Page 127 of Dangerous King
Warning hand on me or not, I'm about to punch Edoardo's smug face in, when Toni loudly states, "He deserves much worse than going to jail." He throws a warning glare at me that sayskeep it together, Sartori.
"I paid for my transgression," Carlos states flatly, leaning back in his chair, smug and confident that Toni won't do anything in the conference room. It's my turn to convey a warning to Toni,keep it together, DeLuna,but it's too late. He jumps up from his chair, pulling a Glock he wasn't supposed to bring, and roars, "No amount of money can make up for what you did."
He's referring to the LA territory that Carlos had to hand over as blood money for Toni's father's death. As expected, more chairs roll back, more guns are drawn, and curses ring through the room. Toni points his gun at Marcello, who hasn't moved and regards Toni with amusement, not a tick in his expression betrays that a gun is pointed at his head. Toni doesn't even look at him. His eyes are boring into Carlos's, "So if I shoot your son, you'll be okay with me turning the LA territory back to you?"
"Put the gun down," Edoardo speaks up, but his voice holds a quiver.
Carlos stares back at Toni, calculating. "That might be a deal. There's a lot of money to be made in LA, and I still have the equipment to produce more sons." He grabs his balls to emphasize his words.
Marcello raises an eyebrow at Toni, and a mocking smirk tugs at the corners of his lips. The man is utterly unfazed by the gun pointed at him or his father's words.
"You disgust me," Toni states, echoing my thoughts and putting his gun away. "Is there anything else to discuss today?"
"If you think you can pull out guns duringmymeeting without consequences, you're sorely mistaken," Edoardo threatens.
Marcello raises his arms, "No harm, no foul." He inclines his head, "Don Edoardo."
Nonplussed, Toni responds, "Like what? Who will you get this time to kill me or another member ofmia famiglia?"
The room is so quiet that the falling of a paperclip would have sounded like a bomb exploding. All eyes are on Edoardo and Toni.
Toni stretches out his arms and rubs his hands together before waving them out as if distributing ashes. "Ah,basta!Finito!"
He strides to the door without as much as a glance back and calls for his bodyguards.
The room erupts into chaos, and I notice Stephano sneaking out after Toni. Good. I'll need to arrange a meeting between the four of us. Toni, Stephano, Marcello, and me. Together, we might be able to figure this out.
The next night…
As if my world isn't a fairy tale enough already, the next morning, during breakfast, Eliza announces that the entire family, including mine, is going to a ball tonight. The same one I helped her with picking an outfit for. Her words come to my mind,not if you and Izzy go with me. She meant them!
I probably should pay much closer attention to what she says from now on, because I can't say that she didn't ambush me with this.Wily lady, I grin.
"The Russian Pakhan's balls are known for their splendor," Izzy claps her hands, "we're going to have so much fun!" Sabine's look of hurt doesn't escape me when Izzy turns straight to me, ignoring my sister.
I scramble to make up for it. "Oh, you can wear that red dress we bought the other day," I tell Sabine.
It works, and her face lights up. "You think so?"
"It was made for it." I nod. And because I don't want to cause any drama between her and Izzy, I turn to my friend next. "That light lavender gown you picked would be perfect."
Izzy's eyes sparkle, "You're right. I thought more for a summer ball, but… yeah, you're right."
"With your black hair, you will look like a vision." I nod.
"You'll have to put it all together for us," Izzy beams.
"And you have to do our makeup," I exclaim. Izzy is the best makeup artist I know, not that I know many, but that doesn't matter. She did mine the other day, and I was floored.
"Oh, yes, please," Sabine chimes in.
"Sure, sounds like fun," Izzy agrees.
And just like that, we excuse ourselves from the breakfast table and spend the rest of the day with tulle, petticoats, satin, powder, bronzer, and whatever else is needed to turn us into fairy princesses of the night.
Turns out Sabine is excellent with hair, impressing even Izzy.
"I've never had anybody get my hair like you do," Izzy gushes, turning her head left and right to admire the cut and curls Sabine added.
