Total pages in book: 99
Estimated words: 96129 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 481(@200wpm)___ 385(@250wpm)___ 320(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96129 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 481(@200wpm)___ 385(@250wpm)___ 320(@300wpm)
“What’s wrong?” Catalina asked.
“Go to the other room,” Gio said, not leaving any room for argument.
Cat looked at her husband, who shot her a look that said she should do as her brother said. She must have sensed the severity of it, because shockingly, she took a huge step back. I watched as Isabel looked at Gio from her place next to Cat. It looked like she was assessing whether or not it was worth going up to him. I wouldn’t have. When Gio got like this, the best thing anyone could do was keep their distance. Rocco was the same in that. They were both dormant volcanoes and you just never knew when they were going to blow the fuck up.
Isabel walked over slowly. She stood in the way of his pacing, set a hand on his chest, and whispered something to him. Whatever it was seemed to calm him down. He nodded at her, pulled her into his chest, and held her there for a moment before releasing her. He said something quietly, and whatever it was made her walk away, grab Cat and Petra by the arm, and lead them outside. The door shut loudly behind them. I met Rocco’s gaze. We both blinked in surprise. Under any other circumstance, I would’ve made a joke about Rocco needing someone like that in his life. Under any other circumstance, I probably would’ve made three jokes by now, but this felt too heavy, too serious, and I didn’t feel like laughing.
I knew Joe’s loss hit the girls hard. He’d always been the world’s greatest asshole to Gio, though, and still, I knew he’d been taken aback by the news of his murder. We’d all been in the car when he got the call and seen the look on his face. Then again, that news had been followed by news of his evil mother kidnapping his wife, so he had a lot to process that night.
“I’ll call my cousin,” Gio said after a moment.
“Let’s pay him a visit together.” Lorenzo stood up. “I doubt Marco knew though.”
“I know.” Gio stood. “I trust him, but that doesn’t mean he’s not in trouble if Dad is alive.” He took a breath, shaking his head. “It seems improbable.”
“But not impossible,” Loren said.
“No, not impossible,” Gio mused, lost in thought. I could almost see the wheels turning in his head. He looked at my brother. “He’s dealing drugs?”
“As far as I can tell. The only people with this kind of money usually deal drugs or . . .”
He let the sentence hang, unable to say it, but we all understood. Shit, up until a few months ago, we were still shipping weapons in and out of the country. That operation was on hold until further notice after an ordeal with the bratva. Still, nothing was as bad as trafficking humans.
“Joe wouldn’t do that,” Loren said, but he sounded like he didn’t believe his own words.
Behind us, the door opened and all of us turned to see Dean walking over. He took in each of our faces and faltered a step before walking into the room.
“Who died?”
“More like who rose from the dead,” Gio said, then explained in two seconds what had taken my brother twenty minutes.
“No fucking way.” Dean took his usual seat, looking more shocked than I’d ever seen him. “In Colombia?”
“Cartagena,” Gabe said.
“Shit.” Then, as if he’d just noticed my brother, Dean turned to look at him. “You’re the idiot who left your hot girlfriend unattended.”
I glared at him.
“To be fair, she was only my girlfriend for like five months when we were in high school,” Gabe said.
I didn’t know if he said it because he was finally done taunting me, or if he was afraid to taunt me in this setting. Either way, I appreciated it. Dean shook his head trying not to smile as he reached for a lighter. Rocco’s phone rang, not vibrated, rang, loudly on the table. All of us shot him a look. He didn’t flinch or apologize. He reached for the phone, hit the side button, and looked at the screen with a frown. From where I sat, I saw his brother’s name on the screen before he set it face down on the table again.
“Do you think we can find him?” Loren asked, looking at Dean.
“He’ll be nearly impossible to trace in Colombia,” Dean said. “If Gabe gives me more information, a specific area, an address, something, I can get a drone out there.” He paused. “Emma tried to find him and failed.”
“What?” Gio froze, walking up to his chair and setting his hands on the top as if he was trying hard not to throw it.
“She tried to convince Enrique to fly her over, but he went on his own.”
“What the fuck.” Gio shook his head, letting out a breath. “I swear she has a death wish. It must be a youngest child trait or something.”