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“Now, what do you want with me? You’ve made your point, you’ve released Maddie. You now run the Falcones. So what? A truce?”
He chuckles. “A truce?”
He leans forward, his elbows resting on the table.“No, I actually have a proposition for you.”
“Go on…”
“We join forces. Create one unified group to go up against the Capris. We will run every line of smuggling into New York. They still have a foothold here, so we take their business and remove them from the equation. Stealing their guns was a brave move, but we can take them, especially with the army you’ve built.”
I lean forward, flicking my cigarette over the ashtray. “You mean the family I’m marrying into?”
He slams his hand down on the table. “Marrying who?”
“Maria. Who do you think gave you up? I had to dance with the devil to lock you down.”I grab the glass and swallow the contents in one gulp.
He lets out a ragged breath, his pale gray eyes narrowing.
“Shit. What is the exact deal you’ve made?” he asks, lighting up his own cigarette.
“They smuggle guns using my shipping ports. I marry Maria, my new watchdog, for her visa. If I don’t, he will kill my entire family, starting with my one-year-old niece. Turns out he wasn’t too happy with us stealing his imports.”
“Jesus, fuck, Luca.”
Smoke plumes into the air. We sit in silence with a corpse.
“I can help you,” he finally says.
“How? You’ve been lying to me for over a year. I can’t trust you.”I toss down my cigarette into the ashtray.
“Look, I’m sorry about Maddie. I did it to protect them both. I needed him angry. I needed him to help me wipe my brother out. Maddie was getting in the way, first at the casino and then at the hospital. I had to do something.”
“You didn’t have to fucking kidnap her, Frankie!”
“Well, I mean, I guess.” He shrugs. “I looked after her, Luca. Honestly. Ask her when she comes home. She will tell you. I never intended to cause either of them any harm. But I had to end Marco. So, for that, I am truly sorry. I had to do what I thought was right for everyone here. I’ve been planning my revenge against him for years, and I couldn’t let anyone get in the way.”
In a way, I get it. I have no clue what Marco did to him, but it must have been fucking bad.
“But we have bigger problems. Romano is coming for our city. We need all the manpower we can get. Marriage or not, that won’t protect you. Maria is a bitch, like a rottweiler. She will be waiting, if not planning your slip up. That I can assure you.”
I sit back, assessing him.
Over the last year, he’s proven to be one of my top recruits. And after the stunt he’s just pulled, I know he’s smart. Too smart to have as my enemy. Today is a stark reminder: Rosa needs protecting. While I’m with Maria, I can’t, but Frankie can.
She called him her protector once, so now he will have to do it again.
“Fine. On one condition. Until I can trust you again, I have the final call on every move we make. We take down the Capris together, we protect our families. That includes Rosa. You protect that woman with your life, Frankie.”
He scratches his beard, his eyes darting over to his dead brother, and then his eyes go wide.
“Rosa? You said she was dead?”
“She’s not dead, Frankie. I lied.”
He runs his hand through his dark brown hair, relief washing over his features. Smacking his hands on his knees, he grins at me.“You fucking got me there.”
“I mean it. She has to leave my place tomorrow. I want you to put her up somewhere with her sister. Look out for her, protect her like you used to.”
He frowns. “How much do you know?”
