too.”
Romeo nodded not showing a single emotion on his face. But I wasn’t as calm as he was. It had never been my desire to climb the ranks, even though I knew there were perks to being a captain. Perks that would help not just me, but the kids too.
“Are you sure?” I asked, flinching when I realized I was second-guessing him, but I still couldn’t stop myself. “What about the security and—”
“You’ll still be doing that.” Lorenzo clasped his hands in front of him. “You’ve been loyal from the start, Mateo. I’ve never doubted what you can do, and now you get rewarded for that.” He paused, his eyes flashing with emotion. “Take the promotion and use it to get you and your brother and sister the hell out of that apartment.” He stood, not saying another word, and all I could do was nod.
I’d taken every job he’d given me over the last eight years and not questioned it once. He’d been there for more in more ways than giving me a paycheck at the end of the month. He’d become my family, and now it was time to do what he did. He took care of his, now I needed to take care of mine once and for all.
“Now…” Lorenzo turned to face his uncle Antonio and uncle Alonzo. “As for security, you all have the satellite phones. Use them. If I see a call from your usual cells, I’ll have to question all of your positions. Got it?” The threat was loud and clear, but we all knew it wasn’t only a threat. He would follow through with it. There was no doubt in my mind.
“Got it,” everyone murmured.
“Good.” He rolled his neck from side to side. “Aida has cooked dinner. I told her you’ll all be staying.” Lorenzo picked his glass up without another word and left the room. Christian was the first to follow him out, followed by Antonio and Alonzo, but Romeo stayed back with me.
“What happens now?” he asked me.
“I…” I wasn’t sure what happened now. What did I do as captain? Was I meant to send Romeo on jobs? I was in the midst of the unknown, but as I opened my mouth to tell him that, I stopped myself. I was in a position of authority and one sign of weakness could be the death of me—literally. “Be here at nine tomorrow and I’ll show you all the new security.”
“Heard,” Romeo said with a clip of his head. He waited several seconds, staring me straight in the eye. I had no idea what he was waiting for, but as I took a step toward him, he took one back. I blinked, trying not to think too much into it. Romeo didn’t show much emotion, but he was always there to get his hands dirty when necessary. His father, Antonio, was a master torturer, and I wondered if Romeo had picked any of that up from him.
I lifted my arm, signaling the door. I needed to be the last one in here to input the security code into the keypad to alarm the room. It was full of information no one could get their hands on, and I intended to keep it that way.
“Right,” he murmured, shaking his head as he turned. I didn’t know Romeo well, but then, I didn’t think anyone did. The unknown was more dangerous than anything. He may have had the family blood running through his veins, but that didn’t mean he got the automatic trust. My gut told me to keep a close eye on him, and as he was now my responsibility, anything that he did would come back on me.
I stared at the back of his head, not a single hair out of place, as I followed him out of the room. I waited until he was at the dining room door until I input the code and waited for the bolts from the other side of the door to click into place.
It had almost become a tradition to have dinner here at least once a week, but since Mom had sent the babysitter away last week, everything in me screamed to get home as quick as I could. Lorenzo had demanded we all stay, and there was no way I could rebuff him. Which meant I had no choice but to go into the dining room and wait it out until I could leave.
The table was already full of everyone, only two