CHAPTER 2

MATTEO’S POV

My sister’s boyfriend’s smile faltered the moment he realized I was the man who’d read his message. He glanced at his phone, then back at me, suddenly speechless.

I took the opportunity to study him. Honey-blond hair, sharp features, expressive green eyes, and the kind of handsome face people instinctively trusted. He probably got away with anything just by smiling. I disliked him immediately.

Then he smiled again, as though nothing had happened.

“Matteo, right?” He offered his hand. “Alicia’s told me so much about you. I’ve been looking forward to meeting you.”

I shook it. “Really? For a moment, I thought you had somewhere else to be.”

His smile froze. “Somewhere else?”

“Work. Apparently, it keeps you busy.”

“Oh, yeah. Event planning can get pretty hectic, but I love what I do.”

“I see. And Nico works with you?”

He blinked. “Yeah. He’s my business partner.”

“Sounds like a dependable friend. Always there when you need rescuing.”

“He’s a great friend,” Adrian replied quickly. “We work really well together.”

Alicia looked between us. “What are you two talking about? How do you know Nico?”

“I know a lot of things, sweetheart,” I answered, giving the idiot a pointed look as he wiped his sweaty palms against his trousers.

“Is something wrong, babe?” Alicia asked.

“Of course not!” Adrian slipped an arm around her waist. “Nico texted about something at work tomorrow, but it’s all sorted.”

“Good,” I said. “It would be unfortunate if some emergency forced you to leave before dinner.”

Adrian met my eyes. His smile remained, but the confidence behind it had vanished.

“Don’t worry. My evening’s completely free.”

“Excellent. Alicia’s been looking forward to this for days.”

“And I finally made it happen!” my sister exclaimed. “Although you two seem awfully serious.”

“Not at all, sweetheart.” Adrian gave a nervous laugh. “Your brother and I are just getting to know each other.”

“Of course,” I replied, letting the warning show in my voice. “And we’re only getting started.”

Adrian swallowed.

We headed into the private dining room while I adjusted my cufflinks. To the public, I was the respectable CEO of Rossi Holdings, an international import corporation. To the people who mattered in this city, I was the man who decided whose businesses survived and whose disappeared. Alicia knew nothing about the darkness behind our family fortune. She was the only innocent thing left in my life.

I had secrets, certainly. But mine kept my sister safe. Adrian’s would break her heart.

Men like him disgusted me. He reminded me of my father: a charming man who preached about family while betraying it behind closed doors. Adrian was the same kind of fraud, a pretty face who believed he could escape every consequence.

Once seated, Adrian attempted conversation.

“I read that Rossi Holdings just closed another multimillion-dollar deal.” He raised his glass. “Alicia says you practically live at the office. You must be a blast on weekends.”

“Unlike throwing parties,” I replied, cutting into my steak, “running a corporation doesn’t leave much time for nonsense.”

His smile faltered, but Alicia laughed and kicked me beneath the table.

A moment later, I noticed her pushing the mushrooms around her plate. Without a word, I exchanged it for mine. Adrian caught the gesture and raised an eyebrow.

“Well, look at that. The terrifying big brother actually has a heart. Who would’ve thought?”

“Don’t push your luck, Adrian.”

“Relax. Your secret’s safe with me. I won’t tell anyone you’re capable of being nice.”

He noticed far more than he let on, which irritated me.

I was about to ask for the check when the kitchen door swung open. A man in a leather jacket stepped inside, one hand concealed beneath his coat. I recognized the tattoo on his throat immediately.

Marcone.

A second man followed him. My guards at the main entrance must have been distracted or taken out. I’d faced armed men before without losing my nerve, but tonight Alicia was here. So was her idiot boyfriend. The last thing I wanted was for either of them to witness this.

“Matteo?” Alicia frowned as I stood. “What’s wrong?”

“Get down. Now.”

The first man drew a suppressed pistol. Before he could aim, I overturned the heavy mahogany table, blocking his line of sight. Plates shattered and glasses exploded across the floor.

“Get her behind the bar!” I roared at Adrian.

“What the fuck is happening?” he shouted, his face deathly pale. But he didn’t freeze. He grabbed Alicia’s arm and pulled her toward the most sheltered corner.

I charged the first attacker, knocking his gun arm aside before driving my fist into his throat. He answered with a brutal elbow to my ribs that knocked the breath from my lungs. I managed to bring him down, but couldn’t wrestle away his pistol.

The second man slammed into me. We grappled violently until he broke free, drew his weapon, and aimed straight at my sister.

Before I could reach him, Adrian grabbed a wine bottle and smashed it against the attacker’s shoulder, throwing off his aim.

That reckless idiot had just risked his life for Alicia without thinking twice.

“GET BACK, YOU IDIOT!” I roared.

I grabbed Adrian around the waist and yanked him out of the line of fire. He collided with my chest hard enough to pop a button off his shirt. I wrapped an arm around his back, shielding him with my body until our faces were inches apart. His frantic breathing brushed against my neck.

“Would you stop throwing me around?” he snapped, his lips trembling with anger.

For one ridiculous instant, his handsome face and the faint citrus scent of his skin distracted me. I was furious with myself for noticing either in the middle of a gunfight.

I shoved him behind the bar.

“Stay there if you want to live!”

I lunged at the second attacker, caught his gun arm, and slammed it against the counter until the weapon clattered to the floor. Another blow sent him crashing down, unconscious.

Adrian cautiously poked his head above the counter, his clothes wrinkled and his hair a mess.

“What the actual fuck?” he stammered. “You knocked them both out. What are you, Superman?”

“I’m telling you one last time. Stay down!”

A metallic click sounded behind us.

The first attacker was crawling across the floor, blood running down his chin. His pistol was aimed directly at Adrian’s chest.

Adrian stood beside the bar, completely exposed.

I lunged before the man could fire, grabbed Adrian around the waist, and threw us both to the floor. His face collided with mine.

And then it happened.

Our lips brushed.

Barely a second. An absurd accident in the middle of that goddamn nightmare. Adrian’s eyes flew wide, and for a fraction of a heartbeat, I was too stunned to move.

The gun went off.

Adrian opened his mouth to scream, but I barely heard him.

For a second, neither of us moved.

Then I felt something warm spreading between our bodies.

I looked down.

Blood was soaking through our shirts.

I raised my eyes to Adrian.

He stared back at me.