he motions to his thug. “Help me. Grab the rope.”

Without hesitation, the big guy retrieves a coil of rope from the dim corner of the loft. He tosses it up and over one of the big wooden beams and I get a sinking feeling in my stomach. This doesn’t look good and I turn around, trying to figure out how I can escape this mess.

A hand tightens around my arm and yanks me forward. “No, you’re not going anywhere,” Gallo says. “Give me the rope. And hold her.”

Shit.While his henchman holds me tightly in his iron grip, Gallo tosses the rope around my neck. A noose.Oh, my God.Panic flares up inside me and I struggle, trying to break free, but then the rope is pulled tighter and I freeze as I’m pulled up onto my toes.

No, no, no.I don’t want to die like this. My mind turns to Damon and all the things I never had a chance to say to him. The idea of never being able to kiss him or touch him again makes me want to cry and scream and lash out. But I can barely move.

“Let me tell you a little story,” Gallo says in a low voice, moving closer. Until we’re eye to eye. “I used to have a son your age. He would’ve been twenty-five this month, actually. But now he’s six-feet under, thanks to your family.”

The rope is cutting into my throat, making it hard to breathe, and I don’t dare try to talk. I can barely move my head. My eyes can move, but my neck is securely bound, forced to face forward. Drawing in a ragged breath, all I can do is wait for Gallo to continue.

“Maximo, my son, worked for a company that ran into some hard times. He owed a lot of people money and became worried. People come after you in this town…when you owe them enough money. But the owner told him everything would be fine—that the Rossi family was going to acquire and save his floundering company. Everything had been set up, and the paperwork was ready to be signed.”

His story is starting to sound very familiar all too fast. But I’m still not sure how he can blame my family if the deal didn’t go through. Because I have a pretty good feeling this is connected to Holloway Corp. and Enzo and Gabriella.

A moment later, Gallo confirms my suspicions.

“When Enzo abruptly backed out of the deal, it was up to Gabriella Bianche to help. After all, she was the one who’d originally expressed interest in buying the company. And then she backed out for no apparent reason.”

That’s not true,I think. Both Enzo and Gabriella decided against acquiring Doug Holloway’s company because he turned out to be a liar and a pig. He’d pitted them against each other and played games with their heads. And their hearts. Luckily, they’d discovered who Holloway really was and they’d both rescinded their initial offers to obtain his failing company.

“It’s not up to my family to save every struggling business,” I tell him. “If Holloway mismanaged funds, how is that our fault?”

“Because they could’ve saved it which in turn would’ve saved my son!” he practically screams at me.

I flinch and his face is right in front of mine. I’ve never seen someone so full of rage and hate. It’s oozing off of him in clumps.

“I’m sorry if your son had to find a new job?—”

“He didn’t find a new job! He left a note saying he was a failure and couldn’t pay off his debts. Then he threw himself off the nearest bridge.”

Oh, God.

“So instead of hiding or waiting to be killed because he owed the wrong people money—or asking me for help because he didn’t want to be a burden—he ended his life.”

It takes me a few seconds to soak in what he’s saying—the significance of losing a child, why he blames my family and what that currently means for me at this moment.

Nothing good.

“I’m sorry about your son,” I say quietly, and I truly am. “But I can guarantee Enzo and Gabriella had no idea or they would’ve helped.”

But it’s like he doesn’t even hear me. Or doesn’t want to.

“Now you see why I have to destroy your family,” he says. “Because the Rossi’s are the reason my son is dead.”

Talk about faulty logic. I understand the connection he’s making, but what happened was a tragedy and shouldn’t solely land on my family’s shoulders. Because I know for an absolute fact that if Enzo and Gabriella knew Gallo’s son was that desperate, they could have and would have helped him find a new job elsewhere.

But Gallo clearly believes that my family is responsible for his son’s death and I don’t think there’s any way to make him see the truth or be logical. His emotions are ruling his decisions right now. He only sees what he wants to see—that we’re one-hundred percent at fault for what happened.

“I’m going to eliminate every last one of you and then take your place as part of the ruling Five Families. And then I’m going to bring the whole table down. After all, Gabriella was a Bianche, so they need to go, too.”

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