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“Then my father will kill him.”
“Then so be it.”
“I can tell you’re holding something back. You can’t do that any longer, D’Artagnan. I deserve to know everything. No secrets.”
She was right. “There’s been unusual unrest in Italy. There’s talk about the Bratva attempting to take over some of the less organized syndicates. The Five Families have gotten lazy and fat in their old age. Very few new connections have been made. There’s also been little new life brought into their respective families.”
She narrowed her eyes. “No children. No heirs.”
“Exactly. The Caldones lost three sons in a warehouse explosion last year. The Rizzos only have one son plus two daughters, and while overtures have been made from families in other countries regarding alliances through marriage, so far nothing had moved forward.”
“It would seem the ItalianFamigliasneed to work together, or Italy could be overthrown by unwanted heathens. God forbid the Russians storm into the country.”
While I chuckled at her attempt to remain lighthearted, her words were the complete truth. “They should but the bad blood between them is tainted, each of the five regimes initially certain they could fight the invasion by themselves.”
“But their eyes were finally opened?”
I threw her a look. “Something like that.”
“To put it another way, the man who impregnates me could rule Italy as well as other countries, including invading a portion of the United States such as New York.”
“Absolutely, but I have a feeling you’re being used as a bargaining chip for more than just possible alliance.”
Lucia hissed. “Bratva?”
“The right situation would also bring a power shift, although with the Bratva, the game is a dangerous one to play.”
“Maybe that’s why your father wants me dead, although I still find that curious,” she said through gritted teeth, her brow furrowing. I could tell she was spinning a story of her own.
I’d thought of that before. “It is entirely possible that Franco has aligned with his cousin in the States, his arrogance not allowing him to join forces with any of the Five Families. If I remember correctly, Garza has a daughter.”
She exhaled, half laughing. “Take Italy and America at the same time. Yes, that would create a force the Bratva, the Armenians, the Irish, and the Spaniards would find nearly impossible to break. I still find it so hard to believe your father trusted you enough to kill me.”
“He acted as if it was a test of my loyalty.”
“Then maybe Enzo had nothing to do with the recent attack. Did you ever think of that?”
Now she had me chuckling. “For a woman who’s done everything in her power to stay away from the family politics, you seem to understand the way of life very well.”
“You did hear that women are far more intelligent.” Her eyes flashed with the same fire I’d coveted all those years ago. “If I had to guess, I’d say my brother wants to alter the alliance made between my father and the Romanos, an alliance benefitting his determination to take control.”
“I doubt Enzo would allow you to marry Mattia or Tomaso for that matter. Besides, Franco would never agree to allowing any sort of alliance with the DeLuca family. There’s too much bad blood between them. They have years of history. Bloody battles. That’s what my father always told me anyway.”
“This is crazy.”
I wasn’t certain that her father wasn’t attempting to sell her off to the highest bidder. When her face turned ashen, I bristled. “What?”
“What if my father lied about Romano and there’s no alliance with them on the table. He knows I wouldn’t handle being handed off to a member of the Bratva, so he told me that to try and keep me compliant.”
An icy layer tore through my veins. “No other member of the Five Families would allow such an alliance, hunting your father down if necessary to keep that from occurring.”
“Jesus. Would my father really do that? Is he so fucking arrogant he thinks he can control Italy?” She threw out her hand before I had a chance to say anything. “Of course he would. I’m nothing but a commodity.”
“I already told you, littleleonessa. No one else will ever touch you again.”
“You’re certain you have soldiers loyal to you?” she asked a few seconds later.
“I do.”
