Total pages in book: 68
Estimated words: 66962 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 335(@200wpm)___ 268(@250wpm)___ 223(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 66962 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 335(@200wpm)___ 268(@250wpm)___ 223(@300wpm)
“You won’t have any presents to give your brothers if you don’t actually focus on one stitch long enough to make a whole scarf.”
“What about a hat? I thought I could make Grant a hat.”
“We’ll see. Show me the scarf for Ghost.”
Rogue did, and I gave him a few pointers about how to improve his yarn tension so the stitches would be more even, then we both worked quietly for a while.
Rogue was first to break the silence. “You want to know more about Carlo?”
I shrugged. “Why not?”
I doubted I’d interact with him much, but it was good to know all I could about anyone who was going to be around the ranch for an unspecified amount of time. If he posed a threat to my friends, I needed to know the best way to handle it.
2
CARLO
“I’m not going to cause them any fucking trouble. Ouch!” I jumped when my cousin Angelo slapped the back of my head.
“Be respectful when you talk to my brother.”
I glanced up at Lucien, the head of the Marchesi family’s Boston branch. I hadn’t wanted to come here, and I sure as hell didn’t want to listen to this fucking asshole who thought he was the king of the world. He smiled at me, but there was no light in his eyes. He looked like he might shoot me, then rip me apart while I bled out. Just for fun.
I didn’t want to die. So I looked down and mumbled, “Sorry.”
“You’re going to have to do better than that.”
“I don’t grovel.”
“We’ll see about that later. Right now, I mean that you have to straighten out your attitude if you’re going to the safehouse instead of out on the streets with my blessing to your enemies.”
How the fuck had the men who were after me already tracked me to Boston? I’d only been there a few weeks.
It’s not just them. You’ve already made enemies here. Among your own family.
It was my loud fucking mouth, just like always. Why couldn’t I ever shut up?
Maybe if other people weren’t always getting in my face about shit, it would be easier.
“Carlo, are you listening?”
Lucien’s expression had become even harder. I was getting myself in trouble again. He wouldn’t really dump me on the street and leave me for dead, would he? From the moment I’d arrived, it had been clear he didn’t trust me. Uncle Gino had probably told him what I was like, the asshole.
I looked at him again. Maybe he would.
“I’m listening. I want to go to the safehouse.”
I didn’t. I wanted to get out of Boston and go explore a new city on my own. I had a little money stashed away, and if I could get in touch with my mother back in Italy, I was sure she’d send me more, but first, I had to live through another day in Boston.
“If you cause trouble there, I’ll have you sent right back to me, and I’ll deal with you a lot more harshly next time.”
My cousin Devil stood next to Lucien, looking large and menacing. His glare made me swallow hard. I was better at talking my way out of things—or into them—than I was at fighting. I could shoot well enough, but I was nothing like my brother when it came to marksmanship or my cousin who knew about every style of hand-to-hand combat in existence and had never lost to anyone since he was ten years old.
Lucien placed a guard outside my door that night. The man had to be nearly seven feet tall and five feet wide. His presence was completely unnecessary. I knew the men who were after me could easily guess I was staying with family now that I was in Boston. I wasn’t going to run, and if I did, I’d lower myself to the ground from my window. Who tried to sneak straight out their bedroom door?
Lucien didn’t need to worry. I would do exactly what he said until I landed in Texas. Then I’d find a way to escape.
The next morning, I’d barely eaten half my breakfast when I was herded out of the house and into a car that delivered me directly onto the tarmac to board the Marchesis’ private plane.
The flight was uneventful, but I couldn’t stop fidgeting as I contemplated various ways I could make my escape once we landed in Houston.
As it turned out, none of my plans were an option. I hadn’t expected to have Lucien’s men take me off the plane like I was a child who couldn’t walk on his own. I was flanked so tightly I had no chance of getting away. It would be one thing if I thought Lucien actually cared that much about my safety, but I was sure he just didn’t want to get in trouble with our uncle. Gino couldn’t stand me, but I was his late brother’s favorite son, and he’d worshipped my father. He would go ballistic if I was harmed under Lucien’s watch.