CHAPTER 2
Alessandro's POV
“Capo, abbiamo un problema.”
Fuck — another problem.
“Che cosa?”I snapped.
“Alcuni dei nostri uomini sono stati trovati morti,” Bruno said, flat.
“What the fuck.”
The blood in my veins turned to ice.I stared at Bruno, arms crossed in the doorway, and felt the urge to rip someone apart.This was not how the day was supposed to go.If this blew up, the whole operation would look weak — and weakness spreads faster than bullets.
“Where?How?”I asked, running my fingers through my hair.Another set of dead bodies on my turf was unacceptable.
Bruno stepped in and shut the door behind him, calm like a man used to carrying bad news.That calm was a provocation.He came up close, put a hand on my shoulder, forced me to breathe.
“You need to calm down,” he said.“Losing your head won’t help.It’ll make things worse, Alessandro.”
“They killed our men.Our fucking men.”Rage flared through me.I watched Bruno, and for a second his quiet made me itch.Why wasn’t he furious?
“Calm down before you do something stupid,” he said.“Before you take a step that gets you or one of ours killed.”
His words settled me enough to think.Bruno wasn’t just some cousin — he was family.He’d been with us since my parents adopted him; he’d been in the family business as long as I remembered.In my book he was my brother.
“Where did it happen?Give me the damn location.”
“The attack happened at one of your brothels,” he said.
“Which one?”I barked.
“The private one — the one you visit.”Bruno rolled his eyes and stepped back, clearly annoyed I didn’t get it right away.It stung like a guilt trip, and I hated being played for a fool.Still, I’d suspected this day might come.Someone ballsy enough to hit one of my places had been in the making.I was ready, or I thought I was.
Bruno rubbed his chin, thinking.“Before you move, think about the consequences.If you fly down there now, you’ll probably end up dead.”
