“You too.” We hung up. I walked around the house for the fifth time and made sure all the doors were locked. The cars were still parked outside, and I spied one man in the backyard at the far end. Still, I didn’t feel safe. I had no idea what was going on, and being here I felt exposed, like I was a sitting duck.

Shoving those thoughts aside, I made a pot of tea then closed the curtains on all the windows. From the bookshelf in the study, I found some old photo albums. Taking two of them, I settled on the couch to wait for my sister to call or come home.

I turned my head. “Effie?” But it couldn’t be her. I’d waited until she’d fallen asleep upstairs.

The hair on the back of my neck stood on end, and I watched the dark hallway as the steps grew closer. Terrified and unable to drag my gaze away from the shadowy space, I fumbled for my cell phone on the coffee table.

I knew who it was. Who it had to be. But still, when Dominic stepped into the light in the living room, I gasped, shocked, suddenly shaking when my gaze fell on the pistol he held at his side.

“Toss the phone, Lucia.”

19

Salvatore

I walked back into the meeting room at my father’s house. About a dozen men were gathered around the table, all family, cousins and uncles. My father raised his eyebrows but didn’t comment on my having left the room to take the call.

I hated leaving Lucia alone. She didn’t know to what extent things had progressed in the last twelve hours. Hell, I was shocked to hear it all myself.

After I’d left Dominic’s house, my father had apparently gone ballistic on my brother. Roman filled me in on the details. Franco had been furious with Dominic. So much so that he’d apologized to Natalie himself. I knew he was going to her house to make sure she knew he would protect her, but to apologize? That wasn’t Franco Benedetti’s style.

He’d also stationed men at her house when she’d refused to come to the city with him and stay at his house until things settled. She’d had no choice in the matter. He would do whatever he needed to do to protect his grandson.

And he had sent Dominic to the house in Florida to cool off. To “get his head out of his ass” were apparently his exact words.

The shooting of Luke DeMarco had surprised my father. It wasn’t done on his order and obviously not on mine. The video footage only showed two masked men walking into the bowling alley and opening fire. It was a wonder more people weren’t hurt.