AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Marco chuckles at his words. “Besides the fact that they framed you for my father’s murder, they have also been plotting to take over your clients and customers with me for nearly ten years. They also called your daughter a whore, which resulted in a shootout. Let’s also not forget the fact that the business they’ve brought you… well, those are my connections. I’ve given them a cut for doing the dirty work I didn’t have time for because I was busy plotting against you for the snake shit that they pulled,” he says, twirling the tumbler in his hand.
“I knew Lori wasn’t lying when she told me it was them. I’ve been putting the pieces together for a while now, I got confirmation from some old workers of theirs last night,” he says, taking another sip, nearly downing the rest of the liquid before he looks back up at my father.
“I will get my vengeance. It will be their blood, with or without your help. There’s just a larger payout for you if you do help,” he says, Claudio letting out a loud whistle at his words.
“He’s got a point there, pop,” he says, drumming his fingers on the table as I wait for my father’s response.
The room is quiet for a while, nothing but the sounds of the ticking clock and Claudio’s drumming fingers echoing throughout the large office. I hear my father’s chair move, his body now standing as he puts out his cigar and walks to the conference table where we all sit.
He sets both hands on the table and leans forward, looking directly at Marco as he speaks.
“He called my daughter a whore?” He asks, his voice dark and lethal.
“Yeah. Right before I shot some of his men.” My pride for Marco strengthening, my fierce protector.
“Then let’s kill the bastard,” my father says quietly.
Marco takes one last drink of his bourbon, standing then and stretching out his arm for my father to shake his hand, which he does immediately, all my anxiety melting away in an instant. For the first time in years, I breathe a sigh of relief.
The rest of the day passes in a blur. I excuse myself from the room so that the men can talk business. I’m sitting at the kitchen table talking to our chef, drinking an espresso when Carmelo walks in and takes a seat next to me, the chef bringing his coffee immediately.
“I’d like to talk to you,” he says, not even looking at me when he speaks.
“Is this talk starting off with an apology?” I ask, his head shaking immediately.
“No,” he says simply, before he sips his coffee.
“I want to say that I don’t agree with this, any of it. Not with the plan to take down Merlini and his son, not with this marriage, none of it,” he says, rubbing his face.
“But if this is what will truly, truly make you happy, then I have no choice. Do you get that, Lori? That’s all that matters, your happiness. So, I want to make sure that you’re actually happy, that you actually want this and aren’t doing this for charity,” he says and I gaze at him, my beautiful older brother, the man that raised me when our father couldn’t.
For many years, he played the part of both my parents, not only caring for me but for our brothers’ as well. He’s lived a hard life, one without much love or tenderness, much like Marco. I can only hope that one day, he finds his happiness too. Because he’s right, that’s all that matters, our happiness.
“I love him, Car. I love him so much and even if we didn’t meet under these circumstances, if we met in some perfect world at the grocery store or in the park, I would still fall in love with him. I would still choose him. Because regardless of all the shit, he makes me really, truly happy.” Grabbing his hand and holding it, he gazes down at my ring, a ring that still holds a piece of Mariella’s pure soul inside of it.
“I told him after we kill those fuckers that there better be a wedding. No Saracino will marry without a celebration. It’s blasphemy,” he says and I can’t help but laugh, because he’s right about that too.
Saracino’s love a good celebration. Really anything that involves both food and wine.
He gets up from the table, patting my hand as he stands. “Perhaps that will give you something to do while we’re off ending this bullshit. You only have a month, so use your time wisely.” He bends to plant a kiss on my forehead.
When he leaves the kitchen, my heart races for a moment, all of this Merlini talk making a new bout of worry settle within me, but I don’t give it space. I don’t allow it to settle because there is so much to be thankful for.
“Hey, Chef?” I call, turning to the woman who has helped plan nearly every event that this family has had.
“You wouldn’t happen to have any wedding magazines, would you?” I ask, a smile lifting my lips as she nods at me in excitement.
CHAPTERTWENTY-NINE
Marco
We leave the heart and the head of the Merlini for last. Thus far, we’ve taken out their henchmen, their guards, even their assistants and staff. The thing about killing an entire family tree is that you have to work your way up. If you want to do things right, if you want to make things agonizing, you always go for the heart first, and Dante Merlini is the heir and heart of this fucked up family. Lori’s father and brothers helped me strategize this plan down to the detail, listing times, locations and names one by one, creating a path all the way down the family line until we get to the head of it all, Nereo Merlini.
It’s been one week since Lori and I showed up on her family's doorstep. In total, we’ve taken out thirty guards, five staff members and two assistants. There was a pretty gruesome gunfight just two nights ago that left Armone wounded and needless to say, Lori was pretty freaked out. I’ve been making her stay at her family mansion for maximum protection, even transporting a great portion of my security to the Saracino grounds. All I wanted that woman to do was worry about what flowers would go on our tables at the ceremony, I really didn’t wish for another night of bloodshed that she would bear witness to.
“Are you kidding me? What’s next, Marco? I stitch up one of my brother's stomachs or worse, plan one of your funerals? There has to be another way out of this!” She screamed while trying to stop Armone’s blood flow, the situation getting to her.
As much as I wanted to stay and calm her, even fucking be with her this week, it’s not an option for us. Myself and her family have been working tirelessly trying to take out the Merlini's, surviving off bourbon and coffee for seven days straight.
