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“See ya real soon, Boneiro. We’ll be watching your every move.” Jared glanced briefly at Isabella. “And Marco’s for that matter.”
“You’re wasting your time, Commander Bates. I strongly suggest you stay away from my family. You and your kind have caused enough inconvenience of late to last me a lifetime.”
Isabella watched them leave. An inscrutable expression, layered and shaped by a lifetime of experiences, lingered on her face to reveal nothing more than its own mystery.
“So, they are the very same men who raided the dinner party at Malibu Colony Beach?”
Luca glanced sharply at her. He hadn’t realized she’d known the reason why they had to go into hiding in Sierra Leone for the past couple of months.
“Don’t give me that look, Luca. I married into the Mafia at a young age. I know every operational detail the Five Families are involved in, sex trade included.” Her lips thinned. “I’m also aware that your father was a regular at the parties over the years.”
“And you’re okay with that?” Luca was stumped at the chilling smile on her face and he questioned whether he truly knew his mother. The past thirty minutes had exposed a side of her he had never before encountered.
“When you’re the wife of one of the most feared Bosses in the United States, you learn to accept every aspect of that life, my son. If ever the day comes when you decide to marry, be sure you’ve chosen a woman who knows exactly what kind of life she’s letting herself in for.”
“I hardly think I’ll follow in his—”
“Don’t fool yourself, Luca. Your father made the same promises when he got involved with the Mafia… and he broke every one of them in the first year as he ascended through the ranks. In the end, all that matters is one’s reputation which comes from wielding enormous power over all those in the organization.” She smirked. “You too, will follow in his footsteps. Gmphf, what am I saying? You’ve already made your mark as a feared leader. Any woman who agrees to take the vow of marriage with you, will also know she’s marrying into the Mafia. There is no distinction between the two.
Luca didn’t respond. He knew she was right but he had no intention of indulging in holy matrimony, especially not to secure his position as the Boss. He had become besotted with the reflection of his own image as a scoundrel— the appeal of being a dangerous man. His preference for the single life and its concomitant pleasures were well known. It was part of the makeup of him as a man, of him as the future leader of the Five Families. It was time for change in The Commission and he was the perfect man to make it happen. The time of Mafia Dons, usually Roman Catholic, married with family to give the impression of normalcy when in fact they were misogynists and suffered from the Madonna/Whore syndrome, was over. The future he envisioned would bring them into the modern world… and with that, more power.
His chest swelled at the thought. For the first time in years he was close to achieving his goal to unseat his father and make him pay for what he did to Angelo. Victory was so close, he could taste it: Luca Boneiro, the feared and powerfulcapo di tutti capi— the boss of all bosses— of the Cosa Nostra.
“Now.” Isabella’s acidic voice broke through his reverie. “I want to know everything about Jared Bates and The Cobras.”
“Come now, Mother. Surely that’s not why you came here?”
“No, but since he was here upon my arrival I need you to satisfy my curiosity.”
Luca studied her intently but her expression remained blank as she returned his look, waiting with well-practiced patience.
He couldn’t trust that she had given up on the belief that Jared was her son Angelo. One way or another, he had to cure her of that suspicion or his plans could fall flat before he had the opportunity to implement them.
If there was anything truthful at all to be said about Luca Boneiro, it was that once he set his mind to something, he would let nothing stand in his way to achieving success.
Not his father and now… not even his mother.
Chapter Sixteen
“In a terrible flash, the very heart of the seat of government was torn away from the rest of the city. Moments earlier, a child had walked the street, and then there was only blood, crumbling walls and a sense that all that was good in the universe had died.”
“Jesus, another one?” Jordan's voice trembled as they watched the woman reporting from a scene of devastation at the Civic Center in San Francisco. The panorama of horrific destruction appeared on the large monitor on the wall of the Operations room at The Cobra Headquarters. She stared in shock at blood-soaked pedestrians stumbling about in confusion behind the reporter. “Oh, my God, that plaza has a playground for children and it was flattened!”
“Ground Zero must’ve been the Federal Building,” Brock said. He massaged the tension from Jordan’s shoulders where he stood behind her chair to offer her some comfort. Keeping his emotions under control required a mammoth effort as he stared at the devastation on the screen.
“Yeah, and in the process they destroyed the Farmer’s Market, the UN Plaza shopping mall and the Public Library.” Paxton leaned against Jared as they watched the footage of the bombed-out city center.
“That’s the third fucking bomb in a week, Jared. We have to do something,” Chaz growled. He cringed at the sight of the numerous black body bags lined up on the sidewalks. “So many dead.”
“This is just unbelievable. We’re being attacked again.” Tanner peeked over Cruz’s shoulder and together they scanned the taped footage of the hours leading up to the explosion in and around the area in search of a clue as to how the bomb was detonated. So far they had used a car bomb, a suicide bomb… every time a different way to cause destruction and death. He had never felt so helpless in his entire life. One way or the other, they had to end this.
“Christ. We’re blind,” Knox said in a desperate voice. “We have no intel to act on. Not a fucking clue where the next one will go off. Have you made contact with the FBI’s field office here, Jared? We need to interface our data with theirs. We have no idea what they might know.” Her face was drained of color as she looked around helplessly.
“I have but there isn’t going to be a next one. We have to put an end to this… today.” Jared squeezed Paxton briefly. “Brock, let’s go.
“You’re going to give Luca what he wants, aren’t you?” Jordan looked at Jared over her shoulder.
“We don’t have a choice, Jordan.” Jared ran a tired hand over his face. “Everyone, every Federal law enforcement and intelligence division from the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, Treasury Department agents, the CIA— everyone has been put on alert after the first bombing. We are on a war-footing and yet no one has been able to prevent these two attacks from happening. Luca has what we need to put Abu and Fadhil behind bars.”
