“No, I’m past sick. I’ve gone past that stage, and I accept it. Right now, I’m only trying to be useful to you in whatever way I still can.”
My eyes fell to the blue and gray square patterns on his bed sheets, then climbed up to meet his.
“I wish things could have been different.” That he wasn’t dying; like ten years hadn’t gone by without us seeing each other.
“Me too, but that was for me to fix. There was never going to be any other ending for me, Amelia. I’m a bad person. You know that more than most. I’ve killed mindlessly. I shouldn’t have killed Agent Peterson…” he stated with reflection.
Like always, I recalled that incident. Dad shooting Agent Peterson in his arms and legs, the men carrying him off through the door so Dad could finish him off. Although I’d never seen his end, I knew then how it would happen.
Dad would cut off his head, and he did. I remembered the news story. That was what had sent me through those doors ten years ago. It sent me through those doors with the mindset to leave forever.
This story, and any remorse he felt, was almost lost on me because it affected me deeply. I understood why he did it, but my soul couldn’t accept it. I couldn’t accept it.
“We… shouldn’t talk about that now. We shouldn’t. You shouldn’t.” I nodded.
“I don’t want to die knowing you hate me.” Sadness filled his eyes.
“I don’t hate you. I never did, even when I told you I did.” Those were some of my last words I’d said to him before I left years ago. I’d told him I hated him, and then begged him to let me go. “I never hated you, and maybe I hated that I couldn’t.”
“I wish I had all those years back to make it up to you.”
“Dad, don’t, just… we can’t live in regret. We both lost a lot, but we have now.” That was me sounding a lot stronger than I really felt.
I squeezed his hand and continued to hold the tears back in.
The door opened, and Luc came in.
I couldn’t help it; my body moved to him before I could even register what I did. I moved straight into his awaiting arms, where he held me and lulled me into the safe haven of him.
“Take her, take her and take care. I’m okay,” Dad said.
Luc ran his hand over the top of my head and kissed my forehead.
Luc took me to my room, sat me down on the bed, and looked around the place first before joining me.
He took both my hands into his and looked straight into my eyes. I didn’t think I’d ever seen Luc look so stern. Normally, there was an opening in the hardness he displayed. It was the place where I could reach him. Felt like it was just for me. Only for me.
“I love you,” he told me. His voice was soft and soothing, unlike the hardness in his expression and the tenseness in his jaw.
“I love you.” I would never get tired of telling him that, and I would relish the sound of him telling me too.
This time though…
This time felt different to when we said it before. Only the other night, my heart couldn’t have felt more joy, and my soul soared through to the heavens at the declaration of this man’s love.
This time when he said it, I felt that air of change again. The same change I’d felt before I found out who he really was.
Things were going to change again, and not for the good.
“I…” I didn’t know what to say to him. There was so much to say, but where did I begin? With the stab of betrayal I felt knowing Jefferson and Holloway would have fed me to the lions for money? The sting, the poisonous sting of hurt that coursed through me as I listened to Jefferson tell me how this fucking plan rolled out?
Or should I talk about how I felt now, knowing they were both dead?
“I saw you dance today.” He smiled and rubbed his thumb over the top of my hands, which looked so small in his.
This was so unlike what I thought we’d talk about, but this man knew me. He knew how to reach me.
“You did.” I blinked several times, still trying to hold the tears back.
“You were amazing. You never cease to amaze me.” He released my hand to brush the underside of my cheek. “I love you for that. I’ve never said those words to anyone. Just my mom, who never deserved to hear it.”
I searched his eyes and felt the love he spoke of even more.
“Me neither. I’ve never said those words to anyone either, just my parents.”
“No?” The hint of a smile that flickered across his face broke through to that place I could reach.
“Just you.”
“So, I guess that’s settled then. I’m more than the dog with mange.”
Just like the first time when he joked about that I felt bad at the comparison. He thought my feelings for him were comparable to what you’d feel if your dog had manage. You can’t stand the sight of it but you love it enough to keep around.
I sucked in a breath and held on to it, still trying to hold the tears in. “You aren’t like a dog with mange. I always knew how I felt about you, and it didn’t matter who you were.”
He cupped my face now with both hands. “Me for you too, Amelia. From the minute I first saw you. I love that you can switch into this angelic being of purity and everything amazing to create something so beautiful. But your strength is like nothing I’ve ever seen too.”
“I don’t feel strong, Luc.” My lips trembled.
“You think you don’t feel it, but it’s there, deep inside you. Goddess, amore mio.” He leaned in closer and pressed his head to mine, brushing his nose against mine.
Amore mio…
“Luc…” I said breathlessly.
“Goddess, I need you to do me a favor, please.”
“Of course.”
“I need you to be strong. I need you to be a cop, Taylor.”
He’d never called me that, not even when I'd insisted after our first meeting. Taylor was the badass cop persona I’d created for myself all these long years. She was a ruthless, no-nonsense woman who was a warrior.
“Taylor.”
“Yes, remember our game… being whoever we want to be.”
“I remember.”
