AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Of course, some of your party has already arrived.” She finished with a nod and left us alone in the corridor.
Arlo stepped beside me, ready for the unexpected.
“Not a word,” I uttered, and pulled the door open.
The waitress had been right, the large room was filled with barrels and boxes of wine bottles lining the walls. In the middle of a large wooden table, I met the eyes of killers who I mirrored, standing before brown leather chairs with one man behind each.
Only one boss was missing, Borelli.
The first to move was no other than my future father-in-law. I tasted copper bile at the thought of being kin to him, tied even if it was by marriage.
All in due time,I chanted to my demon.All in due time.
Mario Vitelli stretched his arms out, a welcoming gesture even I didn’t believe. A gesture I didn’t trust.
In the next hour, every move, every word had a reason. An underlying agenda I had to pick apart and decipher, and Mario Vitelli was putting a front of union in front of the others.
I stretched my hand out without a smile, and we shook hands.
“Moretti.” His smile tightened.
It’d been months since I last saw him, and under the distress New York was under, Vitelli hid well the toll it was taking on him. I watched him carefully for a second longer, and against his hard features, and the fine wrinkles around his eyes, I failed to find a trace of Katia’s strength on him.
“Vitelli,” I replied and moved past him to meet the boss of Las Vegas.
It was the best way to remove myself from the image Vitelli wanted to portray without disrespect. After all, we weren’t alone.
Alonzo Costa offered me a grin as we both closed the distance. It’d been three years since he’d taken over his father and held the gates of Vegas. Before I took the title of the youngest boss in La Cosa Nostra it had been Alonzo who mingled with the old ways until I’d come along. Our alliance was simple, we both saw the flaws of not moving with time.
“You should’ve called,” he whispered through his teeth, blue eyes striking in question.
I offered my hand, and as he took it, I leaned closer to reply, “It wasn’t safe.”
Alonzo’s eyes narrowed but didn’t show any other gesture. Instead, we pulled apart with tight smiles as the reminder of where we were and who surrounded us didn’t allow an open conversation. He ran his hand through his jet-black hair and gave Arlo a curt nod.
“Guess I’m not the only one who traveled with their underboss.” His head tilted slightly to his right.
A tell he did too often for me not to pick up after the several encounters we had. I watched him closer and lowered my voice.
“I guess not.”
A wolf-like smirk took over as he straightened, nothing more. Nothing that confirmed my suspicion. But there was something that told me I had learned my ally's weakness. His right-side hearing was impaired.
“Lucca,” he warned without a threat. “Don’t forget Chicago.”
“I have a pretty good memory but thank you.”
Alonzo let out a dark chuckle. “I’ll be calling you soon.”
“Talk to you then.” We shook hands once last time, and I stood next to the empty seat between him and Stefano Russo, the oldest boss and most cynical bastard of all. His closest tie was Mario Vitelli. It seemed fitting.
He offered his weak hand out to me. Another hand to shake, another close lip smile to give. A distrust shared.
With an open jacket and a large belly in between, he said, “It’s been a while.”
“It has. Hope all is well.”
Stefano Russo shrugged, and his loopy cheeks shook. “It is when I don’t travel.”
