Page 85 of All Your Lies
“You walked in on me with someone who had long brown hair,” he says as he looks over to the right.
I follow his gaze and land on my older cousin, Vinny. His long brown hair in a tight ponytail at the back of his head. With a scowl on his face, he skillfully spins a knife between his fingers, never taking his eyes off us.
“You mean?”
“Yeah,” he says as he looks back at my cousin with love in his eyes and a grin on his face. While Vinny still looks two seconds from wanting to stab someone. Probably me. Marco leans back in and whispers in my ear. “Watch.”
Vinny gets up from the table, almost knocking over the chair, then storms away.
“He’s such a drama queen sometimes.”
I smile up at Marco. “I should’ve known. Good luck with my cousin. From the looks of it, you’re going to need it.”
“I can handle him,” he says with a smile. “Are we all good?”
“Yes. I hope you two will be happy.”
All of his erratic behavior when we were younger makes sense. He went about it the wrong way, but he was hurting.
“You know we can’t be together. Only in secret.”
“It doesn’t need to be like that. We’ll talk to Gage. You both deserve happiness and acceptance. Love is between hearts—”
Marco pulls me into the tightest hug I think I’ve ever received.
“Thank you…” he whispers as he takes a deep breath. “Your dad’s coming, and I’d rather not have another chat with him. I hope you and Gage will be happy, too.”
“Yeah, I don’t know about that,” I say as I glance over at Gage regarding us with an expression I can’t decipher, but it makes my stomach flutter. Why does he do this to me?
“Gage may be different, but his heart is still the same. It’s only ever beat for you. Give him hell, but give him a chance. After everything, he deserves it.”
“You can’t swap brothers on a whim, Alexa. This isn’t your decision,” Manuel sneers.
“Fuck you!”
“I don’t like sloppy thirds,” Manuel spits back at me.
Gage’s gun is out of its holster and aimed at Manuel before I can blink.
Tony’s eyes widen in shock as he raises his hands and positions himself as a shield between his brother and the gun, which is ominously aimed at his sibling’s head. “He didn’t meanit. Rocco, let’s table this discussion. We have time. Gia, why don’t you go out to the living room? We’ll be out soon.”
She looks over at Marco and then her gaze shifts to me while her mouth turns into a sneer. I give her the same, my eyes piercing with a mix of annoyance and amusement, and then a smirk forms on my lips as she walks out of the room.
I’ve never liked Gia. She’s self-centered, spoiled, and a total bitch. I went to her birthday party at her house last year and that was all I needed to see. She yelled at the house staff because “they were beneath her” as she said. And when she didn’t get the car she wanted, she threw a fit and actually stomped her feet. No way am I letting Marco end up with her, even if I didn’t know he was in love with my older cousin.
Gage places his gun on the desk with a heavy clunk while its barrel stays aimed toward them. The unspoken warning hangs in the air.
As Tony moves back to his seat, Manuel averts his eyes, making a conscious effort to avoid looking toward me and Gage. Good.
“Alexander Petrov’s shipments should reach both docks Wednesday at nine forty-five. See that everything goes smoothly. Bring extra detail just in case,” Gage says. “I want a detailed inventory of everything that makes it to land.”
“We’re really working with the Russians?” Tony’s eyebrow shoots up.
I, too, am shocked. I only met the Petrovs briefly when I was younger while in Italy. The only thing I remember was tension. Steeped in old-world values, the Russians are part of a secret society whose deplorable deeds rival our own.
“It expands our reach. We have access to the ports in Los Angeles again, and our revenue in the gun and drug trade will double. Unless you don’t want the extra money?” Gage says.
“What about the Stockade? Will that open back up now that we’re working with the Russians?” Manuel asks with a smile on his face, which makes me sick. I never went, but I know what it is, and I’m glad it burned to the ground.
