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That was really the only motivation. I didn’t need it for my ego or even wanted it for money or power.
I always thought all that family-above-all-else shit wasn’t really my MO either—before I joined Hawk. Before I witnessed the family he built.
“My uncle is taking over—his first power move is to marry my mother, his second probably to kill my brothers,” Cristo said, speaking for the first time.
Zotov’s face cleared as if he had an epiphany, and he nodded. “Fausto Falcone. He’s the sadist who has a perverse obsession with having his people do these weird little tests. Even I’ve heard of him. He would make a good Russian.”
I bet. Deranged, brutal, ugly.
“Don’t forget the wives who die or disappear in mysterious ways,” Alvarez said.
My eyes shot to Hawk, then back to Cristo.
How could it be I was the only one who was in the dark about what my uncle had been up to?
“And who is rumored to have killed his brother to take over the family,” Vincenzo said, his eyes locking with mine.
My chest tightened, and I slowly turned to Vincenzo.
Uncle Fausto had killed my father?
Vincenzo shrugged, and my gaze slid to Cristo, who stared at his feet.
“Is this true, Cristo?”
Even I could hear the dangerous edge in my voice. For the past thirteen years, I’d warred between loving and hating my father.
I’d settled on indifference.
But something told me I’d fooled myself because the white-hot rage washing through me was not indifference.
“Cristo?”
He nodded.
Fuck me.
I sighed and forced myself to relax.
And suddenly, everyone else nodded.
Family was something every single one of them understood.
Same as revenge.
“So, what do we get out of it, then?” Zotov asked. And brought my mind back to the meeting at hand.
I shrugged. The hell if I knew what was in it for them?
“The Italians are all over the place right now, very much occupied with themselves and their internal power struggles,” Vincenzo said. “Leadership changes so fast, trade routes are constantly in jeopardy.”
Alvarez nodded. “It’s a fucking nightmare—you never know if you can even unload the cargo by the time a ship arrives, much less which port you can use or who to bribe. It’s a nuisance for sure.”
“So, we push him to the top—establish him as the new head, and create some stability there,” Vincenzo said.
The Irish mobster had remained silent for some time now, and it didn’t go unnoticed. “You got something to say, Donnelly?” Vincenzo asked.
He shrugged. “I don’t care much about Italy—though, according to my brother, it’s a fucking mess. I’m just wondering what’s in it for me. I don’t need the trade routes into Europe.”
