Top Dog

“Why?” I asked.

“A son should know his father. I think Romeo would make a good one. And I think he would treat you right if you gave him the chance.”

“Why are you so invested in this?” I asked.

“What do you mean?”

“I know I originally came here to have a sit-down and talk with Romeo, but that was it. I didn’t know you were roping me into being some sort of peace offering between the two families. Why are you suddenly pushing so hard on Romeo and me?”

“Because you didn’t want me pushing on behalf of Matteo,” he said. “That was your choice, remember?”

“But why push anyway? Why not reach out yourself? You’re the head of the Bianchi family. He’s the head of the Martines. Isn’t that how things work?” I asked.

“I want you to be happy, Julia. That’s all I’ve ever wanted. If I reached out to the father of your child without your explicit permission, it would’ve ruined everything before it got off the ground. Bringing you happiness and uniting a broken family brings the two of us together by association. It bridges multiple gaps at once in the easiest way possible.”

“And what if I don’t want to bridge that gap with Romeo?” I asked.

“I don’t think that’s what you want,” he said. “This feud has gone on too long, Julia. Both between you and Romeo, and between our families. It’s cost all of us too much. And it needs to end before we are wiped out. Before Matteo gets hurt.”

“Matteo won’t get hurt. I’ll die myself before I let anything happen to him,” I said.

“And when your father died, I assumed the responsibility for you and him.”

“No, you didn’t. I’m an adult and a mother and I’m no one’s responsibility.”

I watched his eyes flash for a split second, and my legs grew weak.

“Stefano, you’ve always been honest with me, right?” I asked.

“Always. I would never lie to you.”

“Can I ask you something then?”

“Of course. What's on your mind?”

“If I reconcile things with Romeo, does that put you in any position to take control of their businesses?” I asked. “Since Romeo and I have a son? I’m not sure how any of this works, lineage-wise and all. You know my father kept me out of such things as much as possible.”

I watched his face contort, and I readied myself for an attack. I gripped my coffee cup in my hand and prepared myself to leap from the chair and bash it over his head. His face grew red, his eyes wild, and it was a side of my uncle I’d never seen before.

It was like he’d turned maniacal.

“Even if it did, I would never do something like that,” Stefano said. “Yes, technically, the birth of Matteo merges our two families’ businesses, but that isn’t the point of all this. The point is your happiness. You

r future, Julia!”

“My future isn’t any of your business,” I said as I stood up. “And I don’t appreciate you shoving Romeo and me together when I’m not sure I want to raise my son in this lifestyle.. You know that. I’ve expressed that to you on several occasions. My original intention in meeting with Romeo was because you told me he wanted to reach out. And I was curious as to why. That was it. He expressed a want to see his son. I told him that wasn’t happening at all because of his position with his family, and that was that.”

“Are you accusing me of wanting to take over their business?” he asked.

“No, I’m not. But I am curious. When I told you that Romeo might’ve been responsible for the death of those gun runners, did you feed any of that information to your police connections? Because according to the article—”

“I would do no such thing to the father of my brother’s grandson! Besides, you know we don’t cooperate with the police!” he roared.

I took a step back, my chest panting as Enrico came rushing around the corner.

“I will not stand here and listen to you accuse me of some twisted fantasy someone has planted in your feeble-minded brain. I brought you here to help broker peace, and you accuse me of wanting to create a monopoly! You’re a clueless, spoiled little child who had no issues riding on Daddy’s dime while spitting on the way he made it!”

My jaw unhinged as Stefano took a step toward me.