Our eyes meet for a brief moment like Gemma’s assessing if I know what “business” means.
“Oh,” I sip from my martini and let Gemma lead me back to our table.
“Ladies,” Gian greets when we return, drinks in hand. “Sorry about that.”
“No problem.” Gemma smiles, slipping back into her seat.
“Annie, one more person for you to meet. This is my father, Giuseppe.” Gio gestures to an older man, maybe late 50’s, with salt and pepper hair. He’s slim with a little bit of a gut wearing a crisp dark gray suit and black linen shirt. His hair is slicked back and he oozes confidence.
“You’re face,” I mumble, looking over at the familiar man Gio presented to me. “It’s on build boards, right?”
This caused laughter from all of them. “Giuseppe DelGado.” he extends his hand. “I’m a lawyer.”
Yes, that was it. His face everywhere, he was one of those lawyers with tons of billboards claiming to get you the money you deserved, to right the wrongs of others, and so on.
“Yes,” I smile. “Nice to meet you.”
Giuseppe is equally as handsome as his sons. His strong grip pulls me close so he can lightly kiss my cheek. “You as well.” He has an easy smile and I can see this is where Gio inherited his charm from. No wonder this guy wins court cases.
Who could deny him?
Who could deny a DelGado?
Surely, not me.
I’m hooked in their claws now.
Gemma was the baby and Gian is the oldest, I learned over dinner. Gio was the wild child. His father laughed as he told stories of raising them, Gio testing his patience the most. Gemma was cherished and protected, overly so. She told stories of her brothers chasing down her first boyfriend who broke her heart. The love in this family was clear to Annie.
It made me miss my family. Once upon a time when we were “normal”, when I had a mother and father, but those days were long gone.
“Hey,” Gio whispered, pressing a hand to my back as he leaned in close. “You okay?”
I was sad. Not because of him, but because of what I was missing.
I smiled, the most genuine one I could muster. “I’m good.” I met his eyes. “I love your family.”
“They love you.” He returns. “You’re pretty perfect, ya know that?” He presses his lips to my ears.
“I’m missing Johnny,” I admit.
He closes his eyes at this statement and pulls me firmly into his grasp. “Haven’t heard from him, hmm?”
“No.” I answer, curling further into him.
“He’ll come around.”
“Time to dance!” Gemma’s laughter breaks through our moment.
The dance floor is filled with people laughing and dancing. There has to be hundreds of people at this wedding.
Gio captivated the dance floor, he wraps his arms around me and sways.
He’s sweet with his family.
He’s being considerate with me.
I even watch him dance with his younger cousins.
He was taking over all of my senses without even trying.
I’m falling in love with Gio DelGado.
The fucking mobster.
Johnny Byrne should be dead.
This is a fact I know, all of my men know, hell, even Johnny probably knows this. Instead of being dead, he’s sitting across from me on the cushy chairs in my office.
Is she worth it?
That question is nagging at me. I think the answer should be no. I don’t deserve her, I can’t protect her, and if I let her go I could wash my hands of her brother and be done.
Deep down though, I know the answer is yes. There is no way I can hurt Annie by hurting her brother. Instead, I’m going to treat the piece of shit how you treat all addicts: rehab.
Frank stands in front of the door with stony eyes as I tell Johnny about his new fate. “It’s a nice place,” I say, though I don’t really know or care. I just know it’s costing me a shit ton of money and is shady enough that they’re letting me commit him instead of a family member.
Johnny was high on something when my guys picked him up. The ride over and the hour I made him sweat it out had only begun to sober him up. The sobering was making him antsier. He was in a full panic mode, pacing, and rambling about the money we were costing him.
Yeah, we’re costing him money. He has the audacity to say that when my pocket is a hundred g’s lighter because of him.
“Fuck you.” He tries to stand but is quickly met with Frank pushing him back into the seat. “I’m not going.”
“It’s not a choice.”
The kid’s face is livid, and he looks like he might burst a blood vessel. “You don’t understand, this bet, this is the one! I’m going to make us millionaires, you’re not listening.”
“I’m already a millionaire.” I dismiss it. “Frank here is going to take you to the clinic. You’re not leaving until you’re fucking clean, hear me?” I take a breath, thankful to be met with silence for a minute. “Your sister deserves better.”
A scowl crosses his face. “And you think you know what she deserves? You’ve known her for-” he mimes checking his watch. “Ten seconds?”
“Yep.” I deadpan. “And I’ve been sober for the whole ten. More than you can say.”
“Ah, fuck you!” He spits.
“No thanks, I have your sister for that.”
The anger Johnny was showing rises tenfold at that comment. He jumps, ready to cross the desk for me. Frank catches him quickly, keeping him just far enough from me that he touch me, but close enough that he can see the grin on my face. “Fuck you!” he spits again. “You fucking dago, you’re gonna fucking regret
