Gio floors it and my body crashes back against the chair as he drives us out, turning the music down a smidge. “Revio still reminding you how much he can’t wait to marry you?”

I shake my head, turning around to face him. “No, and honestly, I’d rather take his fluffy bullshit than the savage on my ass right now.”

“Well, whoever it is, I can kick their ass.” Leaning over, I plant a kiss on his soft cheek before sitting back in my seat. “Where we going?”

“Party at Papa La Rosa’s lake house.”

I lean my head against the back of the leather. “Are you kidding, does he know?”

“Who do you think planned it?” Gio grins at me again, his curly blond hair moving with the wind. Gio and Marcu’s mom is Papa’s sister. They’re my first cousins, but they call my father Papa too. They didn’t have much to do with their biological father, who was from another family.

“He actually told you to throw a party at the lake house?”

“Yes!” Gio smirks, dropping the gears down. We fly onto the on-ramp as he turns the volume up on the radio. “Now chill out and enjoy the ride out.”

“Shit!” I pull my phone out of my bag and open Poppy’s chat. “I should have brought Poppy with me.”

“Poppy, eh?” Gio nudges me with his shoulder while looking at the road ahead. “She hot?”

Hey! Sorry I dipped out before you. This is the address to the party that is happening tonight. Don’t tell your brother.

I knew he would be coming anyway, especially since this whole thing was my dad’s idea, but I still wanted to add it to the end. You know. For safety reasons.

Chapter Six

I sit in the corner of the dark alleyway, leaning my forearms on my thighs as I watch Victor circle the man who is hanging up by his ankles from a fire exit at an old apartment in downtown Chicago.

“Please… I didn’t—I don’t know who it is, padrino, I swear…”

“Liar.” Tony Carpela rolls spit around his mouth and aims it right on the man’s face.

The fact that whoever Victor has hanging in the center of the alleyway is a made man should worry everyone who is here right now, bearing witness. Technically speaking, you can’t whack off a made man unless you’ve got clearance to do so, but by the looks of this, Victor doesn’t need approval, and I can’t say I blame him.

“Why were you following my daughter?” Victor pulls out a blade from beneath his gray suit, running it down the jugular vein on his neck. “Hmmm? You and I both know that you would know I’d have someone on her, so that tells me that you want my attention.”