Free By Any Other Name by J. M. Darhower Page A

motioned toward the guys in similar red shirts, flanking Enzo. "Carl and Roy. Tweedledum and Tweedledee. Barsanti street soldiers."
    "And the other?" she pressed, holding her breath as she waited for his answer. Dear God, let him be a neighbor. He can move. Let him be an old friend. Friendships die. Anything except what she feared her brother was about to say.
    "Matteo," he said, voice as cold as ice. "Matteo Barsanti."
    Her chest burned at the confirmation. She felt like she was going to puke. Matteo Barsanti. Matty-B . Adverse emotions flooded her system, her mind frantically racing, trying to make sense of it all as she recounted everything he had said to her the night before.
    How could it be that he was one of them ?
    Had he known, she wondered? Watching him, seeing how at ease he seemed, how cheerful he was, she couldn't stop the sensation of betrayal that seeped into her bloodstream like poison. Devastation made her knees shake. The way he had looked at her, seeing through her, like he was reading her… had this boy, this seemingly perfect creature she stumbled upon, been playing her the entire time?
    "Oh God," she gasped. What had she said? What had she told him about her family? She had spilled her soul to him so easily, and the whole time he was one of them.
    Had he really hustled her ?
    "Guess the long lost son has returned," Dante said. "I was starting to wonder if he was even still alive. It's been a while since he showed his face around here."
    "How do you know it's him?" Genna's voice was barely a strained whisper. It could still be a mistake, right? A big misunderstanding?
    Please let it be a misunderstanding .
    "Oh, I know," Dante said, not an ounce of wavering. "Trust me… I know the enemy when I see it."
    Enzo turned then, his elated expression deteriorating when he caught sight of Dante and her. The guys at his side, attuned to their surroundings, quickly took notice of their presence. Matty's expression twisted with confusion at the sudden shift as he followed their gaze straight to them down the block.
    Genna inhaled sharply the instant his eyes connected with hers, her chest constricting, treacherous sensations twisting her gut. He was a Barsanti. He was one of them. She should have been disgusted. She should've been consumed by hate. But looking at him, all she could feel were those butterflies.
    Fucking tummy-fluttering butterflies that raised hell the moment his face lit up with a genuine smile at the sight of her. The breath left her lungs in a whoosh, strangling her. She watched, everything in painful slow motion, as Enzo leaned toward him and whispered something. She could see his lips moving, could practically make out the bitter word that made Matty's expression plummet.
    'Galante.'
    As much as Genna's family hated theirs, she knew they hated hers, too. They hated the Galantes just as much. And taking in his appearance, the way he blinked rapidly, shoulders tensing, eyes widening with disbelief, she knew… this was the face of a man who had just been knocked on his ass as hard as she had been a moment ago.
    "Come on," Dante said, grabbing her arm and pulling on it, forcing her to take a few steps backward. "We're getting out of here. I'm not risking it."
    "Not risking it?" she asked, grudgingly pulling her gaze away from Matty to turn around as her brother continued to drag her away. "You never retreat."
    "If you weren't here, no problem, but I'm not putting you in harm’s way."
    She scoffed. "I'm not afraid."
    "You should be," he said, his voice low as he cut his eyes at her. "Do you know what they'd do to you, Genna? Those people… those Barsantis? They're fucking savages. How many times has Dad told you that?"
    Practically every day of her young life. "What are they going to do, kill me? Right here, in the middle of a busy neighborhood, in broad daylight?"
    Dante's footsteps stopped abruptly, his grasp on her tightening. "No, Genna, they won't kill you. They won't just kill you, anyway.