“You need to be her, just for a little longer. It will help you deal with the loss of your friends in whatever way you lost them. I… I killed Jefferson.”
“You had to.”
“I still killed him. Blood on my hands.”
A tear ran down my cheek, and he caught it. “Luc, please, don’t blame yourself.”
“Let’s focus on you. Amelia, there’s someone here we can’t trust, so until we find out who that is, don’t trust anyone. Don’t speak to anyone, at all. You understand me?” His jaw set and a wrinkle furrowed his brows.
“Yes.” I couldn’t begin to imagine who the person could be. I broke eye contact and started picking at the frays on the gold tassels of the pillow case.
“I mean it, Amelia. You have to suspect everyone.”
I raised my gaze back to his. The hard look in his blue gaze, lethal and stony displayed the wealth of his seriousness.
I knew he was right. It was just hard.
Who the hell could it be? It was only Dad and me who had known where the key would be.
We hadn’t spoken to anyone about it. We’d sat in the garden talking after the meeting yesterday, and he gave me the key, along with the password for the diamonds at the facility in Rockford. It was just us, then…
Millicent came. Millicent had come with a tray of food…
Millicent…
No... She’d caught the end of our conversation. We were talking about doing something for the day.
Instantly, I felt terrible for even considering her. Millicent was like a mother to me, and a good friend to Dad.
“Luc, I don’t know who it is.” I shook my head.
“Someone knew exactly where you put the key, and they contacted the other guys. This is getting too far out of hand.”
“Who could it be, Luc?”
“Anyone. I’m going to c
heck the place out again to see if it’s bugged, but I need you to be strong. I need you to be the badass cop I first met who would have handed my ass to me.”
Again, I nodded. “I will try. What about you? I know you feel bad about Jefferson. You shouldn’t feel bad.”
“My dear Amelia, I am a mobster. That is who I’ll be, and so I guess we’re not playing games anymore.”
I knew what he meant in saying that. He’d talked about changing; today showed me it wasn’t that easy.
Not easy at all, and I couldn’t blame him.
It was just that we were right back to square one. I was a cop, and he was a mobster. Like he said, the games were over. We could pretend to be whoever we wanted to be, but truth was truth.
Chapter 3
Luc
I waited until Amelia fell asleep, then I left her.
It was late but not late enough to turn in and not get shit done. The time to relax and watch the situation had long passed. Now, it was time to change things up.
Time to change.
Change everything and utilize my skills and abilities.
I’d grown soft. Over the last few months, I’d grown fucking soft and allowed the image and handle I had on things before I left for LA to slip out of my grasp.
I had to get that guy I used to be back. Now more than ever because now was when it mattered to me.
I was in love with her. I was obsessed with her.
Amelia, my goddess. Today, things could have gone way wrong.
Who is the rat? Who is the fucking rat?
Throughout the day, I’d gone through a list of people who’d been in the house with us since we’d been in Chicago. No one stood out to me.
I wasn’t here all the time, so I didn’t get to see all the people who came in and out.
Each time I’d been here, it was just me, Raphael, Amelia, and occasionally Millicent. Dad and Claudius had come by yesterday morning. That was it. All I knew of.
The part that was missing was, who was here when Amelia and Raphael were talking about the key and the safe in the library.
The place had to be bugged. Maybe the phone lines. Maybe they had some sort of device that would still let them listen in.
Based on that theory, the first thing I did was get one of my guys to check out the phone lines. I waited for confirmation of that being done before I entered the meeting room, where the crew were all waiting for me.
They were all here, all the main guys who made up the core of the team, and a few others. The total was about twenty.
All hands on deck. Pa was here, as was part of my team, my boys Louis, Saul, and Donny. Missing from my team was my best friend, Maurice, but he had his own task of taking care of Gigi in LA with the rest of my team.
Claudius and his men were here too. We called them The Four.
Gio, Jude, Alex, and Dante. Like Claudius, they had a cross tattooed on either their necks or their cheeks in memory of their fallen ones. They operated as a separate unit. We trusted those guys the most, as they could shift from being bodyguards to mercenaries to assassins. My guys were good, but these guys were who you called when you needed to get shit done, like yesterday. Like Claudius, they killed without thinking about the consequences. Often because their targets were the worst kind. People like Victor who needed to be killed on sight.
I needed them to stay here with Raphael and Amelia.
All acknowledged me with respect as I walked in. It felt like forever since I’d acted as my role as capo for the Rossi family. Claudius and I had the same title, but now I was boss. Or acting boss, whatever. This was the first time I’d stepped up in this way. We were both leaders but normally, for something like this, we’d have been sitting side by side, taking orders. Orders that would have come from Raphael. Our boss.
Everyone knew I’d been chosen to take the lead. I’d turned it down, but they didn’t know that part yet. Claudius did though. Amelia had taken charge the other day, and I was proud of her for the way she’d handled Raphael, but things had changed big time. Things had changed, and she was in no state to do anything. Not like this. She didn’t know our way. This was all above her. I needed her to be strong, not to take any form of lead in the business, but for herself.
