his tongue. “Always so quick to turn to bloodshed. We have to look at the bigger picture here. The girl is—”
“The girl is a fucking liability.” Uncle Vincenzo gritted out. “I’m sorry, Nicco, I am, but she’s going to be our downfall if we’re not careful.”
I shot up out of my chair. “She is not up for debate.”
“She’s a dime a dozen, kid. Of all the pussy on Earth, you had to go fall for the fucking Capizola heir.”
“Don’t you fucking talk about her like that,” I ground out, my fists clenched at my sides.
“Niccolò, Vin means no disrespect, do you?”
“Come on, Toni. He’s your capo, your son... he knew what he was doing—”
“Basta!” My father slammed his fist down on the table. “We did not come here to argue about Arianne. Niccolò has made his choice. She is his woman now. Which means she is as good as family. Besides, she’s the only leverage we have right now.”
“Fucking unbelievable,” I seethed under my breath.
“Watch your mouth, Son. I might be on your side, but your uncle has a point.” His brows pinched as he released a strained breath. I knew the responsibility he bore sat heavy on his shoulders. Just as I knew it would one day be mine.
“Roberto is well connected, as is Mike Fascini. We can’t just take him out. Not until we know his endgame.”
“I think it’s pretty obvious what the endgame is, Toni.” Vincenzo snorted with disapproval.
“We need more time.” My lips thinned as I ran a hand through my hair.
“Time gives him the upper hand, Nicco. We need to strike now, while we have the element of surprise.”
“Vincenzo,” my father hissed. “This isn’t helping. We can’t go after Fascini until we know he doesn’t have a failsafe. If we take him out, what’s to say he doesn’t have something set up to take us all down? When we finally cut off the head of his operation, I want to make sure another two don’t grow back in its place. I will not risk everything on what ifs and maybes.
“The Marchetti have as much claim on Verona County as the Capizola. I will not bend and I will not run. But I will not rush in all guns blazing to pacify your blood lust.”
My uncle’s mouth twisted in disgust. I hadn’t witnessed my father pull rank often, but whenever he did, it always rubbed my uncle the wrong way. Unlike Uncle Michele who sat quietly. He wasn’t a soft touch like Matteo, but he was the calm to Vincenzo’s storm.
“So we play their games? We might as well bend over and let them fuck us in the—”
“Vin,” Uncle Michele shook his head, gently drumming his fingers on the table. “We take Toni’s lead on this. He’s right, it’s a delicate situation and until we’re sure Mike Fascini can be dealt with without kicking up a storm, we should sit tight.”
“And the girl?”
“Her name is Arianne,” I barked, feeling a lick of fury trickle down my spine. My uncle was pushing me. But what he probably didn’t realize was, where Arianne was concerned, I would always push back.
Or maybe he did.
Maybe this was all part of his plan to demonstrate to my father that I was in over my head.
“I need some air,” I said.
“Niccolò...” My father let out a resigned sigh. “Go, we’ll talk later.”
I didn’t need telling twice.
I stormed out of there and didn’t look back.
“I’d forgotten how fancy this place was.” Matteo dropped down onto one of the luxurious gray rattan, egg-shaped chairs.
“It’s a far cry from La Riva, that’s for sure,” I grumbled.
“Yeah, but La Riva is home.”
“It is.”
“Talk to me, Nic.”
“When I saw her last night, all I could think about was taking her far away from here, from Verona County. I wanted to do it.” My eyes lifted to his. “I wanted to do it and never look back. What kind of guy does that make me?”
“You love her,” he said as if it was the simplest thing in the world.
“Yeah, but I also love Alessia. You and Enzo... Bailey.” Running a hand down my face, I let out a frustrated breath.
“I know you do. But it’s not the same. You found your person, man. The girl who makes you want more. There’s nothing wrong with that.”
My eyes narrowed, scrutinizing Matteo. He’d always been different to me and Enzo. Softer around the edges with a big heart. That’s not to say he didn’t carry out his duties, he did. He