“Tommy!”
A piercing shriek has me diving for the coat closet door. I push it open and run toward the dining room where Gemma stands, a stricken look on her face. She holds out her phone, her hand quivering.
“I need to tell you something,” she says, her voice choked, tears streaming down her cheeks.
Chapter Eighteen
Gemma
I know I didn’t make any of that up in my mind.
That phone call was definitely not a hallucination.
And they weren’t just threats uttered by Juan Salazar.
No, they were most definitely promises.
Deadly promises that will be drenched in someone’s blood.
Maybe a lot of someones.
My breaths are shallow, my pulse thundering against my neck as Tommy rushes toward me. “What happened? Is it Gio?”
Sharp gasps tear through my lungs. “Yes, but not…not what you think.” She wipes a tear away from her eye and I nod at Gianna before leading Gemma toward my office, Alek and my brothers in tow. She gets the hint and gathers the rest of my family, moving them as far away from us as possible.
There are five pairs of hardened eyes staring at me, but it’s Tommy’s concerned gaze I focus on. I grasp his hands, squeezing them tight. “I know this isn’t the best time to tell you, but I wasn’t exactly honest with you last night,” I whisper.
“For fuck’s sake,” Vince mutters, collapsing against a wall. “What did I tell you, Tommy?”
Tommy’s brow furrows and he holds up a hand to his brother. “Shut up,” he growls at Vince. “Tell me,” he says to me, still gripping my clammy palms.
“It wasn’t Gio calling me last night and it wasn’t Gio on the phone now. It was Juan Salazar, both times,” I say, my voice cracking.
“Goddammit!” Vince thunders. “You fucking baited him! I knew it!”
“Keep going,” Tommy says, ignoring Vince. His eyes never stray from my face. His grasp loosens though, and my heart tears a tiny bit, knowing the worst is yet to come when he hears the truth.
I swallow hard, looking at Alek, Ant, Vince, and the two others I haven’t formally met but remember from pictures — Diego and Cristian. Everybody but Tommy looks like they want to shove an ice pick between my eyes.
Everyone except Tommy.
He just looks like he’s lost his best friend.
My throat tightens.
Me.
“Juan Salazar kidnapped me the other day,” I start, explaining the whole sordid mess that Gio got caught up in and why Juan sought me out to enact his revenge plot. “I did what I had to do, what you did two years ago when you made a choice to protect your family.” Tears slide down my cheeks. “I didn’t have a choice, either. Gio was beaten within an inch of his life and was barely alive when they took me to him. My entire family is being threatened and we’re penniless. Desperate. Juan told me if I delivered, he’d leave my family alone and he’d make sure we were taken care of financially. I had to do it,” I whisper-sob. “And I hated you so much. He played on that, Tommy. He played me.”
Tommy drops my hands and slams his fist against the wall next to Vince who glares at him. “Can I say it yet, dick? That I fucking told you so?”
Tommy spins back around and storms over to me. “You didn’t think that it would be a good time to tell me when I explained what happened two years ago? When I told you the truth about everything and that I didn’t betray your family the way Gio said I did?” he hisses. “Or what about when he called last night, Gemma? Did you even think of telling me then that you were working with my enemy to destroy me? Oh, no, that’s right. You decided to open your legs and fuck me to keep me distracted.” His dark eyes spit fire, singeing my skin.
“Shit, that’s really TMI,” Ant mutters under his breath.
“Tommy, I thought he was going to kill my family! He told me he was going to let them go, but then he ended up screwing me over!” I shake the phone in my hand, ignoring the hateful stares coming from the other Marcone men. “He baited me. He got me to do his fucking job and then he pulled the rug out from under me. He’s going to kill Gio. He always was! He just used him to keep me focused. Last night, he said he’d call me today with more instructions.” I take a deep breath. “And he called me just now. But there were none. He just wanted to tell me he knew we were together last night and that he has a very special and painful way of dealing with traitors. He’s going to kill my brother, my mother, and my aunt, Tommy. And I can’t do anything to stop it. Do you understand that? So when you come at me for not telling you the truth, just think back to a time when you had the same hard decision to make, goddammit! I fucking love you, okay? Yeah, I did the job for Juan, but I chose you when you showed up at my apartment last night! It’s always been you, even when I fucking hated you, I still loved you! So I’m sorry! For all of it!”
