Chapter 1

DANTE

Iwatched on with genuine amusement as my two brothers were taken to task by their wives, Marco smirked as Jay told him off about something he'd forgotten to do, whereas my oldest brother, Carlo, was looking irked by Gina's clear annoyance.

As I considered adding fuel to the fire with an asshole comment, something caught my eye, well, not something, someone. Bruni. "Son of a bitch!" I hissed, causing both of my brothers to turn to me and then follow my gaze.

"You are kidding me," Carlo said, already preparing to get to his feet.

"Brother, let me, please?"

Carlo wasn't just my brother, he was the head of our family and as such everything went through him, particularly family business, and although the venom running through my blood for the man being shown to his seat a few rows away to our side in the theatre we occupied was very personal, his death, if my brother allowed it, would inevitably become professional.

Carlo was already on his phone and Gina's irk was morphing into complete fury as he began to bark orders at her.

She pursed her lips until she was pouting. "I have been waiting months to see this show with this cast."

"If I need to, I will get a showing only for you, but right now, you need to shut up and go home."

"I am not one of your men," she snapped as her eyes glowed bright.

When she had first come into our fold, she would have shouted those words from the roof top, but now, she had the good sense and respect for her husband's position to convey her feelings more discreetly.

"If you were then we would not be having a debate because you would do as you were told or I would shoot you."

Jay was already on her feet, landing a kiss to Marco's cheek and preparing to leave via the exit to the rear that she and Gina needed to leave by. She stopped next to her friend and pulled her to her feet. "You have a baby to get home to and I need sleep."

Gina looked between her friend and Carlo. "We will be discussing your threat to shoot me when you get home."

"I look forward to it, Dolcezza," he replied, but she was already turning to leave. "Gigi," he called after her. "I love you and kiss the bambino goodnight from Papa."

And like that her face broke out into a grin. "Don't be late."

I looked across at my brothers, both of whom had their eyes fixed on their wives until they saw them safely with our security team.

"How do you want to do this?" Carlo gave me his undivided attention.

"Slowly and painfully."

Marco nodded, an expression of total understanding that the man who was currently sitting with a woman on each side and laughing as if he didn't have a care in the world, not only needed to die, but needed to do so at my hands. There had been an attempted takeover of our family empire over a year before, and during the fallout from it, my lifelong best friend, Gino Bonetti had been attacked by Bruni. He could have killed him, but hadn't, instead he had left him in a wheelchair, paralysed from the neck down which for men like us was worse. The possibility of being hurt, tortured, or death was part and parcel of our work and as such not every loss we experienced needed to be avenged. There were rules though, expectations, an etiquette if you will, and those that didn't respect it, and in this case regarded them with total contempt, well, their actions were avenged.

Bruni had once been one of our men; trusted by us all. His father had worked for our family and until his death had been one of my father's closest confidantes. The Bruni family had lived on our estate and we had grown up together. Aldo Bruni was older than me by a couple of years but he'd been part of my friendship group, as had Gino, and we had all entered the business in turn. I smiled as I remembered Anna who was not only Aldo's younger sister but had also been one of our group and had fitted in seamlessly. She had been sassy and as competitive as any of us boys. We had been the best of friends until the business had forced me to grow up and spend less time with her, although we had never grown apart, but the time we did manage to spend together had become fleeting. I'd missed her when she had gone away to study. I still thought of her. Often. She'd been so much more than just a friend. We had promised each other so much and a part of me still wanted those promises to be fulfilled.

Marco muttered something about Gino deserving this from us, refocusing my attention back to Aldo Bruni rather than Anna. It still felt unfathomable that he had betrayed us the way he had. After my father's attempted murder there had been a mole in our camp, a mole we discovered courtesy of Bruni meaning he was trusted without question. We closed ranks and developed a plan to capture those responsible, and we did, although one of their ring leaders being the woman we all imagined becoming Carlo's wife one day had been a shock. Even with our plan executed following the shit hitting the fan on our compound that day, and with both Carlo and Marco finding love, safety measures had tightened and we had committed to never being alone and that's when Bruni had been paired with Gino. Gino who had been near slaughtered by the man whose life I would take tonight.

"So, how are we doing this, as in when, where, and what do you need from us?" Carlo asked.

I was unsure how to answer, I just knew I wanted it to hurt, badly.

"Dante, this needs not to be public, and it also needs to not be on the back of you picking a fight in here."

He was right. We had a decent level of cover in law enforcement and could typically operate our business interests without interference, but we had a mutual understanding that we didn't shit where we ate, compromising our friends in the police department, and the court system.

Carlo continued, "He is as arrogant as he is treacherous, coming here with his whores, flaunting his presence as if he is untouchable, but not even going to the trouble of checking out who else was here."

"Do you suppose he is aware of our presence?" Marco asked, looking between us.

Carlo shook his head. "If he was, he would have made a move, or assuming he has a team of men, which is unlikely considering that an alliance with him would be like declaring war on our family, he would have called for them and he hasn't moved his hands from the redhead's tit and the brunette's ass."

My plan was forming. "Then let's leave before he does and when he exits, I'll be waiting."

"I have a feeling tonight is going to be a late one." Mario was up on his feet as was I, both of us waiting for Carlo.

"If Gigi is further pissed off by this late night, then I am setting her on you at breakfast," he warned.

