Elude (14 page)

Her fingers gripped the front of my shirt; she gave a little tug. Our mouths nearly collided. "Well, we do have fifteen other activities that come to mind."

My eyes focused on her mouth. "True."

A loud horn honking interrupted our little discussion and then banging on my side of the window startled me.

Slowly, I looked over my shoulder.

Tex was waving a gun around and grinning like an idiot. I was going to shoot him.

We didn't have the best of relationships — not that either of us actually tried to be nice to one another.

"Family dinner!" he shouted against the window.

"Why is his gun out?" Andi asked.

"Guns to Tex are like water to fish."

"Both need it in order to survive?"

"It wouldn't surprise me at all if his skin was starting to actually grow around the trigger."

Andi scooted out of the car and met me on the other side. She took one look at Tex and then in seconds had the gun out of his hand.

One minute it was in his hand…

The next it was in hers.

I stared dumbstruck.

Tex's mouth dropped open. "What the hell, Andi?"

I think I fell in love with her a little bit right then. I patted Tex on the back and whispered. "Remember, she's on my team."

"Damn straight I am, partner," Andi said in a southern accent then handed Tex his gun. "Let me know if you need pointers later."

Tex's eye narrowed. "I wasn't prepared."

"Well maybe you should be… next time." Andi gripped my hand in hers. "After all, terror comes in all sizes."

"Don't I know it," I grumbled under my breath.

Tex laughed softly and followed us inside. "You're alright, Andi."

"I'm more than alright. I'm amazing," she announced.

Nixon was at the head of the table pouring wine. His eyes met mine briefly before he looked back at Andi. His lips curled into a mocking grin.

Whatever, shit face. Yes, we were getting along. No need to go and celebrate or anything.

He looked about five seconds away from patting himself on the back like he was the one responsible for fixing things, when really it was…

Well, I don't know. Maybe insanity… or just time.

She was growing on me — like a freaking weed I couldn't get rid of, only prettier and funnier. Damn it!

"Sergio's doing honeymoon activities with me on account that we can't travel out of the country without getting shot at by the FBI or my father," Andi blurted out to the entire group

All talking ceased.

I briefly contemplated crawling underneath the table and rocking back and forth; maybe then they'd think I'd gone insane and stop staring at me like I was the freaking Grinch who'd finally managed to grow a heart.

"That's so sweet!" Trace was the first to talk. "What did you guys do today?"

"I know what they did a few days ago," Nixon said into his wine glass.

I kicked him under the table.

He didn't even wince, the bastard.

"Oh, did you like my present?" Trace asked, her eyes alight with excitement. I'd always liked Trace, but yeah, not the best question to ask right then.

"Yeah." Nixon leaned forward. "Did you have any trouble unwrapping it."

I kicked him again.

But this time Chase yelped. "What the hell, Sergio? Why'd you kick me?"

"The present was… unexpected."

My eyes narrowed. Not exactly a glowing review of my seduction skills.

"I mean, at first I was…" Andi's gaze met mine. "…surprised."

"I knew you would be." Trace nodded encouragingly. What the hell had she given us? A dog? Shit, I hoped not, because it would be a dead dog by now.

"And then, I don't know, it just felt natural," Andi continued. "And perfect."

It was getting hard to breathe. The air was thinning by the second.

"Oh, um…" Trace shared a confused look with Nixon. "…I'm glad?"

"Me too." Andi blushed brightly before looking away and shrugging. "Monogram towels were really so thoughtful. I especially liked that Sergio's had little mustaches on them."

"Ah-ha!" I slammed my hand onto the table. Not meaning to do that out loud. Towels! Of course. I'd used one already.

All eyes turned to me.

"Forgive him, he really likes the towels." Andi nodded. "Gets him all excited in the shower. I would know."

I choked on my wine while I received curious stares from every single one of my family members.

"I'm happy for you… guys," Bee interjected, rubbing her still-flat stomach. She was only in her first trimester. "You both look so happy."

Could we not be the center of attention?

A knock sounded, and then Frank waltzed in. Thank God. He was always late to family dinner. I finally felt like I was out of the hot seat.

