Page 1 of Romeo
Chapter One:The Standoff
Romeo
My brothers and I automatically followed our father’s action of producing our guns. We aimed our guns at the Walker family as they all held weapons on our family. I stood rooted to the spot as I barely moved. I slowly and carefully turned my head to look over at Giovanni. His fiancée Glory held her gun, aimed at me. I stared at her to note that she looked spooked.
Well, no wonder…I felt spooked.
When I heard Gio was coming home today, I never envisioned this. Maybe some pasta, wine and lots of laughs but never a standoff. This was insane. Our father started it of course…Didn't he always though? I looked sideways and caught Max, our butler standing outside the door. The man abhorred violence but he would throw his body in front of our father to save him if he had to. All about loyalty. Extreme, unaccounted for…loyalty.
I slowly shook my head at him, hoping he would stand still and do no rushing in to save us.
He seemed to get it, after all he had the highest IQ of anyone I knew.
After a tense couple of silent minutes, Gio finally spoke up, “All of you put your guns away.”
No one moved.
I decided that I wouldn’t be a part of this faceoff. I had missed my brother after ten long years, and this was no kind of welcome home to him. I slowly lowered my weapon and then eased my arm back to replace my gun into my back pocket. I realized I had simply reacted to our father’s actions, despitethe fact that these Walkers weren’t a danger to the Descalias. We all did that, followed his orders. It had been ingrained in us since we were toddlers. A longtime tradition. Follow Papà’s orders. Again, loyalty and agreement to fall into line, no matter the situation. I paused and glanced at my brother Gio. Except for him, he had defied Stephano Descalia. He stood up to him at eighteen when told that he would have to marry a girl our father had chosen for him and that he would work in Skyscalia, our family’s corporation. Gio had been the only one in our family to openly defy him. Well, besides Maria, our aunt, but you couldn't really count that. Zia Maria was a phenom and even my father couldn’t control her. Her daughter Francesca, better known as Francie was exactly the same way. Someone who was unafraid of Stephano Descalia.
Since I put my gun away, Gio gave me a nod then he looked around at everyone in the room. “All of you. Stand down.”
Next to him, Glory lowered her rather large gun and tucked it back into her waistband. “Redemption, come on. Step back.”
The man she spoke to had his large gun trained on our father.
The woman who had come in with them – the one that looked a lot like Glory – spoke up as she also held a weapon out, “He needs to tell them to lower theirs.”
“Liv, please?” Glory called to her. “This does not have to happen.”
“Dad, lower your gun,” Gio tried again.
My father growled at him. “They came here as invited guests after we captured their most hated enemy and then they point weapons at us?” He looked enraged.
He often looked angry. In fact, I’d never known a man like him. Always full of fight and ready to go to war. I wouldn’t piss him off further by reminding him that he pulled his weapon onthem first. No, right now, we all needed to stay calm. “Papà,” I spoke to him quietly. “We cannot have a war within the family.”
My father paused and swung his gaze over at me.
“Glory’s family will be our famiglia,” I reminded him. “Please don’t keep this going.” Yes, this had been my job more often than not. Keeping the peace. It had always been that way. Only I had been too young to stop Gio from leaving all those years ago. Had I known what was happening, I would have tried. But as far as I could tell, despite him being missing for ten years, it had been the best thing for Gio.
Shaking his head, my father finally lowered his weapon as he ordered Dante to do the same.
My brother Dante did lower his. It seemed odd to see Dante handling a weapon, though. He had mostly avoided those ever since the trial.
Redemption and the tall man beside him put their guns away as did the woman named Liv.
“Ok,” Gio spoke up. “Let’s all sit down and discuss this.”
Nodding, his woman Glory said, “We can’t be fighting. That is exactly what Deacon and his sister want.”
Everyone looked over at her.
“Sister?” my father asked Glory.
Nodding, she explained, “Redemption said it was a woman who called him with the demand of an exchange. According to one of my sister in laws, who had also been kidnapped by Deacon, he has a sister.”
“A woman took this Jarret?” my father asked in some disbelief.
Glory shook her head and narrowed her eyes at him. “This Jarretis my daddy, Mr. Descalia. He is more than important to us.”
