Page 37 of Mischief Mayhem
Leo threw back his head and laughed, clapping. “Very nice, my friend. I’m happy for you. Are you going to see her again?”
Ignoring the way friend sounded coming out of his mouth, I nodded and smiled. “Tonight.”
“This is a good thing for you,” Leo said. “You look ten times lighter than yesterday.”
Before I could respond, voices echoed from outside and footsteps pounded on the stairs leading to the door. I turned as Saint walked through, the quiet brother nodding before glancing at Leo, who was still seated in the living room.
A small brunette came in next, wearing expensive black trousers and a matching blouse, her feet shoved into six-inch red-bottomed stilettos despite the threat of snow today. Her long hair hung down to the middle of her back, and when her gaze shifted to me, I understood what Leo had meant. Her sneer could penetrate Fort Knox. She reeked of old money and privilege, and the way she assessed me then immediately dismissed me reminded me of pre-surgery Leo. I didn’t need to know they were siblings to see the family resemblance. If he’d been born a woman, they might have been twins.
“Leo!” Julia gasped and rushed to her brother, throwing her designer purse on the sofa so she could wrap her arms around his neck.
Bear walked in behind her, closing the door before giving me a glare like the woman had done nothing but annoy him the entire drive here. I stuffed away the memories of what I’d done to his sister and what she’d done to me last night, focusing on the present. We were here to discuss the terms of a truce. Leo had wanted to get his sister’s opinion before agreeing to anything, and if all went well here, the next step would be to get Crow on board with a compromise.
“How was the trip?” I asked Bear.
“Fucking terrible,” he whispered. “She’s more Caputi than he is, not in a good way.”
I chuckled and patted him on the back. “You’re here now.”
“Yeah,” he said, rubbing his hands over his face. “Let’s just get this over with.”
We walked into the living room while they were still catching up.
“Look at you,” Julia said, cupping her brother’s face. “You’re a mess.” She rambled in Italian while she fussed over her brother’s hair before pointing at the wrappings on his knee. “What is that?” She turned to me and shoved my chest. “What did you do to him?”
I held up my hands and stepped back, making a show of solidarity.
“Hey!” Bear stepped in front of me, leaning down so he was in her face. “Your brother’s lucky to be alive. Quite frankly, so are you.”
She ranted in Italian, putting her hands on her hips and stepping closer to Bear, jutting her chin out to show she wasn’t going to back down from him.
Bear let her spit venom for a few moments before clapping inches from her mouth, startling her enough to shut her up.
She gasped when he answered her in Italian, and whatever he said made her cheeks turn a bright shade of pink.
Saint met my gaze and raised his eyebrows, covering his mouth with his hand while Julia and Bear argued like the rest of us weren’t here. I’d never seen anyone talk to Bear like that, and I couldn’t even understand what she was saying.
Leo chuckled and raised his eyebrows, watching the dramatic display with delight.
“Ahh,” Julia finally growled before turning to her brother. “Leo, please tell me it’s okay to . . .” She muttered something else in Italian.
He grabbed her hand, brought it to his mouth so he could kiss her knuckles, and shook his head. “No, mia sorella. Take a deep breath. They’ve been kind to me, especially that one.” Leo nodded to me. “You’ve wanted the war to end since Julian died. This is how we end it.”
She sat on the footstool next to the recliner, holding Leo’s hand while she seemingly got her emotions under control. “What does that mean?”
“Tell me about Gabriella,” Leo said. “What has been going on while I’ve been here?”
Julia licked her lips and looked at us before clearing her throat. “Uncle Frankie is getting restless. He doesn’t believe Gabriella has what it takes to lead the family.”
I didn’t know who Frankie was, but I kept my mouth shut to allow her freedom to continue. I assumed, based on what I knew about their family, Frankie must have been one of Benito’s brothers. But who knew with the fucking Caputis; they bred like rabbits.
“Stefano wants to make a bid for himself, but everyone knows that will end in more bloodshed.” Julia shook her head and brushed away a tear. “If you go down this route, you will surely have Bianca and Gia on your side, and perhaps some of the underbosses.”
Leo balanced his chin on his thumb, rubbing his index finger over his lips while he considered this.
“And if we take out the others?” Bear asked, glancing between the two of them.
Julia opened her mouth before closing it and shaking her head. “I won’t do that. Any drop of Caputi blood spilled is too much. They will not follow you if you take out any of our kin besides Gabriella.”