I gazed to the far side of the room at Pa. Ever and always the arm of support as Raphael’s consigliere, the trusted advisor. It was amazing. We all played our roles and did what we did best. We had to adapt to whatever was thrown our way and just know what to do. Pa, though, was consistent. He was consistent in his role always. Always the man you could trust with anything. Your secrets and your life.
“Thank you all for coming,” I began.
I closed the door and stood in front of the large mahogany desk.
They all looked at me with anticipation. As I looked them over, I wondered what Amelia would think when she saw them. The sight of so many raw-blooded gangsters would probably freak her out.
“Needs must,” Saul cooed in that eerie sing-song voice that gave even me the chills. He smiled, revealing a row of silver teeth, and the scar running across his face became more pronounced.
I nodded to him in respect, and he returned the gesture with a curt nod.
“Plans have changed.” Only a few of them knew the original plan to go to the facility in Rockford to get the diamonds, but that was fine. They knew what I meant by saying plans had changed. It meant we had to up our game. It would be the only reason for a meeting like this in Raphael’s house. “We need to hunt and bring down these guys on sight if you see them. Victor Pertrinkov and Tag. Those guys and anyone working for them. But we focus on them. Bring those two down, and the others will disappear like vermin. The plan is this: Claudius,” I looked at my brother, who was staring at me with keen eyes. One bright blue like mine, the other a light brown. I could tell he was worried about me just from the look in them. The cross on his cheek inched higher when he pressed his lips together. “You and The Four stay here with Amelia and Raphael.”
“Really? No disrespect, but you want the best guys to sit around like ducks and play babysitter?” Claudius quirked a brow at me.
“I need you to protect. Today, those guys got on the premises without being seen. We didn’t have backup. There were four of them in the house, and a car drove away with God knows how many. They could have taken Amelia.”
The CCTV and security system were disabled for protection. It was the first thing we’d insisted on when we got to Chicago, but that had been to our detriment. If Raphael hadn’t made an old-fashioned trip wire, we would have had a very nasty surprise.
“I see.” Claudius nodded.
He still didn’t look like he’d accepted my answer, but he would never question me in front of the guys.
“Marcus.” I always addressed my father by his name when we were in company like this. “I need you with Raphael.”
He gave me a simple nod, but the pride that beamed from him as he watched me was evident. He’d probably waited his whole life to see me stand here taking the lead. Me or Claudius. Probably more for me though. I hadn’t told him yet that I was going to disappoint him when I stepped down and took on the clean way of life if I got the chance. If I got the chance, I would go wherever Amelia and I could be happy.
“As for me and my crew, we’ll search for Tag and Victor, hunt them down. Saul, you’re with me, but I need you to call in a favor from the Galluccios.” This was the power we had. The power I had. The other crime families and the Rossis lived together in a symbiotic relationship and cooperated to keep things that way. There were some guys we couldn’t touch because if we did, it meant instant war, others who wanted in on our turf. The thing was, Raphael practically owned Chicago, and they would have a hard time getting anywhere near us to try anything stupid. “Donny and Louis, link up with the capos for the Romanos and the Bellefontes and scour the east and west sides.”
Donny and Louis looked pleased with that. They got on well with those guys.
“Please tell me we get
free reign of what we can do,” Donny stated, eyeing me with his sharp eyes. He reminded me of a fox; cunning like one too.
“The orders are this: If you see anyone who shouldn’t be here, kill them.” I looked at Claudius and The Four as I said that. Then I looked to my boys. Saul, Donny, then Louis. “If you see Tag or Victor, kill them. Gather intel from any lackeys you find, then kill them. Don’t give them a chance to get away and regroup. Men, we have to step this game up and do this. Blood for blood. We jump out there on the battlefield and take these fucktards out. This shit has taken far too long already.” That was Raphael’s fault. The man should have just gotten a crew together like I am now to hunt Tag and Victor, but then… I wouldn’t have known Amelia, would never have had the chance to fall for her. No way was I going to let anything get to her. “Blood for fucking blood.”
This was it.
It was time for war.
“Blood for blood,” they all chanted in unison.
“Meeting adjourned. We meet back here as soon as we can regroup. Hopefully with their heads.”
“I like heads.” Saul laughed, whipping out a long reach knife.
“As do I,” Donny agreed, tipping the brim of his fender.
Louis remained silent as always, but I knew he was in. They were the first to leave, then Saul. I walked out, leaving Claudius, Dad, and The Four, but I knew Claudius would follow me.
It was almost predictable.
We walked into Raphael’s office, and he closed the door.
“You looked good out there, little brother. Sure you really don’t want to be boss?” Claudius smiled wide and raised his brows.
I sat on the edge of Raphael’s desk and frowned. “You know how I feel.”
“Yup, it’s kind of clear. How are you holding up?”
I smirked. It was funny how he knew to ask me that. He knew me, and it was times like this when I valued the relationship we had.
“I don’t know how to answer that. I’m not okay, if that’s what you mean. There’s a fucking rat in the house, and things could have gone south today. They got on the premises without being seen.”
Mafia Love (The Accidental Mafia Queen Book 3) Page 2
