Chapter 36 Foolproof Plans
Russo
I force myself to keep a neutral expression and kneel before the seven-year-old, holding out the ball. He takes it with shaking fingers.
"Hey, buddy," I say. "Were you going to hit me in the face with that?" He shakes his head and swallows quietly.
"No, Cousin Enzo."
"Good. Because if you did, you're a terrible shot. It's okay to want to punch me in the face, but if you're going to do it, you need to do it right."
He tilts his head, hesitant, and I sigh.
"We talked about this, Matthew. You don't have to be afraid of me. I'm your cousin. Family. We protect each other. And sometimes we want to beat each other up. But that's okay."
"That would have sounded a lot better if you hadn't killed his father six months ago," a voice said.
Rolling my eyes, I sighed again and rose to my feet. My gaze immediately meets the icy blue eyes of Isabella Russo.
"Hello, my cousin. How's your day going?" I say with false enthusiasm. "Couldn't you say things like that in front of a child?"
"Why not?" Isa shrugs. "He knows the truth."
She gestures for Matthew to come over, and he immediately does, hiding behind his trusted cousin. I can't blame them for treating me this way, but there comes a point when you have to give a guy some leeway.
"I didn't kill his father," I declare.
Isa tilts her head to the side, her expression cold.
"No, you just delegated your dirty work to someone else. Coward," she spits.
My jaw clenches. I have good self-control, but over the past few months, Isabella has gotten pretty good at pushing my buttons.
A tense silence falls as I stare at her, but it's quickly broken when Jason enters the living room. He takes in the atmosphere, raising an eyebrow.
"Can we spend one ordinary morning in this house without feeling like World War III is about to break out?"
"Shut up, Jason," Isabella snaps before leaving, taking the child with her.
I watch them go, wondering when I'll ever get over my cousins. Or if I should at all. Whatever they think, I have nothing against them. I came back for my family. And they're a part of that. I'm here to protect them, whether they realize it or not.
"You, come with me," I say to the insufferable blond.
Jason follows me up the stairs to the office on the second floor. It used to be the library, but I've converted it into my study. I refuse to use the same office my father and his brothers used in this house. I can barely even set foot in it. Jason sits down across from me, and I tell him about the woman I met last night.
"Find the footage from last night's party and find her. I want to know everything. Her name, where she's from, hell, even her credit score."
Jason scratches the back of his neck.
"Are you sure this won't be a waste of resources? I mean, you have better things to do than think about a girl you already slept with."
I stare at him.
"She said something about being careful who I ally myself with. In what world would I not have to learn that?"
"In a world where you're not a control freak," he mutters, and my eyes narrow.
Jason is the only person besides my cousins who's allowed to talk to me like that. I've known him for a long time, ever since I left home and went to London. One night, I was running late after too much to drink, and I bumped into this skinny, wiry English guy with blond hair and sunken cheeks.
He managed to steal my wallet and phone, which was impressive enough. What he didn't know was that I'm pretty good at tracking down my belongings.
I found him and held him at gunpoint, but instead of begging for his life, he smirked at me and told me to take the kill shot. He was the kind of fearless man you don't see every day, so I decided to keep him around.
He became the closest person in the world to me. He's an idiot, but he's irreplaceable. Without Jason, I wouldn't be where I am today.
"Don't make me repeat myself."
"Okay, I get it," he says with a sigh. "I'll find your girlfriend. Did you get a response from De Luca?"
I nod.
Roman agreed to the meeting. He's suspicious as hell, which is downright annoying."
"Good question," I mutter. "At least now I have something to bargain with."
"Let's hope he takes the bait."
"He will," I declare with complete confidence.
Jason leaves, and I spend the rest of my day trying to restore my family's crumbling empire, while simultaneously putting the finishing touches on my plan to ensure it goes off without a hitch.
Unfortunately, even the most foolproof plans can ultimately backfire. People can be fickle. And while I can control most events, I cannot control a person's mind or actions.
I'm sure Roman will be easy to convince. But his sister, that's a whole other problem.