Page 1 of War Within
Hana, my friend, my amazing editor. Thank you for the time you put in to my all my projects. I cannot thank you enough for all you do for me aside from our weird and amazing friendship. Thank you with all my heart.
My agent Sarah and assistant Alicia. You both go above and beyond, every day to ensure my high standards are met. Thank you for always putting in so much effort behind the scenes and meeting with me during insane hours.
Cedric, I could not have done my cover or the series the justice it deserved without your kindness, support, and blessing. I will always feel so humbled by this and grateful for you.
My ARCs, street team, my social media connections, and everyone who has been promoting this, I thank you all! My ARCs are rockstars. There are too many of you to name, but I love you.
Finally, the once upon a time of this book I rarely discuss anymore. The Episode people who waited almost three years for me to resurrect a little idea I had on an app and give it a real story. I hope you enjoy it in all its glory! For those of you who were faithful and stuck around, I appreciate you and always will.
My life was anything but routine. By day, I owned abillion dollar investment firm. By night, I was Don Giovanni, boss of the Rovati Crime Family, and father of two. Their mother and I were no longer together, which was not something I cared about any longer. Our kids were older, making it easier on them. My ex, Abrielle, had her life, and I had mine.
My family immigrated to New York from Rome, Italy, when I was twenty. Per my father’s orders, as eldest, I inherited both the illegal and legal businesses upon his death. I did not want the responsibility at first, but, I did not have much time to process what was expected of me.
Though our family was one of theBig Fivecrime families in New York, we were also the most discreet in our affairs. Our family had the lowest arrest rate because my men were not foolish. The few who did end up behind bars, did not speak. They took the oath seriously. They knew they would be slaughtered the instant they were freed if the slightest detail escaped their lips.
Today it felt as if the meetings would never end, but I finally had time to reply to some emails. As I scrolled through, skimming over the less important, I came across one that required immediate attention. Pushing away from my desk, I paced my office for a moment. My gaze caught the movement of my younger brothers, busy with their own tasks.
“Everything okay?” Emilio slid his phone in his pocket. “What happened?” Skewing his head, he found his reflection in a nearby mirror, and promptly adjusted his pricey suit. The lack of interest in his tone proved he was more fascinated in admiring himself. He ran his fingers through his jet-black, slicked-back undercut hair before tugging on his suit jacket, stroking his ego.
Ignoring him, I turned toward the door, crossing my arms over my chest. “Jean! Get in here, now!”
“Her name is Jane.” Luca, my youngest brother, dared to correct me.
Just as I was about to whirl around and shoot him a scowl, my personal assistant came barreling through the door. My eyes widened as I watched her smooth her business attire, unsure why she was gasping for air. Her gaze trailed over Luca first, then Emilio. Sluggishly, she provided me her full attention.
“Yes, sir?” She pushed her black-frame glasses further up the bridge of her nose, shifting her weight uneasily.
Raking my gaze from her petite ankles to her messy bun, I arched a brow, noticing she appeared much more unkempt than when she arrived to work that morning. “What took you so long?”
“Hmph?” She wobbled her head abruptly, as if she were distracted in my presence. “Sorry, Mr. Rovati. What was the question?”
“What took you so long?” I cocked my head ever so slightly, uncertain why she was behaving scatterbrained. It was unlike her.
“Oh.” Neck stretched, she peeked over my shoulder.
Lifting my chin, I followed her nervous gape to Emilio, who was frozen, his arms folded over his chest as he scowled at her. It then occurred to me, she was uncomfortable in the presence of the one person who most disliked anyone outside the family.
Emilio was suspicious of essentially everyone. They were guilty until proven innocent. So, it came as no surprise that he never liked my personal assistant, regardless of her loyalty to the company. He always glared at her as if he were trying to telepathically set her on fire. To be honest, that is how he looked at most people.
“Emil.”
Reluctantly, he peeled his gaze from her, focusing on mine. Offering a subtle eye flicker, I exhaled deeply in frustration. I reverted my attention to her.
“I was trying to finish my work for the day.” She stroked her forearm, gently.
“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about.” I ambled to my desk, grabbing a document from the endless stack that awaited me every day. “I have a new project for you, and it has a deadline.”
“Sure,” she bowed her head, avoiding eye contact. “I’ll just get started on it first thing in the morning.”
Emilio snorted, triggering my head to snap up. Once again, his eyes were burning a hole through her. This time, he did not bother to avert his gaze, judging her every move, her every word.
Luca was now smirking while sipping on a glass of whiskey, perched on the arm of the couch in the sitting area. He was always incredibly civil, sometimes too civil, until provoked. Then, he was unpredictable as he loved to play with his prey, tormenting them until they begged for death. He did not trust many people either, but he was somehow more accepting of sharing oxygen with someone outside the family.
“Like I said, it has a deadline. Make some coffee for yourself and pull an all-nighter.” I slapped a stack of papers against her chest. “Take these. I forwarded you a few emails earlier as well. I need you to start immediately. You don’t become successful by sitting on your ass. You work at all hours to ensure job stability.”
Wow!I realized I had just given her the same lecture my father gave me before he passed away. Maybe it was because I remembered she once told me she wanted to be powerful one day.
“Sure.” She offered a faint nod, uncertainty tinted her face. “I’ll start on it tonight after dinner.”
