me I was alive, and for a little while, it abated the beast living inside me. I’d tear up the whole of Providence if it led me to whoever thought they could move in on Marchetti territory. Because nothing… nothing was more important to me than the Family. And after the shitshow with that traitorous son of a bitch I once called father, I needed to prove it more than ever.
If not to my Uncle Toni and the rest of the family… then to myself.
Gino and the guys met me at DiMarco’s a little after eight. Guys crowded the stage, all looking to get a feel of the stripper working the pole. She was a hot little thing, legs for miles and curves in all the right places. But I wasn’t feeling it, not tonight.
Not since Matteo had texted me earlier to say he’d bumped into Nora.
I hadn’t replied. It wasn’t like I had anything to say. Nora was nobody to me. Nothing. Yet, my fucking head hadn’t quite got the memo because ever since seeing her name on my screen, I’d been grinding my teeth together like a junkie tweaking for their next hit.
My tight fist rubbed back and forth over my jean-clad thigh as I tried to focus on anything but her.
But it was fucking futile.
Nora Abato was under my skin, no matter how much I tried to claw her out.
“Yo, E,” Marc said. “You look tense, my man. Why don’t you grab a girl and head to one of the private rooms for a dance?” The sleazy fucker grinned.
“Nah, not tonight.”
“That’s not what you were saying the other night when you disappeared with Sherri,” Dixon added, clapping me on the shoulder.
I shirked him off, barely able to remember the blonde I’d dragged into the restrooms and forced to her knees.
“Fuck you, coglioni.”
“Leave the kid alone,” Gino said, waving his guys off.
“Come on, boss, we’re just goof—”
“Basta!” He slammed his hand down on the table. “Go grab a girl each and get the fuck out of here. Me and Enzo need to have a chat.”
“Yeah, boss.” Marc shot me an apologetic look. “Whatever you say.” They left us alone and Gino ordered another round of drinks.
“You know, Enzo, I was a lot like you once.” He relaxed back in the booth, his hard gaze fixed right on my face. “Full of anger and itching for a fight…”
“That’s not—”
His hand cut through the air, silencing me. Gino arched a brow. “I get it. What went down with Vincenzo, that was some fucked up shit. But you’ve got to know, it’s not on you.”
“I should have known.” I jammed my fingers into my hair and tugged the ends, the pit in my stomach carving deeper and deeper.
“The sins of our fathers do not lie on our shoulders. You need to remember that, kid.” He smirked.
“Less of the kid, old man.” I shot back around a wolfish grin of my own.
“Toni told me to take you under my wing, to let you work off some steam, but I won’t let you lose yourself, Enzo. Just so we’re clear, that’s not gonna happen on my watch.” His eyes bored into me as if he could see the very depths of my dark, twisted soul.
“I don’t know how to let it go.”
“You find a way, son. Drink it out of you, fuck it out of you, fight it out of you… you do what you need to do, and then you shake it off and lay that shit to rest, you hear me?”
With a reluctant nod, I downed the rest of my drink and stared out at the club. The rest of the guys were huddled over at the bar, chatting to a busty blonde. Gino and his guys didn’t have roots. They didn’t have women waiting at home or families wondering where they were and what they were doing. They lived for one thing and one thing only.
The Family.
They found honor and purpose in carrying out Uncle Toni’s orders. They drank, fucked, and killed… much like my father had done.
Fuck.
He was infecting my every thought. No matter where my mind went, it all came back to him.
My jaw clenched as I itched for something—someone—to take my anger out on. Gino reached across the table, grabbing my wrist. “You need to let it go, son. That shit will eat you up until there’s nothing left.” He let out a steady breath. “Vincenzo was a traitor, and you took care of him.”