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“Ma che cazzo?” Dante swears, echoing my exact thoughts.
I force the surge of guilt and regret rising deep within me. Leo betrayed me. He did not dig himself into a deep, dark hole and then lay down his life for me. No goddamned way.
I grip the knife tighter. Barzini has given me all the information I want from him. He’s useless now. And he knows it. I can see it in the helpless loathing in his eyes.
“Burn in hell, pezzo di merda,” he seethes right before I drag the blade across his throat in one swift slice.
In a matter of seconds, he’s gone. The man who murdered my best friend is dead. And I feel no relief because this is just the start to the whole fucking bloody war.
The knife clatters to the floor as I stare at my latest kill while a new kind of restlessness floods my veins.
“You know what this means then, Nico?” I feel Dante’s hand on my shoulder.
I give him a curt nod. “War.”
Romano used to be one of my father’s Capos early on in his rule, but the moment my father pulled the narcotics business from the Outfit, Romano, along with a few other Capos and dozens of seasoned men, broke off. My father was reluctant to wipe out Romano because they were childhood friends.
And now Romano wouldn’t hesitate to kill the son of the man who spared him despite his betrayal. Which just proves that there really is no room for mercy in this dark world. Love only makes us think there is.
I say through gritted teeth, “Pascal Romano has taken our tolerance for stupidity, and he needs to pay.”
“Agreed,” Dante rakes his hand through his too-long hair, a move that now reminds me of the brothers of Reaper Druids MC, who like to keep their hair long. And, of course, my mind goes to Sophie, who doesn’t want to identify with them, yet she can’t bring herself to cut hers.
Dante’s voice draws me back to the present, “At this point, it’s either kill or be killed. I hear Romano is shacking up with the Mexican Cartel.”
I whip my gaze to Dante. “Are you certain?”
“Not one hundred percent, but my informant’s guesses are hardly ever wrong.”
“Then he needs to be swiftly put down before he mutates into something completely unmanageable.”
The Mexican cartel has a robust trafficking business, something I’ve strictly prohibited on my turf. Unfortunately, the business is a lucrative one. If Romano has indeed taken up with the Cartel, he’s likely well-funded and supported by them.
“Take the night off, Dante. Gather my men for a briefing in a few days.” I start to leave, but then I stop and turn back to add, “All of my men.”
“De Luca too?
Orlando De Luca is the oldest and most powerful Capo. Unfortunately, he’s also the most disenfranchised and whose allegiance needs to be re-affirmed. I want his complete loyalty, but the one thing the man wants above all, is a Vitelli son-in-law.
“Especially De Luca, Dante,” I insist. “This is the time to get everyone aligned against our common enemy.”
“Aligned, huh?” Dante cocks an eyebrow, a slow smirk spreading on his face. “Do I hear wedding bells then, fratello?”
I shrug. After all, I’m thirty-three, in dire need of an heir, and Alina De Luca is more than a consolation prize.
Or so I thought until around three weeks ago. Until I happened upon a certain sexy, mouthy feelings guru who looks and responds and speaks to me like she was tailor-made to fuck me up.
“Wedding, War, Retribution, the bells all peal the same. We need De Luca fully on board. So, we’ll give him what he wants.”
A smile pulls at Dante’s lips. “Sì, fratello. Now you go on, I’ll finish here.” He nods toward the dead man.
I wipe my hands on a rag, spin on my feet, and leave. Emotions surge up my throat like bile and make my fingers itch for the phone in my breast pocket.
I ignore the itch, tamp it down, and squeeze my hands into fists. All through the drive home, I grip the Lambo’s steering wheel in an effort to stop myself from calling out a call command for the car’s Bluetooth.
I manage to resist the urge until I reach home, but as I head into my shower to wash away the blood and grime, the need surges again. I try to drown it out under the hot spray.
I just saw the woman less than twelve hours ago. How is it possible that it feels like a month already?
