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“Beware the Ides of March.” He read the name of the file I had on Jimmy, then met my gaze. “Is that when you want this to happen? On the fifteenth?”
“Yes.”
“I will personally make sure Jimmy gets what he deserves. Giovanni was my friend too. I will leak this information to all our enemies.”
“Thank you.” I stood and grabbed my coat. “We’ll be in touch.”
“Vittoria.” He called for me before I left the kitchen. “How is Rex doing?”
“Better than I expected.” I turned to face him.
“He’s not ready.”
“Were you?” I offered him a kind smile when the wrinkles on his forehead deepened. It was refreshing to see him care about someone other than himself. “When your father died. Were you ready to be king?”
“Of course I was.” He scoffed. “She’s all I have left. She hates him. When she finds out, she’ll hate me too.”
“Ah, your precious Caterina.” I shook my head. “It’s time, old man. Rex is king. Sooner than you think, he’ll come and claim what’s his. My advice to you? Talk to her. Tell her the truth before he does.”
Michael had a stone for a heart, except when it came to his wife and his only daughter. As smart and as logical as he was, he didn’t really think this one through, or what his abdication would do to his family. Or maybe he figured the time to give up his daughter would never come. The fool thought his love for his beautiful wife would conquer all.
Love was for fools.
“Help me. You and I, we can stop Rex.” He sauntered toward me. “I will help you make good on your promise to Giovanni. I only ask for this one thing in return.”
“I already gave youone thingin return.” I pointed at his laptop. “I gave you a way back in. When the Gallo family falls, the Society will be weakened. What you do with that is up to you. Don’t ask me for more.”
The tone in my voice was as final as it could be. Michael glared at me, then turned his back to me to return to his computer. I was glad he understood that our reprieve had an expiration date. He and I were not friends, merely allies until Jimmy paid for what he did.
Giovanni knew this would happen. He knew Rex would have to face his father’s old enemies when he took over the throne. It was why he had spent his last breath making sure Rex was safe.
Dear Rex, I got one snake to eat the other. Now it’s up to you to fight what’s left. I hope you survive.
CHAPTER31
You're Alive
Luca
A month later, March 15th
New York City
This cat and mouse game was getting so fucking old. Building an army of my own to beat my uncle had proven a slower process than I’d expected. Years had gone by since I promised Donata I would come back for her. And here I was still playing Uncle Jimmy’s demented game.
I pressed my back against the brick wall of the dark alley and reached for my side. The sticky, wet liquid oozing out of my shirt could only be blood. “The fuckers stabbed me.” I panted a breath.
“They knew you’d be here. How?” Alfred spoke into my earpiece.
If he hadn’t called to warn me about an ambush, I’d be dead by now. A week ago, shortly after I returned to the States, someone had left him a note that read: Beware the Ides of March. After we spent days trying to decipher the code, we thought it was just another one of Uncle Jimmy’s jokes. Until this morning, March 15th, when Alfred woke up with an epiphany. There was no code. The note was meant to be taken literally.
I left my safe house, armed to the teeth and ready for war. That had been the only reason why I had been able to kill the three guys that came at me.
“Are you close by?” I winced.
“Yes. One more second. Almost there. Come out now.”
I released a breath and made a break for it, just in case more assholes showed up to try their luck again tonight. The screeching tires of my SUV were music to my ears. Alfred stopped right outside the alley with his weapon at the ready. As soon as I was halfway into the back seat, he careened out of there.
