Page 5 of Stained Honor

Chapter Two

The sky is split in half by a streak of orange light bleeding across the horizon. Night’s over, but I never closed my eyes once. A weak little whimper drifts through the room, pulling me out of the endless haze in my head. I push myself away from the glass balcony door and walk toward Gabriel’s crib.

My one-year-old son lies sprawled across the pale blue sheets, innocent and completely unaware of the disaster surrounding him. One tiny leg stretches one way, his arm another, while sleepy little sounds leave his lips with his eyes still closed.

I bend over him and gently stroke his chest while quietly singing a lullaby beneath my breath, trying to chase away whatever nightmare dared interrupt his peaceful sleep. Like always, it works. Gabriel settles almost immediately. He has no idea, but right now he’s the only person in this house who’s truly at peace.

Once I’m sure Gabriel’s fallen into a deep sleep again, I decide to take a hot shower, hoping maybe it’ll calm at least some of the chaos tearing through my chest. But the second I step outside his room, I realize something’s wrong.

Nearly ten armed men are spread through the hallway outside, standing guard like they’re preparing for war. Giorgio and Lorenzo are among them. Like the rest of Carlo’s soldiers, Giorgio’s wearing a bulletproof vest over his shirt, and despite being awake all night, his eyes are sharp and fully alert. The sight only twists the anxiety in my stomach tighter.

The moment he sees me, he crosses the hallway in two long strides and gently takes hold of my arm.

“Let me walk you back to your room.”

I pull my arm away before moving an inch. “What happened, Giorgio? Why are there armed guards all over the house?”

From the corner of my eye, I catch Lorenzo smirking, and irritation immediately tightens my face. But when Giorgio answers, his tone is steady as always, completely free of mockery.

“Nothing happened. This is just extra precaution.”

I don’t ask precaution against what, because I already know. Every armed man in this hallway is here because of the decision I made.

I take a slow breath. “Where’s Carlo?”

Giorgio hesitates for a second before finally answering. “In the library.”

I start to move immediately, but he steps in front of me.

“Emily, now’s really not a good time.”

His voice is quiet enough that only I can hear it. Apparently the rest of Carlo’s soldiers still have no idea what I did.

I lift my chin, straighten my shoulders, and give him a cold look. Maybe Giorgio is the closest thing I have to a real friend in this house, whether he realizes it or not, but that doesn’t mean he gets to stand in the way of my decisions.

I’m not that helpless girl he used to keep under guard anymore. I’m the wife of the Capo of the Bruni organization, and over the years Carlo made one thing painfully clear to every man working for him, my orders carry the same weight as his.

Giorgio reads exactly what I’m thinking in my eyes because he lets out a quiet sigh, exchanges a look with Lorenzo, then finally steps aside. Still, he doesn’t leave me alone.

“Come on. I’m walking with you.”

I’m about to protest when he cuts me off with a firmer tone this time.

“Don Carlo’s orders. You are absolutely not supposed to be alone.”

That immediately kills whatever argument I had, because Carlo never gives orders without a reason.

When we’re a few feet away from the library, loud rock music reaches my ears. The song is familiar. Carlo listens to this kind of music when he trains, and before the underground boxing matches he occasionally joins.

Hearing it this early in the morning only means one thing.

He’s getting ready for war.

Giorgio stops outside the door instead of following me in.

Carlo stands in front of the window with his back to me, staring out over the estate now fully illuminated by daylight. Instead of his usual leather shoulder holster carrying one handgun, he’s wearing a second holster beneath his other shoulder too.

His legs are spread apart slightly, arms crossed over his chest, looking like a watchful predator standing over his territory.