Page 24 of Highball and Chain

Enzo

Nicolina’sdark mood seemed to suck the oxygen from the car, but I would deal with her in private. After her reaction to Shanna and the gunshots in the old city, I didn’t have the patience to handle a temper tantrum.

I’m putting her on a plane back to Paris today if it’s the last thing I do.

I slammed through the gears so fast I feared the vehicle would need a new clutch before we made it back to the villa.

Marco turned to face me. “What has Gabe so worked up?”

I glanced in the rearview at Nico and shrugged. “We’ll talk about it later.”

“Talk about it now.”

“At the villa.” I took a sharp left onto a narrow road.

“Why are you going the long way around?” Nico leaned between the two front seats.

“It’s the safest route.”

The more I stalled, the more Marco pressed for answers. “What’s going on?”

I kept my eyes on the road.

Marco leaned forward and stared until I finally met his gaze. “What happened back there?”

“Someone fired shots over mine and Shanna’s heads.” I tightened my grip on the wheel. She could have been killed. This is exactly the reason I should stay away from her.

“You were with her?” Nico’s voice hit an octave normally reserved for sirens and airhorns.

I didn’t reply.

“Why would someone shoot at you? Her, I can understand, but you?” Nicolina sat back and laughed.

I turned and glared. “I need you to be quiet.”

“Go fuck yourself.”

I gritted my teeth and focused on the road rather than strangling the principessa of the Lazio family.

Marco scrubbed his jaw. “Did you recognize anyone?”

“No. Shanna stepped into the street to take a photo, and a car came out of nowhere. I pulled her back and heard the shots.”

“The car backfired, silly.” Nicolina huffed. “No one would come into Marchionni territory and try to harm your family or a woman.”

“It was no car.” I rolled the implications around in my head. Nico had a point. The Sicilian Mafioso lived by a strict code of conduct. This was our mandamenti—no one would dare threaten us in our territory. “Why did you promise to take Shanna to Donnafugata tomorrow?”

“To get her out of there without a fight.” He seemed to have more to say, but remained quiet.

I eased to the gate and punched the entry code into the box. “Then you aren’t planning to take her?”

Nico made a sound in the back of her throat. “Why do you care where he takes the American?”

“Because someone shot at us today.” I parked and turned to face Nico.

“I’ll take her to the castle, unless Gabe says otherwise.” Marco hopped out too quickly for my tastes. Ten to one he’s going to speak with Shanna, the fucker.

I stood and rolled my head from side to side to relieve the tension. It didn’t work.

---