Chapter 8

My father gettingshot couldn"t have come at a worse time.

As selfish as it sounds, right now, I didn"t want to be thinking about the fact that my father was lying in bed healing from a bullet wound to the chest. I also didn"t love the fact that finding out who"d done it was being laid at our feet.

I wanted to grab hold of Rosie and demand she tell me who the hell she was drinking coffee with while I was deep in her tight cunt.

Unfortunately, that wasn"t going to happen. And based on the direction of this meeting with the Colluccio family, it would be a long time before I even tried.

Not more than three hours after we got word that Babbo would survive his wounds did Christine get on the horn and call up the heads of all our allied families to come in for a meeting.

The plan was for us to meet with them one one-on-one and try to find out if any of them were involved, without ruffling too many feathers, of course.

Our last meeting was with the head of the Cullucio family, Damien Colluccio. He"s sitting on the opposite side of the table, glaring at the lot of us. He hasn"t said as much but he"s clearly not appreciative of the fact that we"re more or less accusing him of turning on us.

Xander has had beef with them, but since Mel officially became part of the Bianucci family, the Collucio"s and Bianucci"s have been on good terms.

"What exactly do you intend to get out of this meeting besides wasting our time? Shouldn"t you be by your father"s bedside instead of playing around in his business? A bullet to the chest is serious." Damien asks, looking between Christine and me.

I shoot Christine a look, hopefully conveying my surprise at Damien"s words. Everyone knew there was an attempt on my father"s life, but no one knew how severe. Damien has more information than he should. She doesn"t seem as surprised as I am, or if she is, she doesn"t show it.

"We don"t wish to waste anyone"s time, but you can understand how shocking something like this can be. Alexandre Bianucci is respected by so many, we just can"t fathom the thought of someone wanting to do him harm."

I bite down on the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing. Sure, he may be respected, but I"d run out of fingers and toes counting the number of people who would want to do my father harm.

"Ah, well, our business is a dangerous kind. You never know what to expect from the company you keep," Damien squints his eyes at Christine before looking over to me. "I wouldn"t expect a woman to understand the ins and outs of what we do, but surely, you understand it."

This isn"t the first time my sister has been overlooked when it came time to get down to business. As messed up as it is, most of the family heads believe that the table is no place for a woman unless she is putting something tasty on it.

"Christine is well aware of what is going on, I assure you," I offer, doing my best to keep my cool. My nerves are already frayed, and I don"t want Damien Culluccio or anyone else in his family to think we are coming apart at the seams.

"My brother is right. I"m well aware and have been given authority by my father, Alexandre, to make sure that our livelihoods continue to run smoothly."

"Really? The great Alexi is willing to choose a woman as his mouthpiece. Strange choice," Damien shrugs and looks away.

Vitto tenses in his seat, as does Xander on the other side of me. Damien is toeing the line between ignorant and disrespectful. Xander already has more of an issue with the family since they tried to kill his wife once upon a time. I put a hand on his knee and squeeze, trying to get him to cool off. The last thing we need right now is for this meeting to turn into a bloodbath.

"With that said, my family was hoping we could count on the Collucio"s support during this time and find out if you might have had any information on the assassination attempt against our father." Christine continues trying to keep the tension in the room from becoming too thick with animosity. It"s not working. Even I"m starting to feel it.

"No, I don"t, though I told you this already. Honestly, this is starting to feel more like an interrogation than a friendly meeting, I"m done with it." Damien stands from his seat and makes a show of buttoning the top button on his suit jacket. His guards move forward from where they are standing at the door to take up his flanks. "You know, instead of looking to who on the outside may be involved, maybe you should find out who in your family wants the patriarch dead. Maybe someone thinks it"s time for a change."

So much for me trying to keep things cool.

I push up from my seat and stare Damien down, "My father"s place at the head of our family is solidified. But don"t for one-second think that he"s alone. The Bianucci bloodline runs deep, and so long as there is life in any of us, our house will never fall. If I were you, I"d remember that."

A glint of amusement sparks in Damien"s eyes, "Spoken like a true leader. There may be hope for you yet."

I keep my eyes locked on Damien as he and his people walk out of the room. When the door closes behind them, I release a breath and flex my hands against the smooth wood of the table.

"Vitto, Xander, make sure our guests get off the property safely," Christine orders and the two of them go to do her bidding without so much as a word.

"Finally," I mutter to myself, grateful that I"m about to get on my way. I want to get back to the library.

"Brother, a second if you will," Christine sits back down in her seat, the table looking so large in front of her small frame.

"I have to go," I say over my shoulder as I make my way to the door.

"I said wait!" Christine"s voice booms out, and instantly, I bristle at her tone. I don"t react though, instead, I try again to force myself to remain calm.

I"m not here to fight with her. I haven"t forgotten the threat she made earlier about being able to harm Rosie, and I don"t want her to have any reason to be cross with me right now.

"What do you want?" I ask, turning back in her direction, my skin itching with pent-up energy.

"Do you agree with Damien"s ideals?"

My mind goes blank; we"d discussed quite a few things while Damien was in the room. I have no idea what Christine is going on about. "What are you talking about? I really don"t have the patience for riddles right now."

"His ideals. His belief that I shouldn"t be the one to take over for Babbo."

I clench my jaw hard and cross my arms over my chest. Christine has always been the one to take point on the plans my father"s made, and never once has she asked me if I felt any type of way about it. Now, all of a sudden, after Damien shows up, she"s questioning me? "That"s not the question. What you should be worried about is whether you believe you can do it or not. It"s not up to me."

"Oh, but it is. As the eldest male in our family, it"s only traditional that the reins fall to you if something were to happen to Babbo. It"s the way of our world. Do you want them?" Christine darts her cold, dark eyes up at me.

I can see the gears in her mind turning as she keeps my gaze. My sister is as loyal as anyone when it comes to family. She"d cut off her right hand to save one of us, but at the same time, she"ll put a bullet between my eyes if she thinks I"m trying to undercut her.

"I know my place, Christine. I"m perfectly fine right where I am."

She doesn"t say anything until a nearly too sweet-looking smile crosses her face. It"s phony, but I"m not going to comment on it.

"That"s good to hear. I"m going to need you. I"m not sure if that other remark Damien made has any validity."

"What remark?"

"He told us to look in-house. Babbo is a hard man and an even harder father. Maybe one of our siblings is holding a grudge."

My mouth drops open at her accusation. Could she honestly think that one of us would be behind this?

The more I thought about it, the more it seemed like it could be valid. Damien knew things about Babbo that no one should know. No one but family. How did the assassin get close enough to get a shot off? How did they know where he was going to be? It didn"t make sense unless they had some sort of inside information.

"I don"t think any of us would be dumb enough to go against the entire family. Everyone knows what happens to a traitor bearing the Bianucci name," I shrug.

"I hope so. Go. I know you"re busy. Be safe, Gian," Christine waves her hand, dismissing me.

I walk out of the room with more to think about than I had going into it.

We called these meetings to find out who on the outside might have orchestrated this, but now I have to wonder if it"s someone in my own backyard who had just about enough of Babbo"s shit.

I understand the desire.

I wasn"t the one to leak the information, but not a day has gone by since he forced me to marry Marie that I haven"t thought about ending the old man"s life.

All of my siblings have had similar thoughts, I"m sure. I just hope none of them has let those intrusive thoughts become a reality. I don"t relish the thought of having to bury one of my family members.

I pass Vitto and Xander on my way out of the house. I can see the pity in their eyes. Even if I don"t say a word, they all know where I"m going.

The meeting to try and find my father"s would-be killer is over. Now, on to more important matters.

Rosie.