Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 80014 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 400(@200wpm)___ 320(@250wpm)___ 267(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80014 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 400(@200wpm)___ 320(@250wpm)___ 267(@300wpm)
Instead, the most unexpected thing had happened. I’d thought the situation was hopeless, and that no one would come to save me. I’d thought I was all alone. Then Jack proved me wrong.
I leaned forward and gently brushed a lock of hair out of his eyes. He looked delicate and fragile, but in truth, he was tough and brave and strong as steel. Tonight, he’d shown me he was a warrior, and I was awed and humbled by him.
I’d already known I was falling head over heels for this amazing, beautiful, totally unexpected man. And now, everything I felt for him was utterly overwhelming.
19
Adriano
Jack and I slept in the next morning. He didn’t feel great when he finally woke up, so I told him to stay right where he was. Then I got dressed and hurried downstairs.
The Dombrusos were gathered around the big dining table adjacent to the kitchen. It seemed so strange that they were here with me. How many times had I thought about them over the years? But now, in the midst of all that had been happening, I could barely make sense of it.
There was a breakfast buffet set up in the kitchen, complete with catering-style warming trays, and I asked, “Is it okay if I take some of this to Jack?”
“Of course,” Nana yelled from the far side of the dining table. “You don’t even have to ask!”
I found a tray and started loading it with things I thought Jack might like. A few moments later, Dante came into the kitchen with an empty coffee cup and told me, “Vincent and I led a raid on Greco’s compound this morning at dawn.”
I stopped what I was doing and turned to him. “Without me?”
“We would’ve brought him to you if we’d found him, but we figured it was important for you and Jack to rest and heal after the day you had yesterday. Nothing came of it anyway. Everyone was gone, and it looked like they’d cleared out in a hurry. I assigned a couple of guys to keep an eye on the compound, but I’d be surprised if Greco returns. He probably figures you’re out for revenge, and now he knows you have backup. He won’t make it easy for you to find him.”
“Thanks for trying. I should have been included, though.”
“You’re right. Next time.”
He poured himself a cup of coffee, but instead of leaving the kitchen, he stood there awkwardly for a few moments before saying, “Jack told me you came to see me after you graduated from high school. I don’t remember much about that. In fact, the next day I wasn’t sure if it had even really happened. What I do know is that I was drunk at the time. I was also an angry little shit back then, and I totally fucked it up when you tried to talk to me. I want you to know I’m really sorry, Adriano.”
I went back to filling the tray as I muttered, “It doesn’t matter.”
“Sure it does. I’m your big brother, and—”
“Half-brother.”
“That doesn’t make a bit of difference,” he said. “You’re family, and by being a dick, I ended up costing us the last two decades.”
I glanced at him, then looked away again and shrugged. “You were young, and I came at you out of nowhere. We both could have handled it better.”
“I never knew that my parents split up for a while. Nana talked about it for the first time on the flight here. She didn’t know about you, but she knew about the separation. I guess they were apart for six months or so, when I was about three. She said it was my mom’s doing, that she got tired of all the danger and drama that came with my dad being in the mob.”
“Yeah. That’s how my mom tells it.”
He lowered his voice, like he didn’t want everyone in the next room to overhear him. “I did the math, and it turns out my mom got pregnant with my brother Gianni while she and our dad were separated. Nana said Dad came back to see us a few times during those six months, so maybe my parents hooked up during one of those visits…or maybe my mom was seeing someone else, too. If he had a different father, it could explain why Gianni’s the only one of us that ended up with blue eyes and a smaller build.”
I asked, “Are you going to tell Gianni about this?”
“I have to, even if it’s just speculation at this point. If he has a father out there somewhere, he has a right to know that.”
“So, I may actually be one of two half-brothers.”
“No. You’re one of five brothers.” Dante’s tone left no room for argument. “You and Romy have different dads, but does that make the slightest difference? Do you love him half as much because you only share half the genes?”