Page 204 of Savage Devotion
He held his hand up to silence her. She snapped her mouth closed and stared back at him, her green eyes glimmering with fear and tears.
“When a don isn’t doing his job, he can be removed from power.” Church adjusted his cufflinks and gave me a dangerous smile as I bristled. “His underboss, which in this case is ColeScott, can move into the position. However, I do not like Cole Scott in such a position, so I request you decide what you are going to do. Let Evan take the throne with Anson as his underboss, since Evan is technically the heir to this city. You could become his enforcer if he permits it.”
“What are my other options?” I asked, my hands balled into fists.
“You could die.” Church gave me a lazy look. “The choice is yours. Decide soon, or I’ll decide for you.”
“Evan doesn’t want this life!” I yelled. “He fucking died to leave it. Don’t you dare drag him back to it, you fucking monster!”
Church stood with his men. “Evan is a proven warrior. He fights, and he wins. Anson is even more so, and they have the backing of Klaus Seeley and an entire army.”
“Why are you doing this?” I demanded.
He got in my face, his nose nearly touching mine. When he spoke, it was for my ears only.
“Because you are weak. You are not fit to love my sister. She needs protectors, not men who would abandon her. Who don’t fight for her. You have had ample time to sort your shit, and yet it remains unsorted. You have the Virellis breathing down your neck, and yet you continue to let it happen. I would think you’d be more willing to eradicate them, considering they helped the Ivanovs and my father murder your parents.”
I stiffened at his words. I had my suspicions, but he was confirming them.
“What do you know?” I demanded.
“That you’re going to give up your part of the city to Constantino and Alessandro De Santis. You’re better at taking orders than creating them.”
“About my parents and the Virelli family!” I grabbed him by his lapels and shook him. “Fucking tell me.”
He smirked at me. “You should already know, but in case you don’t, maybe you should ask Emilio Valetti. Or is it Virelli? I get so confused with all the names.”
My blood ran cold. Emilio wasn’t a Virelli. He was a Valetti. He was my father’s best friend and my parents’ lover for as long as I’d been alive. Hell, before I was even born, they’d been with him. I only found out about it an hour before they were murdered, but I knew Emilio loved them and still mourned their passing.
“I think, Lorenzo, that sometimes we make it so high on the food chain that we forget we were once food. I am only here to remind you of that. Decide. Have a good evening, horsemen.” He shook me off him and went to Rosalie.
I watched as he took her from Cole before kissing her forehead tenderly, then the corner of her lips.
“I love you,” he said softly. “I do what I do for you, sister. Trust me?”
She stared at him for a moment before she replied softly.
“Always, brother.”
Well, fuck.
59
ROSALIE
Ifell into a fitful sleep that night. Cole didn’t come to bed. Instead, he stayed up with Enzo. They’d left with Ethan hours ago, leaving me behind, locked in and with many guards outside.
Cole said they were going to talk to Evan.
I was worried because Evan hadn’t answered my calls or texted me back since Enzo and the guys left to see him.
I knew Evan. He could be violent, but I prayed he wasn’t with the horsemen. He loved them once upon a time, and I knew there were still feelings for them, or he’d not have said as much or been OK with the guys joining us.
I heard creaking in the hallway and sat up. Carefully, I got out of bed and peeked out the crack in my door to see Enzo going into his bedroom, but no Cole.
Quickly, I darted out and followed him into his room, closing the door softly behind him.
“Enzo?” my voice came out shaky and soft.
