“Do you want to calm down and let me explain?” I ask when she clearly isn’t backing down.
“I’ve slept with brothers! Oh my God. This is…this is an episode of Jerry Springer. I’m sick. I can’t believe I did this. What am I going to say to him?” She paces the room rambling things that I don’t understand. It’s almost amusing to watch.
“You didn’t know,” I remind her but her dark eyes swing my way and I can feel the heat as it pierces me.
“I should have been able to figure that out! I can hack into the goddamn pentagon if I wanted to but I couldn’t figure out you two were brothers?” She screams as I shove myself out of my chair and move toward her. When I’m close enough, I reach for her, pulling her into my arms.
“What’s done is done. You can’t change that now but I can assure you my brother will never lay a hand on you again,” I hiss into her ear. Tessa shudders but when she looks up at me she looks confused, torn. “Make no mistakes about what I’ve told you.”
“What’s going on?” Gaia asks as she and Preacher followed by Valentino walk into the room.
“We need to talk. Things have changed. Gaia, you won’t be leaving so soon.”
“Like hell I will stay here longer!” Tessa giggles.
“I like her,” she adds.
“Not now, Tessa. The blood tests have come back. It turns out, Valentino is indeed one of us.” The gasps could be heard for miles. Tino looks confused, eyeing me and Tessa. Gaia’s eyes fill with tears as she looks to her new brother.
“That’s not possible,” Tino adds.
“The test doesn’t lie. We do indeed share a father but not a mother,” I inform him.
“You’re my brother,” Gaia whispers as she steps toward him. Tino still looks torn but he doesn’t stop her when she throws her arms around him and hugs him tightly.
“I had no idea,” she cries into his shirt. His hand comes to rest on her back as he tries to soothe her.
“You couldn’t have known,” he tells her. “None of us could.”
“Which leaves the lingering question, why? Why were you left for dead? Why were you not part of this family from the beginning?” I ask the questions that everyone else is thinking.
“His mom. She wasn’t one of you,” Tessa adds.
“That shouldn’t matter,” I respond.
“But it does. You remember father saying things before. Things like I would never be able to marry who I wanted if he didn’t approve,” Gaia says.
“He never wanted my mother. I knew that much,” Tino adds.
“We confront him,” Tessa says with a shrug as if it’s that easy.
“And then what?” She turns to look at me, her head cocked to the side.
“Haven’t you had long enough to do whatever it is your little plan is? Kill his ass. If you don’t, I will.” The look in Tessa’s eyes is feral and I like it. She isn’t joking. She will kill him if given the chance.
“Now?” Gaia asks.
“Why not now? Isn’t it enough he tried to have you killed?” Tessa roars turning her anger to Gaia. They lock eyes and before any of us can stop them, they move toward each other. I move faster, grabbing Tessa as Preacher grabs Gaia.
“You don’t know anything!” Gaia yells.
“Oh, I know he tried to have you killed. If your brother would pull the stick out of his ass and let me use his computer I’m sure I could find the proof you all so desperately want,” she sneers.
“You think you can find that out?” I ask. She turns toward me, anger in her big brown eyes.
“Don’t be condescending you asshole.”
“Then by all means. Please, work your magic,” I tell her gesturing toward the computer. Tessa huffs out a breath and walks past me, sitting at my desk. I don’t know why I like the looks of her being there so much but I do. Her fingers go to work, her eyes narrowing, her little nose scrunching. She’s lost in a zone when I walk around the desk and stand behind her. The more she types, the more intrigued I become.
“He made a payment to someone right before…”
“Before what? What Tessa?” She sits there looking stunned. Her fingers have stopped moving, her eyes glued to the screen.
“Enzo,” she says my name softly.
“Yes?”
“It was him. He hired him to kill her.”
“Who? He hired who?” Her fingers begin moving again as the rest of them move toward us. “Tessa?”
“Leave her alone. Let her go,” Tino says watching her intently. Her fingers move over the keys and I can’t stop watching. Gaia is curled into Preachers arms, Preacher is watching what’s unfolding. The screen comes to life and my stomach drops.
“What the fuck?” I hiss under my breath.
“Who is that?” Gaia asks.
“It’s him,” Tessa whispers.
“Him who?” Preacher asks a little louder.
“Rozano.” Clear as day, I can see the picture of my father and Rozano smiling and shaking hands. Right there on a feed from one of my buildings.
“He used my building,” I growl low in my throat. “Hugo!”
“Yes, boss?”
“Get Andre and my men in place. We’re storming my father’s house.” In seconds, Tessa is on her feet, rounding the desk. Her dark hair is nothing but a trail of silk behind her as she rushes from the room.
“I’m going,” Gaia states.
“Like hell you are,” Preacher growls. I don’t stick around to listen to either of them. I follow Tessa down the hall and into my room where she stands with her hands against the wall.
“What are you thinking?”
“That he’s closer than any of us knew. That I want this to end. I need this to end, Lorenzo.” Reaching for her, I spin her around and pull her into my arms. She looks up at me and I can see the slight fear in her eyes.
“It will end, Tessa. All of this will end. Then what?”
“I don’t know the answer to that. I need Ania,” she whispers.
“I will get her. I promise,” I whisper to her. She nods her head and buries her face in my chest as I hold her closely. Blowing out a breath, I know she needs me now but I want my father dead. I want him to answer for what he’s done not only to this family but also Tessa. If he was involved with Rozano then he knows about her.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Tessa
Lorenzo made me put on a bulletproof vest under my hoodie. He made Gaia too which was funny as hell to watch. Her and Preacher have been arguing since the second we got into the car. It’s almost funny to watch them. They are so opposite yet so alike too. A giggle escapes me when the both look up at me.
“What are you laughing about?” Enzo asks as he checks his gun.
“Nothing.”
“Hmm, sure. I will let it slide this time since you are clearly excited,” he adds. I smirk and lean back in my seat as he passes me a gun.
“For me? How thoughtful,” I tease.
“I wouldn’t want you in there unarmed. In fact, I think you should have two,” he adds.