AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter One: Justice
The afterglow of the setting sun bathed our Miami hideout in a warm, golden light. I sat on the worn leather couch, surrounded by the familiar faces of my makeshift family: Skylar, Zane, Hassan, and Bash—Sebastian "Bash" Rivera, leader of the Miami Knives and guardian of young Sebastian Jesse Rivera, who was currently napping in his room.
They were talking business while I played around on my phone, barely paying attention to what they were saying. This had become part of my nightly routine; listening to the men I loved strategize, talk about business and make plans.
I took a sip of my green tea and looked up at them when I realized that they had stopped talking.
They were all looking at me. I straightened up, running my hand through my hair. “No, I still haven’t decided on the cake,” I said as Bash’s gaze bore into me.
He smiled, his green eyes shining. “No,” he said. “That’s not…we need to talk to you about something.”
“We?” I asked, swinging my legs off the couch. “Doesn’t sound wedding related.”
His gaze caught Zane’s, just for a second. “It’s not,” he said. "Remember when Alicia died, and we brought Sebastian here from West Palm Beach? He was living with her parents at the time.”
“Yeah, like a year ago,” I said. “Of course I remember.”
That period had been one of heartbreak and adjustment for all of us, but especially for Bash, who had taken on the role of Sebastian's guardian without hesitation. We’d had to postpone the wedding, but it had been worth it.
"Right," Bash continued, taking a deep breath. "Well, it turns out there's more to Alicia's past than any of us knew.”
“What?”
“Yeah, so I don’t know how we missed this,” Bash said. “She was some sort of mafia princess.”
My heart dropped into my stomach as the words echoed through the room. A heavy silence fell over us, only broken by Skylar's incredulous laugh. "You're joking, right?"
"Unfortunately not," Zane interjected, his eyes focused on me. "Alicia was part of the De Luca family, one of the most powerful crime syndicates in the world."
I shook my head. “I don’t understand. How is it possible that we didn’t know this? Is this why they returned Sebastian to you? I’m trying to wrap my head around this and I just like…okay, walk me through all of this.”
Bash leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "We're still piecing it together ourselves. But from what we can tell, Alicia was the daughter of Vito De Luca, the head of the De Luca family. She ran away when she was a teenager and built a new life for herself here in Miami, away from the mafia. That's why we never knew."
He paused, glancing over at Zane again before continuing. "The De Lucas must have tracked her down after she died. They want to take Sebastian back because they see him as heir to their empire. But now..."
"I guess I get that. But why give him back after they had him? That's the part I can't wrap my head around," I said.
"Right, so they said their businesses were failing at the time, and they couldn't keep up with a baby," Bash said. "Which we both understood. But on doing a little more research, it looks like they might have been targeted by another gang. So they brought him here to keep him safe."
I shook my head. "Okay, two things," I said. "Thing number one, how did you find this out? Thing number two, why do Alicia's parents want to take him back if they brought him here for a reason?"
Bash exchanged a glance with Zane before answering my questions. His expression was serious, his jaw clenched. "We found out because someone from the De Luca family contacted me anonymously. At least they said they were from the De Luca family," he explained. "They wanted to make sure Sebastian was safe and away from their grasp. They knew we would protect him."
Zane chimed in, his voice low and measured. "As for why they want him back now, it's most likely because they've gotten their affairs in order. The threat they faced has been dealt with, and now they're ready to reclaim what they believe is rightfully theirs."
I felt a surge of anger bubble up inside me. How dare these people think they have any claim over Sebastian? He was ours, a part of our family. He was also a child. Still in diapers. Not a fucking pawn in any mafia games.
Bash leaned closer, his intense gaze never wavering. "We're not giving him up," he said firmly. "Sebastian belongs with us."
I nodded, tears stinging my eyes as I imagined the life that awaited Sebastian if the De Luca family were to claim him. He was only two years old, innocent and pure, completely unaware of the darkness lurking within his own bloodline. He didn’t know what his father had been like, what his mother had been like.
He only knew us, and we weren’t perfect, but we tried our damndest.
"Promise me that we'll fight for him, Bash," I whispered, my voice shaking. "No matter what happens, we have to protect him from this."
“I don’t have to promise you anything. I will die before I let them take that kid away from us.”
“So what do we know about them?” Hassan asked, his bare feet on the coffee table. “I figure the more information we have, the easier it’ll be to take them down.”
