Page 14 of Bittersweet Endings
Matteo walked in, glancing at Lorenzo, who was pushing himself up before kicking at the broken pieces of chair. He cracked his neck and muttered something about my “dramatic flair.” If he didn’t watch his bullshit, I’d do a lot worse than that.
“We’ve got an issue,” Matteo said. “Eva.”
“What the fuck she do now?” I grunted.
My little sister was going to be the death of me. Raised alongside three older brothers in the mafia, Eva held her own with a vicious right hook for a sprite of a woman and a mouth to rival a truck driver’s. She did everything in her power to piss us off most days.
She was the first daughter in a mafia powerhouse, and withthat, came certain precautions. While JP could give a fuck, a lot of people had their eyes on her. And she made it clear she didn’t like having guards.
I’d made itclearerthat I didn’t give a fuck. She got them anyway. Thankfully, she didn’t try to dodge Alessandro. He was the only one who seemed able to put up with her.
“She and Alessandro got into an argument.”
I rolled my eyes.Most days, I guess.
“She took off and we can’t find her.”
“Call Diego.”
“I already have men out looking for her.”
“No, call Diego. He can track her,” I repeated. Matteo paused. “I told you I wasn’t playing last time. We put a tracker in her necklace.”
“She needs to be locked away… for our sanity.” My brother tapped out a message on his phone before adding, “What’re we going to do with the feds?”
We switched topics and jumped into what we had on JP. His resources kept his name out of the news, but the suits were knocking.They knew.
I’d have it handled, if I could find him. But the bastard had gone underground.
“Eva’s back.” Lorenzo stared over the railing as she marched through the club and up the stairs. Diego had a rough hold on her upper arm, handcuffs clear around her wrist as he practically dragged her along.
“Goddamn it, Diego! That hurts!” she screamed from the hall.
“So does my face, Eva!” The door opened and a bleeding Diego shoved my baby sister inside. “Fuckin’ take her before I do something I regret.”
Red nail marks trailed down his cheek. Eva was disheveledbut unharmed. And downright pissed. I ran a tired hand over my face. Sometimes I wondered if I should’ve been harder on her. I hid her from JP’s rage, but this spoiled child act was old and goddamn dangerous.
“What’re you three clowns looking at?” she seethed, lifting her arms. “Uncuff me, assholes!”
“Sit down,” I ordered. Normally she’d have fought me, but the look on my face told her I wasn’t playing. “The fuck is wrong with you?”
“What? I’m tired of Alessandro and his games?—”
“Then you fuckin’ call one of us! You don’t fuckin’ take off. Especially when JP is missing!” My chest heaved as I leaned closer to her face. “Wasn’t it not that long ago he wanted to marry you off? And now you’re running wild like an idiot, practically asking to get picked up by one of hissoldatos.Gesù Cristo,Eva. Use your goddamn brain.” My roar made her flinch.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered.
“No, your fuckin’ not. As soon as you get a bug up your ass, you’ll do this shit again.” She opened her mouth to speak, but I silenced her. “I cannot deal with JP, New York, the fuckin’ feds and then your fuckin’ mood swings.”
A knock on the door interrupted us. “Come in,” Lorenzo barked.
A second later, Alessandro walked in, pissed off and sporting a black eye. My blood boiled at this bullshit. She was being careless.
“Fuck, Eva. This isn’t how I raised you.” I sighed. “One of these days, someone’s gonna snap and you’ll suffer for it.”
She was smart to stay silent.
“You’re protected by my most trusted men, but everyone has a breaking point. A woman putting her hands on a grown man…” I shook my head.
