“Good,” Gianna said. She patted Romero’s shoulder. “You did it, didn’t you?”

Romero smiled tightly. “Yeah, which brings us to the reason why we need to hurry.”

“Romero is right. We need to get out of this house before someone realizes that the groom is dead,” I said, losing my fucking patience.

“I always thought that I’d be the one to start a war between the Outfit and the Famiglia. Kudos to you, Romero, for proving me wrong for once,” Matteo said, grinning.

“I thought that too,” Romero said.

Everyone had thought that. Matteo was the crazy one. Romero had always been reliable, but Liliana had obviously changed that. I sighed. “I hate to interrupt your chitchat but we need to get the fuck going.”

Matteo and Gianna got dressed, and we left the room and continued our journey through the house. Every muscle in my body was tight with tension as I listened for the slightest sound of people crossing our path.

We took the second staircase in the back of the house down to the first floor and headed for the door that led to the underground garage. Most houses in this area had them because outside space was limited. There was the sound of steps from the corridor to the left of the door, and my body went into fight mode as I shielded Aria and raised my gun. Matteo and Romero did the same. Things had gone too smoothly until now, but that was over. Even with our silencers in place a shooting would create a certain amount of noise, especially if our attackers managed to cry out a warning. A bullet through the head was the only solution.

My finger on the trigger tightened when a blond boy turned the corner. Fuck. In the last moment, I stopped myself from shooting. His hair had saved him. It was Fabiano.

Aria gasped, her hand jerking in mine. She would have run to him, if I hadn’t held her in place. Fabiano’s eyes widened as he stumbled to a stop and pointed his own gun at us. He hadn’t been fully inducted yet, definitely hadn’t killed anyone yet, and he wasn’t good at hiding his emotions. Fear flashed across his face before suspicion took its place.

Aria pressed her palm against my arm, trying to force it down, but I kept my gun pointed at Fabiano. He was only a kid but a bullet from him was as deadly as from anyone else.

“What’s going on here?” Fabiano asked firmly, standing even taller than usual and trying to look like a man. With the gun and that serious expression, he almost managed to look like more than nearly a teenage boy.

“Put that gun down,” I ordered.

Fabiano laughed, but it sounded nervous and his eyes held fear. He would have to learn to hide it better if he wanted to survive in the Outfit—if he survived tonight. “No way. I want to know what’s going on.” His eyes moved from Aria to Gianna, then to Liliana.

“Why are you even running around with a gun? Shouldn’t you be in bed?” Aria asked and was about to take a step forward, but I pulled her back.

“I have guard duties,” Fabiano said with a hint of pride.

“But you aren’t inducted yet,” Lily said, confused.

“I started the induction process a few weeks ago. This is my first task,” Fabi said. The hand with his gun began shaking slightly. He would stand no chance against us, even if we didn’t have guns pointed at him. I would be at his side to knock him out in a heartbeat, and I preferred that scenario to killing him because of the woman at my side.

“Father gave it to you because he thought it would be an easy first job, right? Nothing bad ever happens at weddings,” Liliana said with a broken laugh.

“He gave me the job because he knew I was responsible and capable,” Fabiano said, squaring his shoulder. His eyes darted to me again, then to Matteo and Romero.

“You don’t really think you can kill all three of us, do you?” Matteo asked with a twisted grin.

Gianna shot him a glower. “Shut up, Matteo.”

“I can try,” Fabiano said. Aria’s fingers around my arm tightened, and her gaze was practically burning into me.

“Fabiano,” I said, trying to sound reasonable even though time was against us and I just wanted to get the fuck away. “They are your sisters. Do you really want to risk them getting hurt?”

“Why is Lily here? Why isn’t she with her husband? I want to know what’s going on. Why are you trying to take her with you? She’s part of the Outfit, not of New York.”

“I can’t stay here, Fabi. Do you remember how you told me I shouldn’t marry Benito? That it wasn’t right?” Liliana said.

“That was a long time ago, and you said yes to him today. Where is he anyway?”

Liliana looked at Romero with an expression even a twelve-year-old boy could understand.

“You killed him, didn’t you?” Fabiano hissed, and he raised his gun again. “Was this some kind of trick to weaken the Outfit? Father always said you’d stab us in the back one day.”

Aria tried to move toward him again, but I pushed her back with a glare.

She narrowed her eyes. “He’s my brother!”

“He’s a soldier of the Outfit.” Maybe she thought because I put her first, other Made Men would also forget that their first choice should always be the mafia.

“Fabi, the Famiglia didn’t try to weaken the Outfit. This isn’t about power. It’s all my fault. Benito tried to hurt me and I stabbed him. That’s why I need to leave. Father would punish me, maybe even kill me,” Liliana said in a soothing voice.

Fabiano took a step back. “You killed your husband?” Matteo gave me a look over Gianna’s head. He was waiting for me to give him the go to shoot, and if it weren’t for Aria’s shaking body at my side, I wouldn’t have hesitated.

“I didn’t know what else to do.”

Fabiano pointed at Romero. “What about you and him? I’m not stupid. There’s something going on between you.”

“We’ve been together for a while. You know I never wanted to marry Benito, but Father didn’t give me a choice.”

“So you want to leave Chicago and the Outfit for New York like Gianna and Aria,” Fabiano said.

Liliana nodded. “I have to.”

“You could come with us,” Aria suggested. Her eyes found mine, begging.

I looked at Fabiano. “You could become part of the Famiglia.” My family wouldn’t like it, and I probably would have to kill a few to show strength.

Fabiano shook his head. “Father needs me. I’m part of the Outfit. I made an oath.”

“If you’re not fully inducted yet, it’s not as binding,” Matteo said. A fucking lie. Matteo and I would kill any initiate who decided to break off the induction, not to mention join the Outfit.

“I won’t betray the Outfit.”

I’d expected that answer. Fabiano had been brought up in the Outfit, brought up with the knowledge that one day he would follow in his father’s footsteps. “Then you’ll have to stop us from leaving. And we won’t let you. There will be blood, and you will die.”

Fabiano met my gaze. “I’m a good shot.”

He was also terrified. “I believe you. But are you better than all three of us? Do you really want your sister Lily to be punished? If you force her to stay, you sign her death warrant.”