I cover my face with my hands, noting that the party music has just been turned up about ten notches to drown out the heated argument taking place right outside Tommy’s office.
The office.
Oh my God. He never cared about adding names to the reservation list. He just wanted me to get caught in Tommy’s net. He knew I’d fold. He knew Tommy would—
Wait.
What in the hell is supposed to happen next?
“The reservation,” I murmur. “He wanted me to add a reservation to the list for tonight, but why? If he thought I’d tell you the truth, why would he wait until tonight and give you time to protect yourself? Or retaliate?”
A lot of grousing follows those questions, and I hug myself to keep the deep freeze from setting in since there are sharp sickles of ice being hurled at me from the eyes of the Marcone men right now.
I deserve to be lanced.
I know what I did, what trouble I caused.
The question is, will I have any chance to stop it?
“He knows we’re all here,” Diego, I think, says. “The whole family. You know how these cartels work. One person takes a stab at their business and they come back for everyone and everything.” He nods toward the group still dancing around the dining room. “We can’t risk that, and we’re sure as hell not waiting around for him to make a move.”
“I hope you’re happy now, Tommy. You proved your point, screwed over Salazar, and for what? To see your whole fucking life go up in smoke?”
He and Tommy stare each other down for a few seconds until Tommy gives a quick nod. “I did this,” he says in a tight voice. “It’s up to me to end it.”
Vince rolls his eyes. “Really. And how do you plan to do that? Invite the asshole inside for a pasta dinner and blow off his goddamn head?”
“I think I can be a little more original than The Godfather, thanks very much,” Tommy grumbles. “You’re gonna get me a location, and I’m gonna settle up with him. I got us into this, I’ll get us out.”
“And you think offering yourself up on a silver platter is gonna stop him?” Vince shouts. “We’re a family, Tommy. We’re connected. If one goes down, we all go down.”
“So, what then? Are we supposed to sit around with our thumbs up our asses waiting for him to move?”
“No.” Vince rubs the back of his neck and shakes his hard. “You’re gonna go after the bastard with that fucking slicer of yours. But you’re not going alone.” He looks at the others. “You know what has to happen.”
Alek, Ant, Diego, and Cristian exchange a look. I can see their eyes take on a lethal glow. It’s partly disturbing, partly very freaking hot, if I’m being honest.
They’re so loyal.
I love that.
I miss that.
My eyes flit toward Tommy, but he’s avoiding the questions in my gaze. Actually, he’s avoiding me entirely.
“Can you get us an address?” Tommy asks Vince.
“Oh, you mean, can I save the fucking day?” he says, sarcasm dripping from his words. “Yeah, sure, as always. Lemme just make a call,” he grunts, disappearing into Tommy’s offic
e with his phone.
“Do you know who he’s calling?” Ant asks Tommy.
“I’ve got an idea,” he says, scrubbing a hand down the front of his face, his back still facing me.
Ant tugs at his brother’s arm and nods at me like I’m not silently willing Tommy to turn around and at least look at me. I don’t think I can handle what I’ll see in his eyes, but I’ve made my bed and now it’s time to sleep in it.
I guess I got the answer to my question.
How can I save us all?
Dumbass.
You can’t.
Tommy slowly turns in my direction, the anger and disgust in his expression enough to make my stomach roll. Ant clears his throat and motions to the other guys who are wearing matching looks of disdain, although I see a flicker of sympathy in Alek’s blue eyes.
I know from Tommy that Alek is the one who killed Sofia Rojas, the cartel leader who put the hit on my father and the one who almost killed me in the process.
