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“The first thing you need to understand is that things aren’t always what they seem. Yes we are Luna’s and we are high-ranking members of Los Diablos but that doesn’t mean that we want to be nor do we participate in anything required of us, happily. We hate our father, Isabella. We have our entire lives. He is not a good man, he never has been. But after our mother was killed, he changed. He became worse than any of us could imagine,” Gage shakes his head and looks down at his glass as he rolls it in his large hand.
“How old were you?”
“Madd was 9 and I was 14,” he grunts as though the words taste bad in his mouth.
“What happened?” I murmur, almost too nervous to ask, unsure if it’s crossing a line. But, this is what we signed up for. Open and honest.
“She was killed by the original family who ran the city during one of the inner circle’s meetings. Shot in the head, gone before she hit the ground,” Gage mumbles.
I gasp. “Fuck, I am so sorry for your loss.”
The boys just shrug and nod. We sit in silence for a moment as I let them process whatever emotions that information brought up. When Gage finally looks back up at me, I continue.
“What’s the inner circle? Who was the original family?” I ask gently, though I'm confused as hell.
“That’s a long story, baby girl,” Maddox adds, finally speaking.
“I’ve got nowhere to go and nothing but time. I’m on lockdown remember,” I joke awkwardly, trying to dispel some of the tension that’s taken them over. When they don’t laugh, I sober. “If you guys aren’t comfortable talking about your mom, it’s okay. We don’t have to right now.”
“It’s not that. It’s just a lot of information but I guess some backstory might help you understand. Just remember that we were children when a lot of this went down and the majority of it was before we were even born,” Gage sighs and Maddox continues.
“Not to mention that since we were kids, we weren’t involved or included so most of this story is secondhand. A lot of the information comes from Augustus ranting over the years or conversations we’ve heard in passing. So take it for what you will.”
I nod in understanding. Gage finishes off his drink and it’s then that I realize he’s brought the whole bottle. He tops off both his and Madds’ drink then leans back into the couch.
“Right, so, most all big cities are run by some sort of largely known organized criminal groups, such as the Mafia or Cartel. Most of them have run that area for a very long time. For example, the Italian Mafia, also known as the Cosa Nostra runs New York. They also have Vegas. They have operated and run those cities since before I was born. The Diaz Cartel currently has Mexico and has even spread to Florida. Cartels and Mafias have international ties so their families and connections cross over borders and oceans which makes them powerful. They run different trades like weapons, drugs, and human trafficking. It’s not like you see in old movies where they are running Ponzi schemes and simple prostitution. It’s so much bigger now.”
“And so much worse,” Maddox mutters.
“Understand so far, Cariño?” Gage asks. I finish off my mimosa and set the empty glass on the table. Gage offers me another but I pass, opting for a bottle of water since I'm still on pain killers.
“Yes, I get it. So Los Diablos is that for San Francisco?”
“Yes and no. They are now. But it wasn’t always that way. The original family was The Moreau’s. They wereLes Beaux Voyous, or The French Mob. They originated in Corsica but in the 60s, some of them immigrated to California and they took over the city. It began with just racketeering, gambling, horse races, and flipping money. Basic shit. But it grew and so did their empire. Since they had a lot of family overseas, they did well and had a fuck ton of support and connections. Our father moved here from Mexico as a kid with his parents. Our grandfather knew the Moreau’s and he was quickly pulled into their world. Gus was raised around it and knew the Godfather at the time who is basically the dude in charge. His name was Sacha Moreau,” Maddox says before leaning over and wrapping his arm around me. I snuggle into his side, offering him the support he may need for this. Or maybe it’s the support I need.
“Sacha was a ruthless bastard but he was smart as hell. He went from gambling to running a massive heroin trade. At the time, heroin was just becoming a thing. A lot of Americans were getting hooked and Marseille, France is where the Corsicans got their massive supply. They brought it here at the request of the Mafia and everything just went from there. The French Mob’s presence grew, the Mafia grew, and heroin addiction grew. Everyone was making a fuck ton of money, Americans suffered but the rich just kept getting richer. Power feeds power. And Sacha, he fucking loved the power. I’m not talking shit about the man in that sense because I didn’t really know him and honestly, our father isn’t any better. They are two sides of the same coin,” Gage shrugs and takes another swallow. How he’s not drunk, I have no idea. I would be.
“What happened to Sacha?” I ask, totally enthralled by the story. I had no idea it all went so deep.
“He died from cancer I think, when I was around two or three. Then his eldest son took over but he was killed a few years later so the second son took over and he was also killed within his first year of taking his place as Godfather,” Maddox murmurs, pulling me in more snugly against him.
“Holy shit. Was anyone left? Who was killing the family off?”
“No one knows exactly. It could have been any of their rivals, competing drug cartels, the Cosa Nostra,” Maddox shrugs.
“And yes, Sacha’s youngest daughter was the last Moreau left. Besides his brother who was still back in Corsica at the time running their home operation. Sacha’s daughter was young at the time. I think maybe around 22 or something. She was kind of the black sheep of the family. Didn’t participate in her father’s plans, didn’t listen or heed his word or follow orders. She married an outsider which was extremely forbidden but her father had already died and the rest of the family was unable to control her. Her husband was a nobody. A low life, druggie who was in debt. They met in college and she was already on a bad path and he made it worse. When she took over as the Godmother, the last of the Moreau’s, she took a good system, a well-oiled machine, and destroyed it,” Gage growls out, tension radiating off of him.
I don’t know why I do what I do next, except that it feels right. I get up from my position nestled against Maddox and walk around to the large rattan chair Gage is sitting on and drop down onto his lap. Without missing a beat, his arms band around my waist and he settles me more comfortably on him. He smiles up at me and presses a lingering kiss to the front of my throat before he continues.
“Her name was Charlotte and her husband’s name was Miles Vega. They ranLes Beaux Voyousfor four years before shit hit the fan. I don’t know the exact details but I know that a meeting was called to take a vote. Charlotte and her husband wanted the Circle to vote in on something controversial but the Circle almost unanimously voted no. A fight broke out, arguments turned into physical fights. I guess it had all been accumulating for quite some time. She was unstable and her husband was crazy and violent. Her husband pulled out a gun and aimed it at Gus and our mother jumped in front of him. She was shot in the head and died immediately. Gus retaliated and it turned into a bloodbath.”
“The meeting room was in the Moreau’s home, in a separate wing they had for business. Us kids were almost always there waiting for our parents in the den on the other side of the house. We were there that night, watching a movie in the theater room so we didn’t hear the gunfight. But then the explosion went off,” Maddox adds with a dark look that is so unlike him.
“Explosion?” I gasp.
“Yeah, Cariño. The meeting room was next to their armory. One of the bullets hit some sort of explosive in the armory when Miles had gone in for more weapons. It was just a small explosion at first, but then the fire ignited everything else. Bombs, ammo, grenades. It was huge. How anyone lived, I don’t know. We heard the blast and flew out of the room, only to be intercepted by Gus. He and a few of the surviving circle members pulled all of us kids out.”
“So, these Moreau’s. They killed your mother and what, initiated a coup? Or just an all-out killing spree? Who all died? You guys were all there?” All of the questions flying through my brain come out in rapid succession. This is like a fucking movie, but worse, because it’s their lives. Their mom.
