“That’s Raze.”
“He’s her brother.”
“That’s a man who walked in on something he wasn’t ready to see,” Gianni corrected.“There’s a difference.”
I scoffed.
He tilted his head slightly.“You really think she chose him over you?”
“She stayed.”
“That’s not the same as choosing.”
“It looked a lot like it to me.”
Gianni shook his head slowly.“Try seeing it from her point of view, Archie.All she’s ever known is this family.Those walls.Those men.That life.”
I said nothing.
“You walked in and asked her to leave all of it behind,” he went on.“After five seconds.”
My grip tightened.
“Why should she have to choose?”he said.
The question hung there.
I frowned slightly.“What?”
“Why does it have to be him or you?”he asked.“Why not both?”
I stared at him.
“That’s not how this works.”
“It could be.”
“With Raze?”I huffed.“I doubt it.”
“He’ll come around.Eventually.”
I barked a quiet laugh.“You have more faith in your cousin than I do.”
Gianni’s mouth curved faintly.“That’s because I know him better.”
“And I don’t?”
“You know how to fight him,” Gianni said.“Not how to wait him out.”
I didn’t respond.
Because patience had never been my strength.
“Give it time,” he said.“Don’t push her into a corner and expect her to run toward you.”
I leaned back slightly, studying him.
“And in the meantime?”