Gian (Trassato Crime Family Book 1)(45)

“You have something you want to say to me?” he taunted.

“I didn’t clip Tommy.”

“Doesn’t matter.” He leaned forward, his face within spitting distance of mine. “You need to control the guys under you, or you will be replaced. It’s as simple as that. Some of the guys didn’t think you were ready to be a capo, and now I’m wondering if they were right.”

I ground my teeth together. “I can handle my shit just fine. I don’t need you to babysit me.”

“Fine.” He waved his hand. “Then start handling it, and tell me what happened last night because I don’t have all fucking day to play patty cake with you.”

I shot Nico a humorless smile filled with venom. “A black Escalade rammed us on the way home last night and took a few shots at us. I went down a one-way street and lost them. That’s all I know. Tony and Sal are looking into it.”

“So who the hell did you piss off this time?”

The furious tone of his voice hit me like a bullet to the chest. We hadn’t made it to dinner, and I was fed up with his patronizing ass.

“Other than you?” I slanted forward, my lips curling up to expose my teeth. “Apparently, every fucking moron under me who thinks they have a right to my job, so if you’re looking for suspects maybe you should start there.”

He tugged on his blue tie and grinned like a shark. “Are you accusing me of something?”

“I don’t know? Should I be?” Taunting the resident sociopath probably wasn’t the best choice, but I refused to back down like a pussy. There was a fine line between showing him respect and handing him my dick wrapped with a giant glitter-covered bow.

Nico’s eyes burning dangerously, he steepled his fingers together on top of the table. “Are you done with your poor-me tantrum so we can get on with business?”

“What business? I told you what I know, and I’m sure you already have a mental list of my enemies, so I’m not really sure why you summoned me here. Do you care to enlighten me?”

He leaned back. “What about your fiancée?”

“What about her?” I snapped.

His brows raised and his lips twisted into a sneer. “Does she have any enemies?”

I snorted. “Fuck if I know. She’s only lived in New York for a couple of years, so she hasn’t had much time to piss people off. She does have an ex-fiancé. I can’t imagine him trying to gun us down, though. He’s some pansy ass artist.”

“Yeah, maybe so.” He glanced to the side. “Dominick has Tony digging into her past just to be sure.”

“Great.” I tossed my napkin on top of the table and stood up. I’d lost my appetite. For longer than I could remember, I wanted to follow in my dad’s footsteps, make him proud, and lead his crew. Now, I didn’t know if I’d made the right decision. This was bullshit. I’d never get rid of the shadow over my head. “Tell him to have fun with that.”

“Where are you going?”

“Home to my fiancée. After last night, I’m a little reluctant to leave her home alone. I’m sure you understand.”

I didn’t wait for his response. I didn’t need to hear anything else from him. I got the message loud and clear. Dominick didn’t approve of Evie. He wanted her gone, and the thought pissed me off so much, I wanted to keep her around purely to spite his nosy ass. My family wanted me to marry a good Italian girl within our circle of associates. I always thought I would too, but the more time I spent with Evie, the more I resented the idea.

My life had been scripted from the moment I popped out of my mom’s womb. I’d go to school, join the family business, marry a girl from the neighborhood, and pop out a couple of kids, hopefully boys. Then the cycle would start all over again. I never questioned it…until now.

I pulled into the garage in the basement of my home and ran up the steps to the main level.

“Evie!” I hollered, a twinge of unease raising the hairs on my forearms. When I reached my main floor, glass crunched under the soles of my shoes.

What the fuck?

“Evangeline? Where the hell are you? Are you hurt?”

I ran up the stairs, taking two steps at a time. If someone hurt her, I would find him and rip him apart limb-by-limb with my bare hands. A sickening brew of rage and fear bubbled up my throat.

When I reached the landing, she stepped into the hallway, my overnight bag tucked under her arm and Carmela trailing behind her.

“Oh, crap.” She came to an abrupt halt, her hand flying to her chest. “I didn’t realize you were here.”

“What the hell is going on?”