I laughed knowing my brother always tried to be home for dinner and bedtime whenever possible, had done ever since he'd got together with Gina. I also knew that if he wasn't home before Gina fell asleep they'd both be in foul moods at breakfast but I didn't need to think too much about that, or else I would have to face the fact that I had nobody waiting in my bed. Hell, I had no shortage of ass on speed dial, but nobody special. Of the many boys in the family, most of us knew that one day we would find a suitable woman, one who would fit into our family and lifestyle. And then there were the two in front of me. The romantics. The ones who believed in love and soulmates, like our parents. I didn't know if I envied or pitied them, or perhaps it was myself that I was pitying as I recalled the loss of any romantic notions I might have once had.

Looking at myself in the mirror, I wasn't sure what I felt. I had killed men before and felt no remorse, certainly not for many years. This was our business, our way of life, but tonight it felt different. Aldo Bruni made it different. I had known him forever and even as I cornered him, he offered no defence. I had intended to make it slow and drawn out, but the resigned look in his eyes had called to me on a level I hadn't known still existed. He didn't beg or plead as most men about to meet their death might, he knew this day was coming and looked somehow relieved.

"Why?" I had asked, wanting a reason for Gino's attack, needing to be able to make sense of it.

His reply hadn't offered any insight. He had offered me five words as he prepared to meet his maker. "Take care of Anna, please."

I had nodded my agreement but had no clue where she was or if she needed taking care of, although with her brother being her only family and his back essentially having a target on it, she might need some help. When he had disappeared, she had too, and I understood that. Many of our men would have willingly done anything to avenge Gino's slaughter and that included hurting Anna. I would never have allowed that and would have killed anyone who even suggested it, but Aldo had been wise enough to take her with him. That now raised the question of where she was and whether she needed help.

The soft spot I'd always had for her, whilst hidden inside, was softer than ever. My reflection showed a smile spreading across my face as I recalled the fun we'd shared. We had never officially been a couple, but that had been the plan, that one day we would be. Our families had nurtured that idea, but when her father became unwell and I had been introduced to the family business, that is when we had grown apart. I shook my head at the foolish, juvenile notion of me ending up with the girl who had been my first kiss. She and I would never have worked because for all that she knew of our world and understood the ways of it, she disapproved. She had spoken about becoming a police officer or a lawyer growing up and I didn't doubt she would have been amazing doing either, but her family and my own would have only allowed that if her true employer had been them, and Anna was honest above all else.

Where was she and what was she doing? I should never have lost touch with her. perhaps if I hadn't, I would have been able to prevent what had happened to Gino, or at least stopped her from leaving with her brother when he'd skipped town.

I needed to rid my mind of these thoughts, at least for now. I would think about Anna, and find her, as I promised Aldo, not that I owed him anything, but then this was not for him, was it? Now, I needed to get into bed and sleep.

It was a little after three in the morning when I found myself in the huge family kitchen, sleep having proved most elusive. We all lived here, either in houses on the estate or family members in the house, our own homes contained within what was our former family home. The only room none of us had in our own accommodation here was a kitchen. We all still shared the main kitchen as Mama insisted it was the heart of any home.

"You okay?"

I spun to find Gina standing in the doorway. "Yeah, couldn't sleep. You?"

"The baby woke up, so she is fed and I have finally settled her, and then decided I needed a drink myself."

I began to make her a drink while she sat at the table and continued to watch me.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"Gina, you really don't want to do this, ask these questions."

She frowned and looked ready to protest when Carlo's voice stopped us both in our tracks. "No you do not, and you also need to get some sleep."

I fought the smirk as she rolled her eyes at my brother. "I needed a drink."

Pushing a steaming cup of cocoa her way, Carlo pulled her to her feet and handed her the cup. "And now you have the drink you need and can take it back to bed."

She opened her mouth, clearly ready to object.

"Gigi, do not push me on this. Go to bed."

With a loud huff she retreated, calling her thanks to me for the drink I assumed. As soon as she was out of hearing range, my brother took the seat she had vacated and I sat opposite him.

"You need to get your head straight. Gigi knows something went down at the theatre, but she knows I won't discuss it with her, but she can sniff out a weak link . . ."

I bristled at his suggestion that I was a weak link.

"Calm yourself. I do not mean it that way, but there was something that rattled you that night, something that has been eating at you in the weeks since, and Gigi will hound you over that because she will see you as sad and hurt, so you need to sort your shit out, whatever it is, and then my wife can remain in bed for the whole night. You made your choices and now you have to live with them."

I laughed, wondering if he was more bothered about her leaving his bed than asking questions. "You wanted the true love and soulmate stuff rather than marrying a nice girl who would ask no questions."

He huffed. "Too true, brother, but where would the fun be in that?"

"Marco doesn't have such problems,"

"No he doesn't. Jay is happy to remain ignorant in anything to do with our business and he got love out of it too, but I wouldn't change a thing about my wife, in case you were wondering. Perhaps it's because she was a nurse, had made a choice to take care of people so that she wants the details, to fix them, or maybe it's just who she is."

"Is she okay, really okay?" I didn't need to explain further, he knew I was referring to the fact that Gina had killed someone during the attempted takeover of our family business. Technically we didn't really know who had actually done the killing as she and Carlo had both shot the person threatening Gina and her future child, but it had messed her up for a while.

"She is, pretty much. It would be better if her parents would accept our marriage."

Gina's very respectable parents had warmed to Carlo, until they figured that the family business he ran was not exactly legitimate. Once they knew, they were very much not okay.

"Good. Do you even remember what it was like before we had blood on our hands?"

Carlo shook his head. "Maybe if I think back to our childhood, but our lives, family and home, were built on blood so maybe not."

He was right, this mood was not good and I needed to sort my shit out. "You should go to bed, to your wife, and don't wake your daughter."

He laughed but was up on his feet. "You good?"

I nodded, and in that second knew what I had to do. I needed to take care of Anna, but first I needed to find her.