Page 29 of Brutal Devil
I turn toward it, huffing out another sigh. “Come in.”
Roc slips inside, his expression taut with tension.
“What is it?” I demand, instantly knowing something is wrong. “Is it Luna?”
I shouldn’t have entrusted her to Saint this morning. But I didn’t have a lot of options. I couldn’t send her back to her bastard of a father or take the risk of her running if left toher own devices. I needed to be here, to make sure everything was prepped at the church and running smoothly. I also needed to avoid seeing the bride before the wedding. Andrianis are superstitious. There’s enough bad blood between us, the Revellos, the Irish, the Bratva, and the other families. I need all the help I can get.
Rocco shakes his head. “Saint is on his way to the church with her now. That’s not the problem.”
Relief hits me, and I relax my clenched fists.
“Then what is?”
“Amedeo Revello is here,” Rocco says.
I rake a hand through my hair. “Shit. We’ve got ourselves a fucking rat.” I roll my shoulders, thinking about how we play this unwanted development. “Everyone’s being checked for weapons, yeah?”
He nods. “Yeah.”
“Who’s with him?”
“His wife and Little Sal.”
Little Sal is Amedeo’s right-hand man and bodyguard. He’s a huge, sadistic fuck capable of almost anything. But Little Sal and Amedeo aren’t an army. Amedeo has a crew who’s loyal to him. If they’re not here, I doubt there’s much he can do. He’d be taking on the Andriani brothers and half the Revello family.
“Then let him in.”
Rocco works his jaw. “Boss, I don’t like this.”
He isn’t one to question my orders. His concern is serious.
“I don’t like it either, but I need this wedding to happen today. If Amedeo knows I’m marrying Luna, then it’s best if he’s a guest. He’s only got Little Sal for protection, and his men aren’t going to bomb a church with him in it. Besides, if he tries anything with us, it’ll be a suicide mission.”
“He shouldn’t have found out about this yet,” Rocco points out. “We’ve worked quickly. If Amedeo knows, that means he’sgot a guy inside, and if he’s got a guy inside, he could have asked the bastard to stash a piece.”
Rocco’s not wrong. But I don’t want to have to think about this. Two years ago, before shit hit the fan with some of the other families and the Bratva, and we found out Amedeo was working on cutting Tomasso Revello out of the picture, we’d had an opportunity to take Amedeo down. A clear shot when he was leaving one of our clubs. But my father called it off at the last second, thinking it was too risky.
“Fuck.” I turn and pace the room again. “We should have done him when we had the chance.”
“That wasn’t your call.”
“I know.”
But it doesn’t make me feel any better acknowledging it. In fact, it makes me feel like shit. Because my father is dead, I’m don, and now I’m dealing with Amedeo Revello on my wedding day.
“We can get him and Little Sal out of here,” Rocco says. “Quietly and without anyone getting harmed. His wife is along, so he’s less likely to try anything stupid and put her in the crossfire.”
“There’s no guarantee of that.” I shake my head. “We can’t afford to have an all-out war on our hands.”
“What do you think is going to happen after you marry the Revello girl and make your move?”
“I know what’s going to happen then, but it will beplanned.” I scrub my hand over my jaw, feeling the prickle of five-o’clock shadow that pretty much appears the minute I shave. “This is where I’m different from my father. I’m not going to wait for shit to happen before making a move. I’m making my fucking move first. Seizing the goddamn kingdom and the princess in the tower, making her my queen.”
Rocco nods, working his jaw like he wants to say more, before he shakes his head. “I’ll do whatever you want, boss.”
Nothing I’m doing today is what Iwantto do. I want to get married like I want to lie in an intersection in the middle of the city and wait for some asshole to run over my head. And I sure as fuck don’t want Amedeo and Little Sal presiding over the ceremony. But this isn’t about what I want. It’s about what’s best for the family. It’s about taking up the reins where my father left off and building something stronger, bigger, and better than he could have ever dreamed.
It’s about seizing what’s ours.
