23
Three. Two. One.
Booming voices erupt from every corner of the ballroom as Roman stands before them, acting as though he didn’t just drop the biggest bomb that ever existed. Because this chance doesn’t just affect the people in this room, it will rock the whole fucking world. Hell, nobody gives a shit about the tension between Victor’s sons and Louis anymore. That shit is old news compared to this.
A tall man hovering in the shadows of the room steps out and pushes his way through the crowd, staring up at Roman as the people around us warily watch Levi and Marcus. “Are you saying you and your sick brothers murdered the head of our family?” the man demands, his voice sailing over all the gasps of horror.
“No,” Roman says, the people in the room quickly shutting up so they don’t miss what’s being said. “My father is very much alive and will stay that way if he has anything to do with it. I’m sure many of you have seen the way he cowers when in our presence. My father is weak, and has officially lost control. Giovanni DeAngelis has betrayed you all. He kidnapped my newborn son and ran away, and I urge anyone who may know of his whereabouts to come forward, otherwise you will suffer his same consequences.”
“You and your brothers are children,” the man spits. “What the hell do you know about leading this family? You will turn us into a laughingstock. We’ll all be cuffed and jailed under your command.”
Roman laughs. “How lost you are, Uncle,” he says in a mocking tone, making my brows pinch together. Uncle? Is this Giovanni’s other brother who I haven’t met yet? What was his name? Shit … Joseph, maybe? “My father was already in bed with the FBI. Who do you think gave up the location of your country manor last year? That place was raided, right? You lost over four million in cash then came running to my father for help, and he sat there and promised you that he would find the fucker who did it and punish them. Who’s the fucking laughingstock now?”
Roman’s gaze lifts to the crowd as Levi and Marcus watch the room with trained gazes. “My brothers and I are no fools,” he says slowly. “We know that loyalties are not easily won in this world. Loyalty is earned, not expected, so we will allow you the opportunity to decide for yourself. Will you follow us and remain an integral member of our family, or will you disgrace your family name, your blood, to back my father?”
Roman pauses for a brief second before going on. “We do not expect an answer now. We understand that options must be weighed. So, we will allow three days, and in three days’ time, the most senior members of our family will come to me with their families’ response.”
With that, Roman stalks off the stage leaving everyone in stunned silence.
He starts making his way back to us when he’s pulled away by the same man who questioned him. “Who is that?” I ask, glancing up at Levi.
“Joseph,” he says, confirming my earlier thoughts. “He’s my father’s younger brother. Fucking bastard if you ask me. He keeps to himself but when he wants to make a splash, he makes it count.”
Unease rocks through my chest. “Is he going to be a problem?”
Levi’s lips press into a hard line. “It’s hard to tell,” he says as I notice people in the crowd discreetly moving for the exit, terrified what a reign of the famous DeAngelis brothers could truly mean. “Roman will make an offer that will sway him to our side. He’s a smart man. He doesn’t do anything for nothing.”
Roman finishes whatever hushed argument he’s having with Joseph, and with a twisted smirk settling over his warm lips, he makes his way back toward us. “Everything cool?” Marcus questions, his gaze sweeping the room to see men watching us closely, deep in thought, while others look as though they’re trying to figure out how to play the cards that they were dealt.
Roman shrugs his shoulders as a waitress in a plunging black top comes past with a silver tray of drinks, each of them looking like something that would have my stomach turning. He gingerly takes a few before handing them out to his brothers and grabbing a glass of champagne for me. I take it with a subtle nod and immediately look away. The air between us has been strained ever since the whole fucking on the SUV thing, and honestly, I’m just about ready for him to pull the stick out of his ass and actually acknowledge that it happened, or at the very least give me a high five for a job well done.
He looks back to his brothers and holds his glass up between them, and they respond by raising their own drinks. “Nothing has ever been better,” he announces with a sick, sadistic kind of pride. “We’re finally getting everything we’re owed.”
Levi smirks back at Roman and clinks his glass against his brother’s. “About fucking time.”
A low, rumbling laugh vibrates through Marcus’ chest and he throws back his drink before glancing between his brothers. “So, now that’s over. Do I need to be here?”
Roman scoffs. “No, but you have to wonder if separating yourself from us is a good idea right now. Every one of the men in this room want to take what we’ve just stolen. You turn your back now and it’s bound to get stabbed.”
Marc winks and curls his arm around mine. “I’ll take my chances.”
Before I even know what’s going on, he pulls me away, and I stumble over my six-inch heels before gripping onto him tighter. He holds me steady, and as I glance up at him, I find a deep hunger growing in his eyes.
Oh, my!
“I hope you’re not dragging me away to have your wicked way with me, Marcus DeAngelis,” I tease, knowing damn well that’s exactly what he intends to do. “We’re in the middle of a party with a bunch of men who would love nothing more than to catch you with your pants around your ankles.”
“I hope they do,” he warns me, the darkness pulsing out of him and making my thighs clench. “Then that way they’ll know that not only can I achieve the impossible, but I can do it while fucking my girl like a goddamn rockstar. Besides, what kind of leader would I be if I didn’t thrust the gift of my perfect bare ass upon my men?”
A laugh bubbles up my throat and I choke it down, not wanting to bark out an obnoxious laugh while surrounded by a group like this—a group who could break out into a war at a second’s notice and turn the formal ballroom into a bloodbath. “I don’t know about thrusting the gift of your ass upon your men,” I tell him, his darkness and hunger slamming into my chest and claiming me all the same. “But I sure as fuck know something else you could thrust into.”
A wicked grin stretches across his face as we slip out the back entrance of the ballroom. He leads me up a narrow hall, following behind an older couple who try to make a hasty escape, the idea of Giovanni’s sons taking point terrifying them. They scurry along and Marcus watches them closely, probably wondering how he can fuck with them one last time before they disappear for good, only their conversation has me coming up short. “Those boys are kidding themselves,” the gruff old man murmurs to his wife, having absolutely no idea who stalks him through the long hall. “Giovanni will not stand for this. He will come back with a vengeance, and I do not want to be here when that happens. It will be a massacre.”