Total pages in book: 197
Estimated words: 199143 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 996(@200wpm)___ 797(@250wpm)___ 664(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 199143 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 996(@200wpm)___ 797(@250wpm)___ 664(@300wpm)
“This isn’t about me, this is ... shut up, Dante.”
*
Gio POV
“Well,” Catrina said from the other side of the kitchen as she leaned over the island to pat her husband on the cheek, “at least you don’t look well past middle-age, oh, and my bag collection gains in value which is ten percent of our wealth.”
She then smacked his cheek before adding, “Bet less, Dante.”
“Fine,” he muttered.
Gio managed to keep his smirk in check just long enough for Catrina to leave the kitchen, but that was only because he knew better than to make his sister-in-law think he was trying to make fun of her warnings.
Her claws were less sharp.
The bark didn’t come as often.
All that was true, sure.
It also meant when it did come, no one was prepared for it because Catrina let everyone get just comfortable enough not to walk on eggshells before she reminded them exactly who she was. You’d have thought life and kids and time would have softened the woman a bit—and maybe it did, in some ways—but she was still Catrina fucking Marcello even on her good days.
“Are you transferring me the money?”
“Shut up, Dante, you’ll get your money,” Gio said, walking further into the kitchen. “The least you could have done was have a coffee waiting for me since you got me all the way over here just to gloat, though.”
His brother laughed.
The ass.
“Did you hear from Lucian this morning?” Gio asked, making his way to the electric kettle to turn it on. “Doesn’t that mean he owes you twenty-k, too?”
“His phone is off. I called Jordyn—she said he had a thing. I don’t know. I will gloat over him later, too, no worries.”
“I bet, you fucking prick.”
“Dante?”
Gio went about pulling a coffee cup from the cupboard as Catrina came back to the kitchen entry.
“Yeah?” Dante asked.
“There’s a man at the door.”
“Pardon?”
“An enforcer. He’s at the door.”
“One of ours?” Dante asked.
“No, he’s one of Lucian’s, I think.”
Gio forgot his cup on the counter as he turned to look Dante’s way. Sure, they all had a man or two that looked after them or their wives when they were out and about. But with Dante not being the boss anymore, they didn’t have a revolving door of made men coming in and out to answer to the boss.
After all, Dante wasn’t the boss now.
“You coming?” Dante asked Gio.
He nodded. “Why not?”
They kept a calm demeanor for Catrina—not that the woman would have cared either way, and she could handle any situation—but that was just how they did their business. Even now, after all these years, and no longer being active in the family. Inside, though, Gio was concerned about what might have happened to cause the enforcer to come visit Dante.
They found the man—he was one who looked after Lucian, or the man’s wife or kids when needed—standing on Dante’s front stoop. None of the three spoke until the front door of the house was closed and they had privacy. And even then, it took Dante talking first to make the nervous enforcer meet the brothers’ stares.
“Something wrong, Grayson?”
“Uh, boss—”
“Not the boss,” Dante was quick to say.
“Right, right. You know I do a lot of the driving for Lucian’s daughter—the one who’s in town from Cali, right?”
“Lucia,” Gio said.
“Yeah, that one. I’ve been taking her to the hospital once a week. Wasn’t really given a reason why.”
“Lucia’s going to the hospital?”
Dante passed Gio a look.
He shrugged, not knowing anything about that.
“No, I guess it’s for Lucian,” the enforcer said, “and I don’t think I’m supposed to say anything. I mean, he didn’t even tell me, and I’m not sure any of the other guys know but—”
“Spit it out,” Gio snapped.
“He’s sick—cancer.”
What?
Surely, Gio hadn’t heard that right.
“Are you—”
“Positive,” the enforcer was quick to say, “and we all know how you three are, so I thought ... maybe I shouldn’t have said anything.”
Gio’s chest hurt.
Dante’s expression had blanked.
“No,” Gio said, “you did exactly right.”
“He’s there now?” Dante asked. “At the hospital?”
“I believe so.”
“Call Jordyn,” Dante murmured.
“Man—”
Gio didn’t even get to finish his statement.
“Call Jordyn.”
Bygones – A Dirty Pool Era Short
Dante POV
Dante stayed as still as a statue, staring at the landline phone on the corner of his desk, while his wife flew back in forth outside the office doorway. It was like for the moment, with the news she had learned, Dante didn’t exist to her. She had other things to worry about right then, and he really didn’t take offense to it.
He had things on his mind, too.
Things like that phone.
And a call he should probably make.
“Yes, yes, he’s coming!” A pause came from his wife and he looked up to see her pass by his office again, but this time with a phone at her ear. Was she talking to someone in their family? Maybe a friend of hers? Catherine, even? Someone. Someone that she cared enough about to let them know she was excited. “I’m grabbing our bags now, and we’re heading over to the hospital to be there with her ... no, Dante called Michel; he’s got a situation to handle with a bad accident that happened—a bridge collapsed? Yeah, it’s not good but of course, that’s Michel and you can’t talk him out of that hospital if he thinks he’s needed. Not that it’s a bad thing, you know.”