Page 24 of Carnal

"I can handle myself," I claim.

"Damn it, Pina! This is serious," Tristano barks.

My chest tightens. I shake my head at him then rise. I address Dante. "Is there anything else, boss?"

"Don't be like that," Dante says.

"How do you expect me to react? Should I be happy you're acting like I'm helpless? Should I point out how hypocritical the four of you are? You never wanted me there anyway. Well, you finally got your way. Congrats," I seethe, then turn to leave.

Dante grabs my arm. "Pina—"

I spin. "I'll have your list to you Monday. Or do you want me to do it over the weekend?"

He sighs.

"We need it sooner rather than later," Tristano answers.

All the remorse I had about the previous night disappears. As far as I'm concerned, Tristano Marino can kiss my ass. I snottily remark, "Fine. Boss."

"Pina," Dante tries again.

"Anything else?" I repeat.

He slowly shakes his head. "No."

"Great. Have a nice weekend." I hold my head high and leave as quickly as possible, vowing to never do any more favors or jobs for Tristano. He crossed a line. He made this personal so he doesn't have to see me in the club anymore. From now on, I'm steering clear of him.

5

Tristano

"Well,she took that better than expected," Massimo mutters.

My stomach somersaults. I'm still pissed about what happened last night, but I didn't want to add more fuel to the fire. And I want to see this list. Pina should have told one of us what was going on at the club.

My blood boiled when Dante told me what happened between Biagio and Pina. The thought of that thug talking to her is bad enough. Touching her is another level of rage.

Dante runs his hand through his hair. "When I get Pina's list, we need to meet again."

"What are we going to do about it?" Gianni asks.

Dante crosses his arms and goes to the window. He stares out at the stark white yard. It snowed last night, and frost covers the windows. "I'm not sure yet. We'll talk with Papà once we have the list."

I blurt out, "He'll kill you when he finds out you let Pina go to the club."

Dante spins. "And all of you knew, so don't think your asses aren't in trouble. All of us are going to hear it."

"Then don't tell him. Let's figure this out ourselves," I suggest.

"No. Papà might need to speak to the council. There are rules for a reason," Dante states, then adds, "I have to meet the wedding planner. I'll let you know when I have the list."

My brothers and I break apart, each going our separate ways. Without thinking, I go into the garage and hop in my Mercedes-Benz G Class. It's an SUV I drive when the weather is bad. I turn on the engine, pull out of the gate, then head to Pina's.

I'm unsure why I think this will make anything better, but something urges me to talk to her. At the very least, we need to clear the air about last night. While I'm glad she won't be in the club anymore, I didn't speak my mind about the issue because of what happened between us. I would have reacted the same, even if we hadn't hooked up.

It takes longer to get to her condo than normal. The roads are bad. Halfway there, the snow begins to fall again. It creates a thick blanket, giving me little visibility.

I pull up to her building then text her.

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