I narrowed my eyes. He knew I hated that, but his expression spoke a clear language: I had to accept it. These were the rules of mob life.

I followed Luca out of the car, and his strong arm around my waist steadied me. “Don’t worry so much.”

How could I not worry?

Then finally when we arrived in our apartment, Matteo answered his phone.

“A text with ‘I got her,’ that’s all I get from you?” Luca ranted. I pressed close to him, wanting to hear what Matteo had to say, but Luca was too tall and Matteo didn’t speak loud enough for me to hear anything.

“What is he saying?” I asked, panic swinging in my voice.

Luca rolled his eyes at something Matteo said, then muttered, “With what?” He paused. “No, don’t tell me. I don’t want to fucking know.”

“Did he hurt her?” I practically shouted, hoping Matteo would hear me. My throat was tight and my eyes watered. I was going to lose it soon. Luca could tell as his gray eyes leveled on mine.

Luca lowered his voice. “Is she alive?”

I jerked against him, my eyes growing wide. I hadn’t considered that option. Matteo wouldn’t do it, right?

He was a killer and had found Gianna with another man.

Oh God.

Luca squeezed my hand. “I take that as a yes.”

“How’s Gianna? Please, is she all right? I need to know.”

Luca nodded. “Gianna is fine,” he told me, then to Matteo, “When will you be back?”

“Will he bring Gianna to New York?” I asked. Luca gently pried my hand off his arm and motioned for me to stay where I was. Then he walked out onto the roof terrace. I followed but stayed inside, watching him through the windows. I knew I was driving him crazy with my anxiety, but he had never liked Gianna very much. He tolerated her because of me, but he wouldn’t shed a tear if she were gone.

He paced the roof terrace, dark brows pulled together, disapproving. He shook his head, then lowered his mobile and spotted me watching him. He came back in.

“Your sister is all right, Aria. Matteo will be heading to Chicago with her to deal with your father.”

“We will go too, right?” I whispered.

He released a small sigh, then cupped my face. “We will. Of course, we will. We’ll take our plane. Go pack a bag in case we have to spend a couple of days in Chicago.” I nodded and was about to pull back, but he held me in place and bent down until his lips almost touched mine. “You need to stop protecting your sister. She’s a grown-up and she will have to deal with the consequences of her decisions. I don’t want to have to worry about you in addition to Matteo, love.” My heart fluttered at the endearment. Luca wasn’t big on nicknames, but whenever he called me “love” or “principessa,” it felt all the more special.

“You don’t have to worry about me,” I promised. “As long as you are at my side, I can deal.”

“I’ll always be at your side, Aria—that I can promise you.”

He kissed me slow and sweet, before he allowed me to head upstairs.

Luca’s hand around mine was tight as we waited at the airport for Matteo and Gianna to disembark from their plane. The moment they did, I tugged at Luca’s hand and he released me. I ran toward Gianna. She was forced to walk beside Matteo, who kept her at his side, but then finally she was allowed to storm toward me and we collided painfully. I wrapped my arms tightly around her, glad to have her back in one piece.

“Oh Gianna, I was so scared for you. I’m so glad you’re here.” I couldn’t stop the tears.

I pulled back to give her a once-over. It took a second glance to recognize her with her dyed hair. Brown. I didn’t like it. “Are you okay? Did they hurt you?”

Gianna stroked my hair. A rare gesture for her, and it ignited my worry anew. “Gianna? Did Matteo do something?”

“Matteo didn’t do anything,” Matteo said in a hard voice. I jumped, my eyes darting to him. When his dark eyes met mine, I fought the urge to look away as fear bubbled up in me. I thought we’d settled things between us, but my body seemed to disagree. Matteo’s brows pulled together as he regarded me and I averted my eyes. I didn’t need Luca to pick up on the tense atmosphere between his brother and me.

“I didn’t ask you,” I said quietly. When Luca arrived at my side and clapped Matteo’s shoulder, I relaxed. “Good to see you again,” he said, and I could tell he meant it. He’d missed Matteo, his only confidante except for me.

“I’m fine,” Gianna assured me when I returned my worried gaze to her.

“The Boss is waiting,” Stan, an Outfit solider, barked. “Let’s go. It’s not like the whore deserves a big welcome.”

I gasped. I couldn’t believe he’d actually dared to insult Gianna like that. Matteo pulled a knife and hurtled it at Stan, who cried out when the blade nicked his ear. He pressed his hand against the injury, his other hand on the gun at his waist.

“Next time my blade will split your fucking skull if you don’t keep your mouth shut,” Matteo hissed.

“We don’t want this to end badly, do we?” Luca asked in a very low voice, both of his guns pointed at the two Outfit soldiers. “Your boss wouldn’t appreciate it.” Romero, too, was aiming at them. They nodded their reluctant agreement.

Luca put his guns back into their holsters. “Let’s go.”

The other soldier picked up the knife Matteo had thrown and handed it back to Matteo, who didn’t take his eyes off Stan.

“She’ll ride in a car with us,” Stan said.

Matteo’s lips pulled into a cold smile. “This is the last warning you get. Stop pissing me off or I’ll carve a smile into your throat.”

The second soldier grabbed Stan’s arm and pulled him toward a black Outfit car while the rest of us headed toward two BMWs.

I held Gianna’s hand tightly, happy to have her back. I’d missed her voice, even her colorful language. Gianna slipped into the backseat and I was about to follow when Luca gripped my arm. “No. I want Matteo to keep an eye on your sister.”

Gianna rolled her eyes. I squeezed her hand once, then released her and got into the passenger seat beside Luca, who would be driving. I hoped things would fall back into place now, but I knew all of us had a long road ahead of us.

LUCA

Aria was glowing with happiness over having her sister back, and Matteo looked like he was going to have a fucking boner from a look at Gianna.

“You’d probably jump out of the moving car if I gave you the chance,” he told his fiancée.

“I’m not completely crazy. Do you think I’d risk running around Chicago unprotected when my father’s men are obviously out to hurt me?” Gianna bitched back.

She was a pain in the ass, and I wasn’t happy about having to deal with fucking Scuderi because of her.

“So you trust me to protect you but still don’t want to marry me,” Matteo said.

Gianna sucked in a breath. “You still want to go through with the marriage?”

“You could probably ram a knife into his back and he’d still want to go through with it. He’s a stubborn fucker,” I said. Aria put a hand down on my thigh, a small smile playing around her lips. That sight softened my annoyance toward Matteo and Gianna.