I feel a surge of thanks when I meet his gaze. Even though we’re complete strangers, he put one of my family’s demons to rest in the most brutal way, so I’m grateful. No matter what happens. Alek gives me a quick wink before joining the other guys with their families in the dining room.
I twist my hands together and look at Tommy. His arms are folded over his chest, his eyes dark and filled with hurt and betrayal.
It kind of reminds me of how I felt when I first heard Gio’s accusations against him, how I felt when he walked out of that hospital room without so much as a goodbye.
“Tommy, I—”
He shakes his head and pulls me into the kitchen, all the way into a back corner. It’s out of sight and out of the reach of curious ears. His touch, though not nearly as gentle as it was last night or this morning, still has goosebumps pebbling my skin.
I need to make this right.
Somehow.
When he finally brings himself to look at me, his eyes are shielded again, just like they were years back when he buried so much and allowed it all to come between us and a future together. A chill slips down my back, his piercing stare icing my blood.
“I know you think I don’t have a right to be pissed off and to feel like you completely fucked me over, but let me just tell you something, Gemma,” he hisses, gripping my arm tighter and pushing his face into mine. “I tried to make up for it. I came clean, told you everything. I told you…” his voice cracks a bit. “I told you that I loved you. But you not only plotted against me — and Christ only knows who else — with a fucking drug cartel, you kept it from me, after you found out the truth. You hated me for two years and I get that. I never made it right between us before I left. But Jesus Christ, Gem. I may have walked away, but I never kept a death sentence from you! You let me walk in here today without knowing any of it. My fucking family is here, my niece and nephews! You had no idea what Salazar had planned, and we could have all been walking into a goddamned trap for all you know!”
My spine stiffens. “I didn’t know they’d all be here!”
“Does it even matter? You still knew I was being targeted!” He throws his hands into the air and then pushes his hair back as he paces in a circle around me like he’s about to pounce on his prey. “I could have been killed. We could have been killed! Do you get that?”
My fists clench and unclench at my sides. “Yes, I get it. I’m not a fucking moron! And I understand that you’re mad and that I shouldn’t have kept this from you, but what was I supposed to do? Choose between you and my disabled mother, my fucking idiot brother who got me into this in the first place, and my aunt?” Tears sting my eyes. “I wanted to save everyone, is that so horrible? I was praying for a way out for all of us!”
“Praying?” he says the word like it’s poison on his lips. “As if that’s supposed to help us live this life? Don’t be so goddamn naïve, little girl. That’s not how it works. God doesn’t always come to the rescue. Sometimes, it’s us who need to rise to the occasion and figure out how to fix our own shit!”
“You’re not the one who should be pointing fingers, you asshole! It took you two years to tell me the truth about everything! You didn’t have to leave letting me think you were a traitor! That was your choice! You had to live with that decision just like I have to live with mine!” My chest heaves with a violent mix of emotions, but rage is rapidly commanding everything else bubbling to the surface. “So if you want to think I fucked you over, then fine!” I shove my hands against him and scream into his face, “I guess we’re even now!”
“We’re not even close to that,” he growls.
“Guys, cut this shit out!” Vince storms into the kitchen. “I don’t give a fuck how you wanna handle this whole ‘who betrayed who’, and later on, if you want to claw each other’s eyes out, then have at it. But right now? We need to handle Salazar, and we don’t have a lot of time.” He holds up his phone, pointing it at Tommy. “He’ll be on the move soon, so you need to get to him fast.” Vince smirks. “Besides, I hear hate sex is the best kind, so there’s that.” With a quirked eyebrow, he looks between us. “If you don’t fucking get popped first.”
Tommy glares at me, his eyes lancing my heart like the sharpest tipped dagger. “Where am I going?” he says in a gruff voice.
“Villani said he’s operating out of a deserted warehouse on the city outskirts. I texted you the address.”
“And what are you gonna do while I’m gone?”
