Cree, more like a brother.
He didn’t want to disappoint either of them.
“You’re the reason I can’t go out on an assignment until I turn eighteen?” Alessio asked quietly.
“Apparently so. I told you spying was a bad thing.”
“Cree says I’m ready.”
“And I want you here. Guess who gets the final say?”
“That’s unfair,” he pointed out.
He tried not to sound like a whiney fuck.
And probably failed.
Dare arched a brow, not bothering to indulge Alessio further because that’s also how this worked between them. If he said something, it was done. “And why were you spying?”
“I wasn’t—”
“You did.”
“I was coming to tell you that they’re not good choices for prospects here,” Alessio returned, “but Gian was in here, so I thought it would be rude to interrupt.”
“Or you took your chance to spy.”
Alessio gritted his teeth. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
Dare smiled a little. “Is it that you don’t think they’re the right fit—because you follow Cree around too much and assume you can think the way he does—or because you like one of them? Corrado, I believe. I heard about how the gym was put into use this afternoon, yeah?”
Fuck.
So, Cree had told someone.
“It’s not about that,” Alessio muttered, annoyed.
Although, part of it was. Alessio had never felt such a strong attraction to another person who he would need to be around almost twenty-four-seven before. Not to mention, the fact that same person also managed to get under his skin in the worst of ways.
It was going to be a mess.
“Are you worried for him, Les?” Dare asked.
“Could you not do that?”
“Cree isn’t the only one who can see your shit for what it is.”
“Well, don’t.”
“Mmm,” Dare said, standing from his chair. “Them being here ... the contracts for them to begin training ... none of it is your choice, Les. If you want to help the young man be his best here, then do that, but don’t do it by attempting to sabotage him. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to call in the team to begin the training tonight. I assume you don’t want to be a part of this one, right?”
“I ...” He struggled to refuse, but knew it was for the best if he did exactly that. If he said he agreed to help the team, then he would need to take part in some of the training that would be most difficult for Corrado and his twin. He helped to train others; this one couldn’t be the same because Dare wasn’t wrong, and he did have some interest in Corrado. His feelings might come into play. Lamely, he muttered, “I don’t think I should.”
“That’s what I thought.”
Alessio glowered, but Dare couldn’t see it because he had already turned to leave the room. Clearly, this was going to get him nowhere and he didn’t want to sit here and bother with it any more than he already had.
He hated wasting time.
“Oh, and Les?”
Alessio tensed in the doorway of the office. “What now?”
“If you’re interested in Corrado Guzzi, my suggestion is instead of trying to pick a fight with him to get his attention, you might want to ... oh, I don’t know, talk to him?”
“Fuck you.”
Dare’s laughter chased him out of the office.
Asshole.
6.
Corrado
“How are they running power to this place?” Chris asked.
Gian tapped a finger to his ear. “Listen for it, fils.”
Corrado heard the humming in the distance—somewhere behind them, he thought. Maybe in the middle of the complex? When they’d first come up on it, in the light, he thought it was several buildings close together. After walking around a bit, he realized it was actually one building, but in varied sizes depending on location.
“Generators,” Corrado said.
“Oh,” Chris said.
At the driver’s side of the black Mercedes they’d arrived in, Gian turned to face his sons. Corrado stayed close to Chris, their equal six-foot-two height putting them pretty close to eye-level with their father. He couldn’t remember when that happened, really. A growth spurt came along, and suddenly, he was no longer looking up at his dad.
He was staring him straight in the face.
“Corrado,” Gian murmured.
His gaze lifted to meet his father’s. “Yeah?”
“I know you’re looking for something here.”
“You think?”
Gian smiled faintly. “I hope you find it.”
A thickness tightened his throat, but he nodded and said, “Yeah, me too.”
Then, their father turned on Chris. “And you.”
Chris grinned. “What about me?”
“I hope you know what you just signed up for.”
“Not really.”
Gian released a slow breath. “This is not ... easy, Christopher.”
“I’m here until he isn’t.”
“You don’t have to look out for your twin every day of your life. That’s not why you were put on this earth. You understand that, don’t you?”
Chris only shrugged.
Corrado knew there was no point in his father trying to explain to Chris that he didn’t really have to be here with his brother if he didn’t want to be. Once they made up their minds, it was done—a Guzzi trait they took from their father, whether he wanted to admit it or not.
“All right,” Gian murmured, pulling the key fob for the car from his pocket. “You know the deal—very little contact for the first year of training, but we’ll see if the rules are bent. Believe it or not, but this wasn’t my intention when I brought you both here.”
Corrado smirked. “Not at all?”
Gian shook his head. “I thought it might give you a chance to see that there were other options in the business, if you were determined to stay in the life, but no, I did not assume it would be here. And now, I get to return home without both of you ... your mother will be pleased, I’m sure.”
Next to him, Chris made a noise under his breath. He didn’t even have to say anything for that one sound to speak volumes. Yes, their father was in for hell when he got back to their ma. Yes, they were going to miss their mother like no one would ever understand. It was just how they were raised—Cara Guzzi made their worlds go around, and now, where would she be?
Corrado stuffed his hands in his pockets, and eyed their surroundings now that it was dark. A lot of the cars from earlier were gone—the people had drifted out of the complex throughout the day, without much of a word to him. There were still a few scattered vehicles, but he didn’t know who they belonged to.
“Enough of this,” Gian said roughly, “I should get going. I love you. Both of you, huh? Be smart, Corrado.” Then, to Chris, their father said, “Don’t panic when it starts, okay? It only seems like you won’t get out, but I promise it’ll never go as far as you think it will.”
Chris’s brow furrowed. “What does that mean?”