Lorenzo Beretta (Unseen Underground 1)

She winked, stepping forward. “Obviously, I didn’t take the deal.” She moved between Romeo and Mateo, heading for me. “I did manage to find out that they raided us because an FBI agent was killed.” She halted a foot away, her head dipping back so she could keep her gaze connected to mine. She placed her hand on my chest and over my rapidly beating heart. “I also found out they don’t actually have a body to prove that.”

My gaze flicked to Dante, glad that he’d at least done that job properly. I looked back down at Aida. “Then what happened?”

She shrugged, trying to lift her lips into a smile but wincing as her mouth twinged against the stitches. “Then, the agent went on and on.” She rolled her eyes. “He wouldn’t shut up. But I stayed silent because I’ve watched all of those true crime documentaries.” She raised her brow. “There was no way they were going to get me to confess.” She puffed her chest out, and I couldn’t help but grin down at her.

“I thought you should know what happened.” She turned to face the rest of the men in the room, halting on Romeo, who she’d only met once before. He tilted his head in a nod at her, a sign of respect that I took note of.

I pressed the side of my face to the back of her head, whispering in her ear, “You did good.” She leaned her back against my chest, her hand gripping on to my arm. “Head upstairs. I’ll be up there in a bit.”

She nodded, not moving for a second, soaking in my embrace, then she left just as quickly as she appeared, leaving us all in my office, having gained more information from her than anyone who was actually in the business.

I turned to Uncle Alonzo. “Fill The Enterprise in on what’s happened.” I crossed my arms over my chest. “Tell them only what they need to know.” He nodded, understanding what I was saying. “Set up a meeting in three weeks. We should have solid intel by then.” I turned to face Christian. “Find out who the agent was that threatened Aida.” I turned to face Mateo and Romeo. “Get all the intel from your contacts. Don’t let up on them.” I pulled in a breath, exhaustion slamming through me. “Meet back here tomorrow.”

They all left my office without another word…all but Dante. He stayed in his position against the wall, his features schooled into a neutral look. “What about me?” he asked, his voice deeper than usual. He was pissed, I knew that, but I couldn’t bring myself to give a flying fuck. He’d put us in this position by not doing his job properly.

“Do whatever the hell you want,” I ground out, not moving from my position. My body craved to go to Aida, but not until everyone was gone. My guard was well and truly up.

“This is bullshit,” Dante growled. “I made a mistake—”

I lunged for him, grabbing him around the collar and slamming his back against the wall. The framed photos shuddered, nearly falling off their hooks at the impact. “Your mistake cost us.” I gripped him harder, bringing my face within inches of his. ”Your mistake caused the fat lip and bruised wrists my wife has.” I pulled him off the wall and slammed him back against it. “Your mistake was one a Beretta son never should have made.”

He shook his head, his palms flattening on my chest. “I’m sorry,” he ground out, pushing me away, but I didn’t let go of him. He needed to know what consequences his actions had. “I’m sorry I wasn’t Dad’s favorite.” A muscle in his jaw twitched, his brows lowering. “I’m sorry I was never good enough to learn the business. I’m sorry I was always the sensitive one. I’m sorry. I’m fuckin’ sorry!”

“What the hell are you talking about?” I blinked at him, trying to hold on to my anger, but it was waning the longer I stared at him.

“I’m talking about you.” He pushed against my chest again, but this time I let him go. “You got all of his attention. You were his golden boy.” He pushed his hand through his hair, gripping it tightly. “I was always left out, never good enough, never as great as Lorenzo.” He let his head drop back. “Fuck this.” He let out a sinister chuckle. “Fuck you.”

He barged out of my office, leaving me wondering what the hell had just happened.

CHAPTER 17

AIDA

I lifted my hand in a wave at Mateo and Romeo, who sat at the back of my psych class, clearly bored out of their damn minds. I thought it was comical the way they grunted and groaned as the lecturer spoke about how the mind worked in weird and mysterious ways.

It was my last class of the day, and I told them as much when everyone started to pack their things away and head out of the room. I always lingered because Mateo wanted the hallways

to be almost empty so he could have a clear view of everything around us.

“You know you could actually learn something if you paid attention,” I told them, raising my brows and smiling. Thank God I could smile again. The stitches Doctor Dubeke had put in were taken out yesterday, and although I’d be left with a small scar, I didn’t care because now I could lift my lips without feeling like they were burning off my face.

“I already did psych,” Romeo said. He didn’t often talk, so this information was a shock, not just to me, but Mateo too. We both turned to face him. “What?” Romeo asked as if his tidbit of information was him talking about the weather.

“You did psych?” I asked, blinking up at him as I went to throw my backpack over my shoulder. Mateo snatched it from me before I got the chance, but I didn’t comment on it. I was getting used to having these two around me any time I wasn’t home.

It had only been nine days since the raid, but things were already starting to get back to normal. Lorenzo said he wasn’t going to let the FBI change the way we lived our lives, but that hadn’t stopped him from putting an extra detail on me. He said he was being cautious just for now, and I couldn’t deny him that. I felt safer with both Mateo and Romeo. Deep down, I knew I needed to push my shoulders back and live my life outside of the mansion without them, but it was a process, one I knew I couldn’t rush.

“Yeah. I did it two years ago.” Romeo stepped toward the door to the classroom, looking left and right. “I finished college last year.”

I spluttered as I followed him down the hallway, turning back to look at Mateo, who was just as wide-eyed as I was. “How old are you again?”

“Twenty,” Romeo said. He flashed a grin at me over his shoulder. “I went to college when I was sixteen.”

“Holy shit.” I blew out a breath. “And here I was thinking I was the shit for even going to college.” I chuckled, the sound uneasy. “If it wasn’t for my scholarships, I wouldn’t even be here.”

The cool wind whipped at us as Romeo opened the main doors to the building. “You’re here on scholarship?” Mateo asked, coming to walk beside me now that we were outside. I was smushed inside a Romeo and Mateo sandwich as we made our way to the parking lot.

“Yep. I managed to get three. One for my grades, one for coming from a disadvantaged family, and one because I was first-generation Italian-American.” I winked up at Mateo. “I applied to hundreds back in my senior year at high school. I was determined to be the first person in my family to make it to college.”