Chapter 26

My Upper East Side apartment on East 79th was still intact and in pristine condition. There was some dust and the slight smell of must, but other than that, it was still as clinically clean as I left it. Brynne had settled in and eyed me and the apartment in confusion. Likely because the apartment didn't reflect the version of me she knew.

Now clad in a suit, and using the family driver, Joe, we drive on the FDR. I wish it was at breakneck speed so that I could get this meeting over with, but there's always something holding traffic.

"It's good to see you, Sir," Joe throws over his shoulder.

"You, too, Joe." I fuck with my collar again, feeling claustrophobic wearing one again. I felt so free in my jeans and flannel shirts all this time. Fuck, in summer, I rarely wore a shirt. Unless I was hunting and trying to blend into my surroundings.

The ride to Little Italy, where Enzo will be holed up in the family bakery, takes a little over an hour because of stop-and-go traffic, but once we're there, Joe lets me out. I look up at the brick building, red awning dawning the Ricci name and family emblem, marking it as our headquarters.

I take a deep breath, heading inside.

Maria, my father's sister, is manning the counter.

"Dio mio! Ardesia, is that you?" She comes from behind the counter and hugs me tight. I let her. Which I wouldn't have done before.

She peels herself off me. "I never thought I'd see you again."

I harden, as she'd expect me to. I'm here for business. She knows it as well as I do. "Where is he?"

She nods her head toward the back. "I assume you still know the way?"

The tile is black and white; the walls are bright yellow. Mama had painted them with Maria when they'd first gained the building for commercial use. A front. Everything is in this world.

Being one of the five families is a heavy burden. We run portions of the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, and New Jersey. Well, they do.

The thought boomerangs into another: what if there is no way out of this world?

I stop at the door that leads into the meeting area of the bakery. It goes pretty far back, with offices like my brother's behind it. Walking back through this door is something I never thought I'd do again. Yet, here I am.

If it wasn't for Brynne, I don't think I would be. They wouldn't have taken me alive.

When I push inside, I check through all the offices, finding them empty.

Of course, he's in his office.

He'd want to secure his position as the true Don, taking over everything from the previous. I don't blame him. It's what is done.

I knock on my brother's door, awaiting Enzo's voice to follow soon after. It doesn't.

Lorenzo, my brother's old general, opens the door. Who knows how high up the ladder he's climbed now?

"Ardesia! Jesus, man, how've ya been?" He claps me on the shoulder, pulling me into his massive frame. If I'm huge, he's a fucking mountain.

"Ardesia?"

My blood runs cold as Lorenzo steps aside at the sound of his boss's voice.

My eyes run over my brother in pure fucking confusion. "Lucio?"

He stands, open-armed, as he rounds the desk. Even though something else is in his eyes, I can't quite place it.

I rush into his arms, holding my brother close as I fight the emotion that burns my throat like a straight shot of whiskey.

He pulls me back, gripping my shoulders and looking me over. "If you've come, something's wrong. What's happened?"

Confusion beats at my brain. "What are you talking about?"

"What can the family help you with, Fratellino," he says, moving back behind his desk as he keeps his eyes on me.

That I thought he was dead is pressing, but it's not what I'm worried about presently.

"You summoned me, Fratello." My brows pinch together as he stands again in a rush.

"No, Ardesia, I did not."

I move in front of the desk, leaning forward and looking him over sternly. "I thought you were dead."

He smiles grimly. "I thought I was, too. But I've been in remission now for three years. It was a long battle, but I won, Fratellino."

I hang my head. "And I left you."

"Hey," he whispers, and I hear Lorenzo leave the room to give us privacy, likely his Don had waved him off, but he'll be right outside the door. "You were struggling long before you left New York. We all knew it. You were getting sloppy with your kills, Ardesia, let's face facts. You were becoming an issue I was about to have to deal with. But to see you thrive…"

I stand straight, cutting him off. "You knew where I was?"

A wicked grin lifts his lips. "A Don always knows where his men are, as well as his enemies."

"And you let me think you were dead?"

He waves at me dismissively. "Of course I did! If you'd have known I was alive, loyalty would've brought you back to me. Back to this life that was breaking you down."

He'd done what he'd known was best for me, no matter the repercussions or sadness it brought him.

I reach into my pocket as he sits. I drop into the cushioned seat before his desk and I slide the paper over to him.

He opens it, eyes looking over the message Brynne had found in the chicken coop.

"Fuck," he says.

"Tell me what the fuck is going on."

He scrubs his face roughly. "The Bianchis," he says in answer.

I narrow my gaze at him. A war between any of the five hasn't happened in a long time, but it seems while I was away, and while he was ill, unrest had brewed.

"Making moves on territory?" I ask.

He nods, throwing the paper down on the top of the desk. "The docks," he says.

I growl, shaking my head.

"I thought we had it in hand, but two weeks ago, they got Enzo. While he told me he hadn't given them anything, suddenly buildings started going up in flames. Buildings no one but the top three know about."

