Remo scowled and closed the door. “Nino, will you take the seat beside Serafina?”
I nodded.
Kiara wrapped her arms around her chest. I touched her arm. “Everything will be fine. Soon this will be over.”
Kiara looked behind me at Remo before she met my gaze. “I really hope you’re right.”
I pressed another kiss to her mouth as Savio and Adamo walked out into the driveway.
“How come I’m always left out of the fun?” Savio asked. “I’d have loved to kick some Outfit ass.”
“We’re not kicking Outfit ass. We’re exchanging Serafina for Scuderi that’s all,” I said.
Adamo and Savio exchanged a look I couldn’t read, then Savio said, “Still more fun than being stuck playing babysitter.”
“I don’t need babysitting,” Kiara said softly.
“You’re guarding our mansion in case Cavallaro has anything planned.”
“How about you stop the gossiping and get in the car?” Remo called from the driver’s seat.
“Come home safe,” Kiara whispered, standing on her tiptoes and kissing my mouth.
We were all supposed to meet at the Sugar Trap after the exchange. I was the first to arrive and nodded at Jerry who was cleaning the bar. “Hey Nino.”
I moved to our private rooms in the back where I left my rifle, then called Matteo. “Hey Falcone, do you have the bastard?” Matteo said as a sort of greeting.
“We do. How long until you’ll be here?”
“Not long. We landed thirty minutes ago. Maybe fifteen minutes. We can’t wait. After the masterwork that you and Remo created with that fucker Durant, I’m eager to show you fuckers, how we do it in New York.”
“Maybe I’ll learn something new.”
“I doubt it, knowing you twisted Falcone fuckers.”
I doubted it as well. “See you later.” I hung up and walked out of the back room then continued toward the front but Fabiano crossed my path. “Remo’s at the bar and in a fucking bad mood.” He was dragging his father by the handcuffs and gave me a terse nod as he took the man down into our sound proof basement.
Since my emotions had started returning, I’d been torn between appreciation and frustration. Emotions cost a lot of energy—understanding them, dealing with them, not only just bearing them.
Knowing how much more emotional Remo was, I reckoned we’d have a difficult time ahead of us as he dealt with Serafina’s leave.
I called Kiara while Remo went ahead into the basement to help Fabiano with his father. I’d only sent her a short text so she’d know everything had gone to plan.
“Nino? Are you all right?”
“Of course. I’m in the Sugar Trap with Remo and Fabiano. We’re waiting for Matteo and Romero so we can begin.”
“How’s Remo?” Kiara asked hesitantly.
I considered how much to tell her. Kiara worried easily and I didn’t want her to be unsettled by Remo’s outburst. “He’s tense.”
“When will you be home?”
“Not before midnight. This will take time.” Even if the police in Vegas and pretty much all of Nevada was on our payroll, we didn’t talk details of our business on the phone. There was always the possibility that the FBI got involved.
“Okay,” Kiara said. “I’ll try to wait up for you.”
“You don’t have to.”
“But I want to.”
The familiar warmth only Kiara could summon spread in my chest. “All right,” I said quietly. “Ask Savio and Adamo to take you out, if you want.”
I hung up. Talking on the phone always unnerved me because I had trouble gauging another person’s mood just hearing their voice, and with Kiara I needed to know her emotions more than anyone else. It would be too easy hurting her by accident.
With other people my emotions were still safely bottled up. I wasn’t sure if I wanted it to change. Coming to terms with my emotions when dealing with Kiara and my brothers was challenging enough.
CHAPTER 9
KIARA
I must have slept through the night, because Nino was in bed with me when I woke and the sun was already rising. Blinking back sleep, I turned around in Nino’s arm. Slowly his eyelids peeled open and as always the gray of his eyes sent a wave of calm through me.
I raked my fingers through his longer hair at the top of his head, loving the silky feel of it. Nino released a small breath then rolled onto his back, and I put my head down on his chest. “Did everything go well?”
It was strange asking this, considering we were talking about the painful end of a man.
“Scuderi is dead. Remo and Fabiano killed him together.”
“Fabiano really considers you his brothers.”
“He does, but so do we.”
“So, you’ve forgiven him for everything that happened with Leona?” It seemed impossible that Remo and Fabiano had really faced each other in a death match. I was glad I didn’t have to watch it.
“Remo considered it betrayal and so did I, but my view on things changed,” Nino said slowly. “We gave Fabiano an impossible choice, one we shouldn’t have given him, I realize that now, and maybe Remo does too.”