"Grandpa." Trace rose up from her chair and kissed him on the nose.

He blushed and took his seat at the head of the table.

"Sorry for being late. I had a few things to collect."

"Did you find them?" Nixon asked, his gaze cool and indifferent.

Frank's eyes darted around the table then finally settled on me. "I did."

"No better time than the present."

"What?" Trace touched Frank's arm. "What's Nixon talking about?"

Frank poured a shaky glass of wine. "I guess it's best to get things out before dinner. It's hard enough as it is."

Dread filled my stomach. This couldn't be good, whatever it was. Frank rarely just announced things at family dinner.

"Trace…" His gaze was loving, adoring even as he tilted her chin toward him and flicked her nose with a chuckle. "…I am old."

"No shit," Tex said under his breath.

I held in my laugh.

"And the rest of you — you are so young. So… alive with ideas for your own families. Luca left the Nicolasi family to Phoenix. He has a small child on the way. Trace, you and Nixon have the Abandonatos to deal with. Mil and Chase, the handful that is the De Langes."

"Here, here." Chase lifted his wine glass into the air. I knew they were still giving Mil hell since she was one of the only female bosses in existence; then again, Chase was a trained assassin, so they didn't fight it much.

"The Campisis..." Frank motioned to Tex. "…a tighter run family I've never seen."

Tex did a little bow.

Frank let out a breath. "And my family… the Alferos, while I trust my men, I want to leave my family to blood." His eyes fell to Trace. "You do not need the added stress of leading two families. I want you and Nixon to have beautiful grandchildren, I want you to laugh, to enjoy life as much as possible, which is why I need to do this."

His speech was making me more and more uncomfortable. Andi shifted in her seat, her eyes downcast like she knew something. But how?

Frank pulled out a black folder. "It's Luca's."

Wow, not what I expected.

Andi's gaze met mine; she was so pale she looked like she was going to be sick. What was going on?

Frank set the folder on the table and opened the first page. A picture of a guy and girl around my age stared back.

Trace frowned. "I don't understand."

"More secrets…" Frank sighed. "Trace, your grandmother and I were not entirely honest with you."

Nixon pulled Trace closer. Bastard knew what was coming; I could see it in his eyes.

"Before we went into hiding — three years before to be exact — your grandmother had an affair."

The table was completely silent.

"With Luca," he whispered. "She was ten years younger than me, still in her early forties."

My mind tried to do the math, tried to put the puzzle together.

Andi was looking sicker by the minute, and Trace was well on her way to joining her.

"They had twins," Frank continued. "A boy and a girl. They both went to live with Luca, though his lifestyle at the time wasn't exactly child-friendly. He put them in the best schools, but when he discovered that by keeping them close he was putting targets on their backs, he let them go. He wanted them to live normal lives before getting sucked into the lifestyle he lived."

"Why now?" Trace whispered. "Why are you telling us this now?"

Andi spoke up. "Because the plan changed."

"What plan?" Trace repeated.

Andi's eyes met mine. What the hell was she talking about? She glanced back at Frank. "The plan was simple… take over the Russian crime family's hold in Chicago, protect me in the process, marry into the Nicolasi family by way of Dante Nicolasi, Luca's son."

Something slammed into my chest — maybe it was my heart, or maybe it was just the feeling of absolute disbelief.

"What?" Trace whispered.

Frank sighed and sat back down in his chair. "Andi was never meant for Sergio. She was meant for Dante. And Dante was meant to take over the Alferos when the time was right."

She wasn't mine.

She wasn't mine.

She wasn't mine.

Why the hell was that the only piece of information I was coming away with during the conversation?

"So why change the plan?" I finally hissed out, my voice sounded a hell of a lot like I'd just swallowed knives.

Frank met my gaze. "Because I made a judgment call. Dante didn't know Andi, doesn't even know this plan exists. And Andi doesn't need a boss as a husband before she dies. She needs a friend."

Dumbstruck, I could only stare and hope my emotions weren't written all over my face. It was part rejection, part shock, part relief.

"I, um…" I stood, my chair scooting against the hardwood floor. "…I need a minute."

