Chapter 1

GIOVANNI

M urder was only one thing on my mind as I followed Romeo down the hall. Bloody, torturous, and wrathful murder. The same kind of pain my mother went through. I remembered every scream and whispered plea she let out. The sound of her voice haunted my dreams for the past twelve years.

I heard her final gasps every time I closed my eyes. And soon enough, I would hear Aldo’s final breath. Every ounce of pain she suffered, my uncle would pay back tenfold. His torment would quiet the ghost haunting my mind.

“You can stop grumbling under your breath, Little Brother.” Romeo paused to light a cigarette. “You’re not the only one inconvenienced by our uncle’s visit.”

Oh, but that’s where he was wrong. I found the timing of Aldo’s visit perfectly convenient.

“What time does he land?”

My brother looked back and cocked a brow. “Why?”

Because I was going to fucking kill him.

“No reason.”

“Uh huh.” Romeo stopped at the top of the stairs and leaned against the railing. “You’re many things Little Brother. A good liar isn’t one of them.”

I had plenty of secrets my brother didn’t know about, despite what he thought. Romeo would have to pay attention to me to know anything I did.

Crossing my arms, I remained silent while my brother eyed me. If he thought I’d give away a hint or answer to my plans, he was wrong.

“What were you looking for in that room?”

That question caught me a bit off guard. But not enough to crack my resolve.

“Does it matter?”

“That right there, is why you don’t have my job, Little Brother.”

I rolled my eyes. Birth order was the only reason I didn’t have his job.

Romeo blew out a cloud of smoke and leaned in to say, “Everything matters, Giovanni. Every thought, possible action, or plan, truth or lie is right there for you to see. You just have to know where to look. A slight variation in someone’s pitch, shifty eyes, or…” His eyes dipped down. “Clenched fists.”

I hadn’t realized I was fisting my hands until that moment.

“So, I’ll ask you again, Little Brother, what did you find in that room?”

“Blood and death.” I spat back at him. “The same thing I found the last time I was in there.”

“It’s dangerous to go poking around in the past Gio.”

“Why? Afraid I’ll find out something you don’t want me to know?”

“Maybe I’m afraid you’ll find the truth.”

“And what is the truth, Romeo?” What did he know?

“You already know the truth, Little Brother. You just chose not to see it.”

What kind of cryptic ass answer was that? Then again, I expected nothing less from my brother.

“Whatever.” I sighed. “I don’t have time for this.”

“You don’t have time for whatever stupid fucking idea you’ve got floating around in your head, either.”

Choosing to ignore my brother, I moved to climb down the stairs, but Romeo stepped in front of me.

“Let it go, Little Brother. Aldo is off limits.”

My eyes met his. “Who said anything about Aldo?”

“You did, just now.”

Fuck.

He tipped his head. “You think I didn’t know?”

So, not only did he sit by while Atlas was beaten to death, but he knew about Aldo’s involvement in our mother’s murder. “Why didn’t you do something about it?”

“For the same reason you won’t do anything. I had no proof.”

“I have proof.” I heard him.

“No you don’t.”

“Yes, I do.”

“Do you have a picture of him standing over her body with a bloody knife?”

“No. but I remembered–”

“That’s not enough. Aldo is the boss's brother, Giovanni. You’re going to need more than a fuzzy twelve-year-old memory that may or may not be accurate.”

Not enough. My entire life could be summed up with those two words.

I wasn’t worthy enough for my father’s attention. I wasn’t old enough to be included with my brothers, and I wasn’t ready enough to join the family business. I wasn’t even important enough to be considered the backup heir. I existed in my father’s world as nothing more than the third son he couldn’t be bothered to acknowledge.

I was more than capable, but he couldn’t see that. He couldn’t see me. My father looked past me every time. Meanwhile, people like Aldo and Romeo were freely given his respect. Well, I was done trying to prove myself to him.

Going chest to chest with my brother, I hissed, “I’m not afraid of our uncle.”

“Do you know why our father thinks you’re not ready?”

I couldn’t wait to hear this.

“You don’t think before you act, Gio.”

“At least I do something about it.” I wouldn’t have sat there and watched Kato Ford kill our brother.

“Okay,” Romeo nodded. “Say you somehow get the drop on Aldo and take him out. What then? What are you going to do to stop yourself from being branded a traitor?”

“He killed our mother.” Didn’t he care?

“How do you know that? Do you have any proof? Was he in town at the time? Did you find the men he hired? Or do you just think you heard his voice?”

I heard his voice. Didn’t I? It was twelve years ago. Why didn’t I remember it before?

“Ah. See, you’re not so sure now, are you?”

God, I hated him.

“Get out of my face.” I shouldered past Romeo, and headed down the stairs.

I know what I heard and Romeo couldn’t convince me otherwise.

“Prove him wrong, Little Brother.” He called after me. “Be the man I know you can be.”

I didn’t even bother to look back at him. I just rolled my eyes and continued on my way. Unfortunately, my brother was right. As much as it killed me to admit that.

If I wanted to expose the traitor my father refused to see, I’d need more than a vague memory I had years after the fact. Especially considering said traitor was the boss’s brother. A fact that pissed me off more.