“I’m gonna hold down the fort with your girl. She seems to have a lot of fire in her.” He shrugs. “Might be useful.”
“Take the guys to the basement and weapon up.” Tommy grits his teeth, poison shooting from his eyes. “And get my slicer.”
Vince backs away with a grin on his face, muttering something about an interesting night ahead of us.
I can’t even think that far ahead.
I just lost the love of my life, and if he doesn’t get to Salazar quickly, I may have just lost everything else.
Chapter Nineteen
Tommaso
“You can’t leave like this, Tommy,” Diego claps a hand on my shoulder and pushes me around so I’m facing her.
She’s standing with Gianna and my sisters-in-law, Tali, Serena, and Julia. They’re talking and smiling, but Gemma’s face is pinched, and even though she’s smiling politely, I know she’s cursing me in her mind.
But for as pissed off as I am right now, I still love seeing her in that group.
A couple of hours ago, I’d wanted her to be part of it. I was excited to introduce her to them, to see her fit in with the people who mean the most to me…and for her to join that group.
Forever.
As her eyes tangle with mine and her mouth twists into a grimace, I know I need to make things right.
I’m not the kind of guy who thinks about what ifs, but…
What if I can’t stop Juan?
What if this chance with Gemma is really my last?
“I know,” I grumble, fisting my hair.
“Look, I feel you, but her hands were tied. You know it. Fucking Salazar is a scumbag. He manipulated her. She loves you, man. Don’t leave like this.”
“Jesus Christ, Diego! I know!” I yell.
“Then stop being a prick and fix it!” he shouts back. “We gotta go!”
He walks back down the hallway toward the back entrance of the restaurant, and I take a deep breath before walking into the dining room. Gemma stares me down as I inch toward her, her hands on her hips. The other girls exchange a look, backing away.
Smart.
Because that fire is about to singe everything in its path to me.
“So you’re here now because your brother thinks you’re acting like an ass?” She narrows her eyes at me.
“No,” I say. “I’m here because I can’t leave with this hanging between us.”
Her face softens a tiny bit, not much but enough to tell me that I haven’t lost my chance yet.
I lace my fingers wit
h hers and bring her toward me. “I don’t want to waste time being angry. I’ve spent a long time dealing with that rage, and I wanna bury it for good. I haven’t been this happy in years, and I don’t wanna lose this feeling, okay?”
“So you forgive me?” she asks, tilting her head.
“I don’t know. If I forgive you, doesn’t that mean we can’t have awesome hate sex later?” My lips curl upward.
“I think makeup sex can be just as good,” she murmurs, raising her arms and wrapping them around my neck. “You game?”
“Fuck yeah,” I growl, fisting her hair, our lips crashing together like it’s the last kiss we’ll ever share.
And I’m gonna do everything in my power to make sure that’s not the case.
My sister-in-law Tali clears her throat after a minute. “Um, this is a G-rated party room, guys, so if there’s more, you might want to take it somewhere else. You know, behind closed doors.”
I pull away from Gemma, flashing a grin at Tali. “Sorry.”
She snickers. “Young love. It’s cute.”
“No, it’s fucking great,” I whisper against Gemma’s ear, giving her ass a little squeeze and catching a murderous glance from Tali at the same time.
“Get out!” she shouts, pointing to the door.
I grab Gemma’s hand and pull her out of the dining room as I get high fives from three very excited kids who have no idea what they’re even cheering about.
I back Gemma against a wall right outside the kitchen, cupping her face with my hands. “No more fucking lies, okay?”
“No more fucking lies,” she murmurs, tightening her arms around my waist. “And you’d better be careful, okay? I need you back here in one piece, so make sure nobody grabs that slicer and uses it on you.”
“Nobody slices like I do, babe.” I twist a strand of her soft hair around my index finger. “Heads are definitely gonna fucking roll, and trust me, mine won’t be one of them.”
Taken: A Dark Italian Mafia Romance (Men of Mayhem Book 3) Page 19