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Ducking out from behind him, Elvira saw who’d walked into the apartment, and her knees weakened so badly she swayed into Mattia for support.

Her shock couldn’t have been greater than his.

Elio had indeed brought Bruno with him, but there was no army. The only other person with them was Siena.

It was Siena who was glaring at the meatheads. “I said leave us. Wait outside.”

When they still didn’t move, Siena glared at her brother, who gave a short nod for them to obey.

They filed out obediently, leaving the two Esposito siblings with the three Ranieri siblings, their stances like two sides of very small armies sizing each other up and trying to work out what the hell the rules of engagement were.

But the divides were all mixed up, Elvira thought dazedly, and as she stared with rising bewilderment at her brothers flanking Siena, she noticed the gleam of the wedding ring on Elio’s finger, and her gaze fell on the ring Siena was wearing.

God, no, she thought. They couldn’t have, surely…?

The last time she’d seen Elio had been three days ago. His wedding finger had been bare. His marriage had been over, just as it had always been destined once the Ranieris had taken the prize they’d spent all those decades fighting for.

Sure, she’d sensed Elio had fallen in love with Siena, but what the hell did that matter? When it came to loyalty, feelings meant nothing. Siena was an Esposito! Coming here together, united, an Esposito and a Ranieri united?

She met Bruno’s implacable stare and her heart filled with ice.

Good God, Bruno was with them, too. He was really with them. Whatever was going on, he was on their side of the divide.

And she’d thought she’d been the traitor with her feelings for Mattia? At least her loyalty to her family and her parents’ memory had never been in question.

“What the hell is going on?” Mattia asked his sister tightly.

Never in his wildest dreams had he expected his baby sister to walk through the door.

Siena’s stare was as tight as his voice. “We’re here to talk and bring this – all of this – to an end.”

“We…?” Understanding suddenly hit him. “You’re working with him?”

“Yes. We’re working together, and it’s not just me. Tommaso and Rico know I’m here. They wanted to be here too, but they agreed their presence would only add to tensions.” Her smile was faint. “You kidnapped a Ranieri, which suggests you’ve gone nuclear. Tommaso never needs an excuse to go nuclear”

“If I’d gone nuclear, you’d know about it, and if I wanted a bloodbath, I’d have created one,” he told her tautly. “When I took Elvira, Elio was ten feet in front of me and oblivious to what was happening. His sister was taken right in front of him, and he saw nothing. I could have killed them both, but I didn’t because I was fighting for our mother’s freedom and to get the Esposito Group back for us. He took them from us. He took everything from us. How the hell can you be working with him?”

She didn’t flinch or drop her stare. “Because he’s my husband, and I love him, and I want this war to be over.”

It felt like he’d been sucker-punched. From Elvira’s flinch beside him, he knew she’d just been sucker-punched too.

“You love him?” he asked incredulously. “How the hell can you love this asshole? He tricked you into marrying him, saying that would stop our families fighting another war, and all along he was plotting to take everything from us! He’s ruined us, ruined everything our parents built, and you say you love him!”

“Come on, Mattia, you know why he did what he did! You know what our parents did! It was wrong, wrong, wrong, but we’re the ones paying the price for their sins. This is our chance to draw a line in the sand and start over.”

“Start over as what?” he demanded.

It was one thing deciding to ensure Elvira walked out of this alive, but this was a whole different ball game. Elio was a snake, and a deadly one at that.

“Friends?” he supplied scathingly. “Partners? Whatever he’s feeding you is a lie. We can’t trust him. You know that! I don’t know what kind of damned spell he’s put you under, but…”

“Do you know why Elio didn’t notice his sister being kidnapped only feet away from him?” Siena interrupted. “It was because he was seconds away from beating the shit out of Stefano for sexually assaulting me when I was fourteen.”

For the second time in the space of a minute, Mattia’s sister had sucker-punched him, this time into horrified silence.

Siena’s blue eyes filled with tears, but she didn’t lose the strength in her voice. “Our family’s most loyal soldier assaulted me when I was little more than a child. Our mother knew. I told her, and instead of letting our father deal with him in the way we both know he would have done for daring to touch me like that, she made me keep my mouth shut. She made damned sure he never touched me again, but what the hell did that matter when I had to see him every damned day, knowing my safety and peace of mind had been sacrificed on the altar of Stefano’s loyalty to our father and our family? Where was the loyalty to me? Elio did what our mother should have let our father do. Elio did that because he loves me and would do anything to protect me and keep me safe, and I would trust him with my life.”

Mattia could feel Elvira’s shock thrumming through her body as powerfully as it vibrated through his own, and it took a long time to collect his thoughts enough to hoarsely say, “He assaulted you? Stefano assaulted you?” He shook his swimming head. “Why didn’t you tell me?”