my cousin and pulled him into a hug. Then he moved to me, gripping my shoulders and searching my face. “Lorenzo.”
“What’s up, Uncle Toni?”
“You haven’t been around lately.”
“I’ve been busy.”
“Busy making a mess of our informants?”
Fuck.
“The stronzo deserved it.”
“He did, but it wasn’t your call to make, son.”
I winced at the word.
I was nobody’s son now.
I was twenty and my parents were dead. Both killed by me.
Exhaling a long, steady breath, I followed Nicco and his father into Uncle Toni’s den. Matteo and his father, Uncle Michele, were already seated at the table.
This wasn’t a casual meeting, it was business, and a trickle of anticipation ran through me. I needed something to do. Collecting pizzo, running jobs down in Providence, picking up the dirty work no one else wanted. I needed to keep busy.
“Lorenzo,” Uncle Michele tapped the seat beside him, and I went to it. “Sit.” He pulled it out, the legs scraping across the hardwood floor.
“What’s up, old man?”
“How have you been? Your Aunt Marcella worries.”
“I’m good,” I said around a tight smile.
“We’re here, Enzo.” He squeezed my shoulder. “You’re not alone.”
“I know.” Swallowing over the huge fucking lump in my throat, I ran a hand over my face.
“Niccolò,” Uncle Toni said. “How was New York? How’s that daughter-in-law of mine?”
“Ari is fine. We had a good time.”
“A good time,” Uncle Michele chuckled. “You think we don’t remember being newlyweds, kid? Me and your aunt went at it like—”
“Fuck’s sake!” Matteo grumbled. “No one wants to hear about you and Mom, old man.”
“It’s about time you found yourself a good woman, Son. Your mother wants some grandbabies to fuss over.”
Matteo almost choked on nothing. “B-babies? Jesus, Dad, I’m twenty.”
“And we’re not getting any younger, Matteo.”
“Can you believe this shit?” he whispered to Nicco, who chuckled.
“I’m telling you now, Niccolò, don’t be coming around to tell me Arianne is knocked up anytime soon. After everything that’s happened the last few months, the last thing we need is a baby to contend with.”
The mood in the room instantly sobered. Guilt washed over Uncle Toni, and Matteo sank further into his chair.
“Jesus,” Nicco breathed, shooting me a wary glance.
“Enzo, I’m sorry, that was—”
“Relax, Uncle T, I’m fine. Shit happens, and he got what was coming to him. I’m only sorry I didn’t figure it out sooner.”
“No, son. Don’t ever think that. What happened, it wasn’t your fault, none of it.”
All I could manage was a small nod.
“Anyway, I didn’t call you all here to shoot the shit. We’ve got to figure out how to deal with our little problem in Providence.” He steepled his fingers, exhaling a long breath.
“What happened with the rat?” Nicco asked. “Did he talk?”
“Ask E,” Matteo said, and I pinned him with a hard look.
“Enzo?” Nicco demanded my attention.
“I may have gotten a little carried away when we were squeezing him for intel.”
“How bad?” His jaw flexed.
“Broken jaw, smashed eye-socket, three broken ribs, and a couple of missing teeth,” Matteo said grimly.
“Fuck, E.”
“He’s a rat.”
“That we needed.”
“Fuck that.” I kicked my boot against the leg of the table.
“Basta!” Uncle Toni slammed his hand down on the table. “I’m changing things up a little. You serious about not going back to MU?”
“As a heart attack,” I said.
“You’re going to run with Gino and his crew.”
“Gino?” Nicco barked. “But Enzo is on my crew.”
“You need to focus on things here. On Arianne and your sister. I need you close, Niccolò.”
“What does that have to do with moving Enzo to Gino’s crew?”
“We’re a few men short. Your Uncle Alonso called from Boston. He’s dealing with the Diablos and needs some extra hands. I’m sending a few guys. It leaves us short. Things in VC are fairly stable right now. Roberto is playing nice. The shit with Mike Fascini is dead and buried. We can spare a man or two.”
“I’m in,” I said without hesitation. Gino’s crew get their hands dirty. They didn’t think first and act later, they handled shit when it needed to be handled.
“Enzo, cous, come on.” Nicco’s expression wavered. “It’s always been the three of us.”
“Things change.” The second the words were out of my mouth, I regretted them. I didn’t want to alienate him. He was my cousin, my best friend, but I needed some space.
I needed to deal with this in my own way, in my own fucking time. I didn’t need to be constantly around their concerned pity-filled stares.
“I need this,” I grated out, hoping he would drop it.