I walked toward the back door and didn't glance over my shoulder. Not even when Andi yelled my name.

Andi

SERGIO DIDN'T STOP WALKING. I STARED
at the table and let out an exhausted and halfway guilty sigh. He didn't know the whole story.

Or his part in it.

Then again, it wasn't my story to tell. Not by a long shot.

Frank cleared his throat.

"So that's it?" Tex said in a chilling voice. "We just hand over one of the most powerful families to two kids who don't even know what the hell they're doing?"

Frank was silent for a minute, and then he shrugged. "They are nearly the same age as you."

Chase and Nixon shared a look.

The girls at the table were oddly quiet; every one of them eyeing their men like a fight was going to break out at any minute.

Amy gripped Ax's hand.

Trace was still leaning against Nixon, staring at her grandpa hard. Tears pooled in her eyes.

Mil was drumming her fingertips across the table, her gaze weary.

And Mo looked ready to leap across the table at any minute, in case she needed to physically restrain Tex — his hormonal sister looked ready to help.

Phoenix leaned back in his chair; it made a creaking noise, slicing through the tense silence. "It's not like we're going to hand the family over on a platter, Tex. We'll give it months — years. Besides, who's to know Dante will even say yes?"

"Why wouldn't he?" Tex roared, throwing his hands in the air. "The Alferos are worth close to four-hundred-million dollars."

I almost choked on my tongue.

"He'd be stupid to say no."

"Not everyone wants this life," Frank said in a quiet voice. "And I mean to give him something none of you were given."

"Oh yeah, old man?" Tex's frustration was evident in the way his face started turning red. "What's that?"

Frank met his stare head on. "A damn choice."

I quickly looked down at my empty plate. The food on the table was getting cold, and nobody seemed to care that Sergio was still outside, most likely cursing me into the night sky.

"And the girl?" Nixon asked. "What of her?"

Frank shrugged. "I imagine if Dante decides to join us, she'll do the same. It wouldn't be safe for her otherwise."

Ax had been uncharacteristically quiet. He usually didn't speak unless spoken to, and even then I noticed he was a lot like Sergio; he watched, he listened, and then he used information gathered to form a thought. He never spoke out of turn, though I was beginning to notice Sergio was picking up bad habits where I was concerned, talking out of turn, yelling — God forbid — smiling!

"He has a point."

Tex turned his angry stare toward Ax. I was half-tempted to scoot back so I wasn't in the line of sight.

"Oh?" Tex's voice was a hoarse whisper. "How do you figure?"

Ax sighed. "Who else is going to lead the Alferos? You? We need you focusing on our own drama. Phoenix is shit deep in Nicolasi stuff. The De Langes still aren't completely trustworthy — no offense Mil—" She waved him off. "—and my family's been the target of everyone for the past ten years! We need new blood. Plain and simple, and you forget Tex… regardless of where they come from or how they got there. They're blood."

"Damn Abandonatos when they make sense," Tex muttered under his breath.

Mo squeezed his hand reassuringly.

"So that's it." Nixon tucked Trace closer to his body.

"Sort of." Frank's gaze met mine. "Why don't you go find your husband, Andi? We can discuss specifics later."

I didn't need to be told twice. I quickly excused myself and ran outside.

Sergio hadn't made it far.

He was sitting on the lower branch of a giant tree, his legs dangling in the air; it made him look playful, approachable.

"So…" I braced my hands behind my back and strode forward. "…are you pissed?"

"Am I pissed?" he repeated in a bored tone. "Yes and no."

"Ooh, a puzzle." I tried to climb to the first branch but wasn't tall enough or strong enough to pull myself up.

He watched me struggle.

I kicked the stump.

After a few more minutes where he watched me attempt to levitate into the tree, he hoisted me into the air and placed me next to him. "Better?"

"Yes," I gasped, my breathing heavy. "So, you're pissed because I kept something from you?"

"It's stupid."

"What is?"

Sergio chewed his lower lip. "My reason for being pissed."

"Try me."

He turned to face me, his legs straddling the tree. "Alright…" His blue eyes flashed with something, not anger, but something just as intense. "I'm angry because I wasn't the first choice."