This hierarchy was bullshit. Both my mother and brother died on my father’s watch, yet he was still calling the shots. I wasn’t the inept one, he was.

“Gio.” Fat Ricky nodded as I stepped off the bottom stair. “Who are you so pissed off at?”

“The world.” And my brother.

“I hear that.”

I assumed my father was in the library, which was where I headed, since he apparently had some more bullshit chores for me to do. Then I stopped and looked back at Ricky as an idea formed in the back of my mind.

“You’re going to New Orleans tonight, right?”

He wasn’t thrilled about this assignment. I could tell from the sigh he let out. “So I’m told.”

“Could you do me a favor while you’re there?”

“Sure.” He shrugged.

Ricky and I weren’t what I’d call friends. We didn’t talk or hang out. I didn’t even know his last name. He wasn’t someone I would normally trust. In this case, however... common enemies had a way of bringing people together.

“Find out if Aldo was in town the day my mother was killed.”

Ricky’s jaw ticked as he pushed off the wall and sized me up. He was probably trying to decide if this was some trap or test of loyalty.

“What’s this about?”

I shrugged. “It might be nothing.”

Or it might be everything.

“The boss know about this?”

I looked him dead in the eyes and said, “Nope.”

This wasn’t a job or something for the family. It would be just between us.

After a few seconds of contemplation, Ricky tipped his chin. “Alright. I’ll see what I can find out. But…” He held up his finger. “If I find something, I want in.”

If there was anyone in the world who wanted to see my uncle dead more than me, it was Ricky.

“Deal.” I nodded, then rounded the corner and headed down the hallway for the library.

The tide of rage boiling through my veins began to cool. My agreement with Ricky wasn’t the answer, but it was something. And something was better than nothing. I was even starting to think the day might be productive after all.

Then my phone dinged with a text.

Atlee: You should see the dirty texts your girl is sending me.

I didn’t just see red, I could taste it. My phone might’ve even cracked a bit when I typed a message back, and it wasn’t Atlee who I responded to.

Me: Why the fuck are you messaging Atlee?

Nova: Who else am I supposed to send nudes too?

My hold on my phone tightened.

Me: You better be fucking with me.

I was not in the mood for her bullshit.

Nova: I think tonight I’ll send him the one with the pink teddy.

What fucking pink teddy? Why hadn’t I seen that shit? I might have to strangle her with her fucking pink teddy.

Me: Keep it up.

Nova: Ooo, I’m so scared.

I could literally hear her mocking tone singing that at me.

That’s it.

I hit the button to call and placed the phone to my ear.

“Today is not the day to piss me off, Nova.” I warned the second she answered.

And what did she say?

“The private conversations I have with my fake boyfriend are none of your business.”

It was like Nova had some secret insight into when would be the worst possible time to push my buttons. I was seriously starting to think the girl was put on this earth just to piss me off.

“You sure you want to go down that road?” I warned her about this.

“Yeah.”

That one word caused a dark calmness to settle in my bones. Some might call the feeling that came over me murder, I called it ramifications of being a brat.

“Alright.” I said before hanging up and opening the tracking app on my phone.

Novalee thought she’d seen me angry, but she had no fucking idea. Oh, but she was about to find out. I was going to drag her ass back here, smack her around for a bit, if I didn’t choke the life out of her first. Then maybe I’d fuck her ass raw, without any lube. Fuck preparing her. I wanted to hear her scream.

“There you are.” Marty – one of my father’s men – walked out of the open door on the left side of the hall. “The boss is waiting for you.”

Fuck.

I forgot about my father. Now Novalee was getting a little knife play too, because I’d have to deal with this shit first. That didn’t mean I couldn’t send someone on a fetching mission. There were benefits to being a Mancini.

“Fine.” I growled. “You, go to Quackwater and bring Novalee here.”

Marty’s brows knit. “Why is she at Quackwater?”

Was he kidding?

“Why the fuck does that matter?”

“It’s nothing.”

Why didn’t I believe him? “What’s nothing?”

“Oh, that’s where Ricky said he left Snake.” Marty waved his hand. “I’m sure it’s just a coincidence.”

First off, things were never a coincidence when it came to Novalee Ford. And secondly… “Who the fuck is Snake?”

“He’s that guy the boss does business with. The biker from that club… you know The uh… Lost Skins? No.” Marty looked up with knit brows. “The Long Moles?”

My face dropped. “The Lost Souls?”

“Yeah.” Marty exclaimed. “That’s it.”

Fantastic. This day just keeps getting better.

Scrubbing a hand down my face, I sucked in a breath. “Let me get this straight. What you’re telling me is that my fiancé…” I made sure to reiterate the my part of that. “was possibly alone at a lake with a biker, who’s in the same club her brother joined in prison?”

“Yes.”

Why the fuck was he smiling. This wasn’t a good thing. This was Kato Ford fucking with me. A fact that this idiot didn’t seem to comprehend. So I clarified it for him.

“The same brother that killed Atlas.”

Now he got it.

“Ooooh…”

He still didn’t move though.

“Why the fuck are you still standing here? Go and get her.”

He didn’t need to be told twice that time. Marty rushed off down the hall while I pinched the bridge of my nose and shook my head.

All of this before six o’clock. And I still had to deal with my father. This entire day could fuck right off.