The top three were composed of my brother, the Don, myself or Enzo, the Underboss, and Lorenzo, the General.

"Fuck! Where is Enzo buried now?"

My brother looks down. "I've been trying to get everything he told them about out of him before I buried him. I know, not your usual style, but he won't break. Funnily enough. Since he broke just fine for them."

"I'll handle it. Send me the address."

He lifts a hand. "No, you need to go back to your home, Ardesia. This doesn't concern you."

I stand, looking down at him. He looks older, having gone through the battle of cancer and back as if he'd gone to war.

"It does. A Capo and two soldiers are buried in my backyard. One by my hand, and two by my girl's hand. She'll never be the same, Lucio. You and I both know it. She killed for me because of this shit. Because of Enzo. He's mine."

His eyes light at the mention of Brynne and my having someone in my life, but he knows it's not the time.

"Are you back at your apartment? Let me send someone to watch her while you work. I assume she's with you?"

I nod. "I keep what's mine beside me."

He smiles goofily but keeps what he wants to say hidden. I'm thankful.

"I knew he was wrong about you, Fratellino."

I don't have to ask what he means. I know.

Papa always said I was too steeped in my sins and in darkness to find someone. Even from a young age, when he watched me take my first life and bounce back faster than any made man before me.

It's when he named me the Grim Reaper.

"Send your best," I tell him.

He nods, lifting his phone off the desk. "Take Lorenzo."

"I work alone. When I'm done, I'll call the crew."

He nods. "Come for dinner tomorrow night. Let's discuss the next steps. Alessia will be elated to see you."

Alessia, Lucio's wife, had been with him and been a part of our family since they were only teenagers.

I nod. "Send me the details. We'll be there."

"We," he says, smirking.

I roll my eyes and move out of the room.

"Make it bloody, Sir," Lorenzo says as I exit and incline my head in farewell to him.

"Is there any other way?" I ask.

* * *

When I get backto the apartment, I'm beat. After traveling this morning and then the meeting where my brother wasn't in fact dead, my energy has zapped out of me.

When I get to the upper floor, exiting the elevator that opens directly into my penthouse, the smell of food wafts up my nose.

"Hey, Boss," Dante says, garlic bread hanging out of his mouth as he stands at attention from the table.

Brynne grins as she twirls spaghetti on her fork.

And just like that, the day melts away.

"Hey, Daddy," she says, and Dante chokes on his food, grabbing his plate. "I'll be in the hall if you need anything, Boss."

"Where you should've been this entire time?"

"Oh, don't get mad at him. I couldn't eat alone, and he was just standing out there."

"It's his job, bunny."

The front door closes, and I descend on her.

She stands, letting me lift her off her feet. I place her on the bar that overlooks the massive kitchen my apartment boasts. Her dress rides up her thighs. Black silk on her skin is the most intoxicating thing I've ever seen.

She holds my face in her hands, looking at me with concern. "What's wrong? Dante said you'd be gone all night."

"I had to see you before…" I trail off.

"Before?"

I explain to her what I have to do. That the bloodshed isn't over. It's only just begun.

She nods along, giving me space to tell her every detail about my brother being alive and the war going on while I'd been absent.

Her smile is warm, and I marvel at it before I furrow my brows in question.

"He loved you so much he let you go. I don't know that anyone has ever loved me that much."

Sadness slams into my chest like a cinder block. Does she want me to love her that way? To want her in my life, but to do what's right for her?

I don't know if I'm strong enough. Though, I know I'll do anything for her. To keep a smile on her face.

"Did you get to ask about what I asked you to?" she asks.

I sigh. "No, bunny. I'm so sorry. I completely forgot. I walked in and saw him alive…"

She silences me with her lips. "Don't worry about it. We'll figure it out later."

She'd asked me to get Enzo to look into whoever stole her camera and things from the camp. To find out why the show took her things back and never looked for her, but I'd been waylaid when I saw Lucio standing behind that fucking desk.

"Oh, I got something for you."

"I don't need anything…" she trails off as I hand over a brand-new iPhone from my pocket. Hers was with her things with the producers of the show. She wasn't allowed to get it back until the end. But I can't do what I need to do while I'm worried about her.

"I already programmed my number into it. I have to have a way to get a hold of you, even if it's by text. Brynne, I'm a fucked-up man on my best day, but while I'm in this city, I'm a predator let loose. I can't be worried about you. The things I'd do…"

She nods in understanding. "I'll answer. I'll always answer for you."

"Thank you."

I kiss her softly, letting it carry on longer than I know I should for my sanity. The longer and deeper she kisses me, the more feral I get to defend her. To kill the bastard who'd sent harm barreling toward my little rabbit.

"If you call anyone else, please don't tell them any details of where you are. I can only handle one fire at a time."

She pecks my lips again. "Yes, Daddy."

"I have to go, baby girl."

She nods, resting her forehead against mine. And for a moment, the world outside doesn't matter, only this moment we're suspended in.

"A few more minutes."

I nod against her forehead. "A few more won't hurt."