Top Dog

“You are in no position to ask me such questions,” I said.

“When Stefano finds out what you’re doing, he’s not going to be happy. He’s ruthless, Julia. A killer.”

“Which is precisely why I am doing this Enrico. To rid myself and my son from him,” I said.

“It’s my job to protect you. Even before you knew you were pregnant, your father tasked me with making sure you were safe. And when Matteo came along, he fell under my wing, too. I’m going to protect that boy, even if it’s from his own mother.”

“You won’t lay a hand on my boy. I don’t know where you get off thinking you can order me around and tell me what to do, but I can have you dismissed in a heartbeat,” I said.

“And you wouldn’t survive two days without me. You don’t know half the shit I field from your uncle on a regular basis while we’re here. He’s spinning out of control. He’s dangerous, Julia.”

“All the more reason to take him down,” I said. “And if you keep your mouth shut, he won’t find out about my plan, will he?”

Enrico’s jaw pulsed, and I drew in a deep breath.

“Keep your mouth shut, or I’ll have you removed. You have no idea half the things my uncle has his hands in. Terrible, horrible things.”

“This isn’t going to work, Julia. You have no idea—”

“Leave,” I said plainly.

“No. I’m won’t. You’ve been prancing around this city and causing a ruckus without having the slightest idea as to who’s tracking you. I know more than you think I do because you don’t know where to look. You don’t know how to listen. You are the easiest target in this city to kill, and you’re trying to unseat the most ruthless man in this family’s history. You won’t succeed, and you’ll leave Matteo without his mother, Julia. Is that what you want?”

“I’ve had about enough of you,” I said as I took a step toward him. “I’m going through with it, and there’s nothing you can do to change my mind. This family is capable of so much more. So much good. And if you don’t agree with that, then you can get the fuck out and never come back.”

I stood toe-to-toe with the man I’d called my best friend for years. He’d been a trusted guard and advisor, but now he was simply standing in my way. And no one was getting in the way of me saving my fucking family.

“Make your choice,” I said through my teeth.

Enrico turned and stormed out of the room. I heard him stomp down the hallway and the stairs before leaving the house and slamming the door behind him loudly enough to wake Matteo.

“Mommy?”

I sighed and gathered up the papers before I shoved them into my suitcase in the closet.

“Mommy?” I heard him ask with fear in his voice.

“I’m coming, sweetheart,” I said as I left the room. “Mommy’s here.”

I walked into my son’s room, and he dove into my arms. I sat with him on the edge of the bed and stroked is thick head of hair that felt exactly like his father’s. I closed my eyes and hummed in his ear a tune Romeo used to sing to me. A little Italian lullaby passed down in his family for generations. He used to sing it in my ear whenever we sat underneath the stars. We’d talk about our future together and smile at the life we built in our minds, then he would stroke my hair and sing me that sweet little tune of his.

I’d ushered his son into the world with it, and it was the only song I sang that comforted Matteo during times like these.

I rocked him side to side until his body stopped trembling. I held him close to me as I drew in a deep breath, committing the scent of his shampoo to memory. I rubbed his back, and he yawned into the crook of my neck, and I closed my eyes to try and remove myself from everything.

From all the blood and the secrecy and the tricks and the mayhem.

I rocked Matteo until he fell back asleep. His breathing evened out against my body, and I laid down with him. I pressed kisses against his head and his cheek, hoping that my love for him would sink in; that he could feel it, even in the depths of his dreams. Matteo was everything to me. My light. My muse. My source of pride and strength. Everything I was about to undertake was for him. To give him a life he could be proud of and a name no one would recoil from. Taking on all of this would get our family reunited. Matteo could have his father. I could have Romeo. Our family empires could protect this city instead of harming it.

I laid there with my son and dreamed of another life. A life where the Martines and the Bianchis worked together instead of against each other. A life where our family wasn’t standing on opposite sides, but on the same side. That was the life I wanted for my son.

And I would do anything I could to get it.

CHAPTER 27

ROMEO