Page 68 of DeLucas After Dark

“Marco. I’ve never questioned the steel of your balls, but even I gotta admit this takes big ones.”

“Yeah, even I’m questioning your sanity on this one,” Ales says, coming up to my right.

“When you’ve got money, and you pay attention to your woman, you can make her dreams come true.”

“Why’re you looking so worried then?” my oldest brother, Antonio, asks from behind me.

I step aside so that he can join the semi-circle.

“Not worried about this. Something else is off, and I can’t put my finger on it. I sense danger, and I don’t know who, what, or why. The only fucking thing I know is that I’m doing this today no matter what happens.”

“You think it might be her parents?” my father asks.

Shaking my head, I say, “No. They haven’t arrived yet, but Nora confirmed they did pick up the rental.”

“Mm.”

“Larry will be here,” Ales says of his father-in-law, Lawrence Hartwell.

“We’ve got enough manpower to handle whatever,” Tony says.

“Hey, what’s with the faces?” my identical twin brother, Massimo, jokes, stepping out into the yard with us.

“Marco thinks there’s a threat.”

“Where?” Massimo asks as he instantly goes on alert, shifting his three-year-old Ilaria to his other hip.

“Don’t know. I sense it,” I say.

My twin’s eyes go as deadly as mine as our father takes my niece from my brother and kisses her cheek.

“Everyone be on guard. You checked out the staff?” Massimo asks.

“They’re Dante’s people. He’s vetted every one of them,” I say, referencing my cousin, Dante Bianchi, who just arrived last night with his wife, Indigo.

“All right. Let’s stay focused and keep this show moving. I just got a call from Giulia, and she says they’re heading to their cars now,” Tony shares.

“Where’s fucking Nico?” my father asks.

“Checking the grounds.”

“Tony. Ales. Mass. Find your brother and make sure everything’s okay,” my father orders.

They all head off in different directions, and it gives me great comfort to know that my brothers are here with me if shit jumps off.

My cousin, Dante, steps away from the florist for a moment and asks, “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah. But I’ve got everyone on high alert because I think something’s about to go down.”

He nods. “I’ve got you. Just tell me where you need me.”

“I need to get the vendors out of here first. The women are on their way back.”

“I know. Indigo just texted me and said they were fifteen minutes out. Everyone except for the minister is packing up so they can head out. The caterers just arrived a few minutes ago.”

“Good. What about their truck?”

“One of your men showed them the designated spot to park,” he says, crossing his arms.

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