Between The Flames ⚜️Il Paradosso Book Two⚜️

Chapter thirty-seven

Antonio

***

My fingers drummed against the smooth surface of my desk as I glanced up at a disheveled Niccolo, eyeing his unkempt appearance.
Ten of my most trusted men piled into the office, taking up the spaces in the two leather sofas and single armchairs.

Gio stood at my far left, tilting his chin upwards as I motioned towards the door. He secured the lock before resuming his position.

"How is Emma?" I questioned Luca who unbuttoned his suit jacket, lowering onto one of the armchairs.
"Preoccupied with the wedding preparations."

He frowned, aiming his attention on our brother who seemed to be deep in thought, entirely impervious to his surroundings. "But it's a good distraction from everything else that's been crowding her brain lately."

"Elaborate," I said, disposing of the broken pen that I'd used minutes ago, soaked in blood.

Who knew such a useless object could cause so much damage to the artery.

"She's been asking too many questions. It almost feels like I'm being interrogated every time I step foot inside my own fuckin' home." Luca's tone was anything but pleasant and judging by the crease between his eyebrows, he'd seen better nights.

I exhaled a lengthy breath of air through my nose, resting my back further against the chair, stretching my limbs. "When are the Franco's coming in?"

"They land tomorrow, midday. They plan on staying two weeks after the ceremony," he answered with zero enthusiasm, earning a chuckle from my part.

"Looks like you'll have your hands and ears full for quite a while," I teased with a grin, winking at his stern expression.

He shot me an irritated look which I dismissed by a rumbling laughter and he shook his head, nostrils flaring.

"I swear, if Franco starts snooping around like the last time they were here, I'm going to report a missing body in pieces."

Although Luca may have portrayed the sweetheart in our family, he was anything but and I knew he stood by his words, for which I could personally attest.

He'd done a good job at playing his cards right, which I praised him for. But he wasn't someone to take for granted. He was able to rip a heart out with his bare hands and feed it to you. He was cutthroat and implacable.

"There will be no need for bloodshed. Emma knows better than to overstep her boundaries and if she knows what's good for all of them, she'll handle him quite smoothly," I concluded, terminating the conversation with a firm nod.
Now, to get this fucking meeting in motion before I lose my shit and find another victim to unleash my anger on.

"Regarding the source of this meeting, I'm going to make it as less monotonous as possible so you can all return to your assigned tasks," I began, placing my elbows onto the desk.

"Your jobs are to keep this family tight nit while I'm away. The wedding is in two days and I'm assuming all of you have given out orders to the men who will be guarding every angle of the building, top to bottom."

They all complied in unison, looking me directly in the eye as I spoke.
I was able to smell a rat from a mile away and eye contact was crucial in their line of work.

If any of them so much as broke a sweat, I wouldn't hesitate to unload the black beauty from my holster into their foreheads.

"Isak will be attending the ceremony with both his sons, which required for us to triple the security in this case. He is not to fuck with but if he decides to cross any lines, be ready to whip out the big artillery."