Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 76501 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 383(@200wpm)___ 306(@250wpm)___ 255(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76501 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 383(@200wpm)___ 306(@250wpm)___ 255(@300wpm)
I’ll die here in this room instead.
Chapter 4
Luca
“I’ll bet ten grand that girl won’t put on the ring.” Tony kicks his feet up and smirks at me. “Shit, make it twenty.”
“I’m not in the mood.” I pace back and forth along the edge of the swimming pool behind my rural Sicilian house. We’re twenty minutes from the nearest town, an hour from the nearest big city, and a walk down to the cliffs overlooking the sea. It’s secluded and it’s safe. “Have you heard from New York?” It’s been a few hours since I left Kacia alone, and I’m expecting someone from the Famiglia to reach out.
“Not yet and I haven’t tried checking in.” Tony takes a long pull on a cheap Italian beer. “I figured you’d want me to wait.”
“I appreciate the discretion.”
“But, Luca, we’ve got to be careful. I know some of those Greek crime lords or whatever they call themselves started talking peace treaty with you, but they still have some muscle on their side, and they’re in an alliance with the Novalov Bratva.”
“The Novalov won’t move against us, not with the girl under our control, and the rest of the Greeks will be too busy fighting each other to care. No, Tony, we’re safe from them. It’s my father we have to worry about.”
He takes a deep breath and lets it out. “You think Fio’s okay?”
I don’t look at him. I stare at the swimming pool and my hands curl to fists. I scuff the concrete with my shoe and curse under my breath. What the fuck do I care about Fio? He tried to kill Kacia when I told him not to do it. He deserved what he got.
“He’s strong. It wasn’t a death shot. He’ll survive it.” I’m not sure if that’s true, but Tony seems to accept it.
I look up at the second-floor corner bedroom. We call it the interrogation room and I can’t count how many men and women have been kept in there for days and weeks until we broke them and extracted all the information we needed. That room is hell for my enemies, but for her? I can’t decide if it’s a prison or a tomb.
She chose the bullet, but what else could she say?
My organization killed her whole family. I stole her from the only life she’s ever known.
She needs to understand that if she wants to survive this, she needs to play along. Otherwise, she’ll force my hand.
Killing her will be ugly and I don’t want to do it. But I’m beginning to think I have no other choice.
But fuck, after all this time, after all these jobs, these kills, these poor tortured victims, how can I think life is anything but a series of choices? All we have are decisions.
Niccolo appears in the back door and waves the house phone at me. “You got a call,” he says.
“Who is it?”
“Carlos. He sounds pissed.”
I curse under my breath. Carlos is my father’s consigliere and tightest advisor, but at least it isn’t my father himself. I walk over and take the phone from Niccolo then head deeper into the kitchen, away from where my men might overhear.
“Carlos. It’s Luca.”
“Luca, where have you been? You missed the check-in.”
I glance at my watch and he’s right, I’m a few hours late. “Things didn’t go as planned.”
“Don’t say over the phone, this line isn’t secure.” He lets out a long breath. “But you’re okay?”
“I’m fine.”
“And the job?”
“The job is still ongoing.”
He’s quiet for a second. “I’m not sure what that means, but I’ll trust you’re handling it.”
“Tell them I’m handling it.” He knows who I mean. My father and his capos.
“Listen, Luca, I called for another reason.” He clears his throat, sounds uncomfortable. “Your father’s going in for a procedure. It’s not a huge deal—”
“Procedure? What the fuck does that mean?”
“It’s a medical thing. For his fucking heart. Doctors say he’ll be okay—”
“Carlos,” I growl, grip tightening on the phone. “What the fuck?”
“It’s a valve replacement, but it’s okay, all right? He’ll be okay.”
“When the hell did my father need a heart valve replacement?”
“We’ve known for a while. You know how it is, Luca. Your father can’t show weakness and we had to keep it quiet, but now that he’s heading into the hospital, I thought you might need to know.”
I shake my head and rip a knife from the block. I stare at the blade, at the silver light glittering off the metal. My father is a rock, a solid man, healthy as a horse. The thought of him getting surgery on his heart is too much for me to handle right now, especially with Kacia upstairs and very much alive.
If I show up with the girl wearing my ring, my father’s heart might actually fail.
“Glad you finally told me,” I say and shove the knife back. “Send papa my love and all that.”