by Cora Reilly
“You did nothing wrong. Your father’s actions don’t define you.”
People were watching me. “Why don’t you tell them,” I spat, looking around at our audience. I cringed at my tone. “I’m sorry.” Luca was Capo. I needed to show respect.
He regarded me, wearing a blank mask. “I don’t want to promise you to a soldier. You are a Vitiello and should be married to one of my Captains or Underbosses.”
“It’s okay. I have time,” I said quietly, my cheeks flushing in shame. I didn’t really have time. I was getting older and being unmarried and a traitor’s daughter would only make people talk more.
The dance was finally over, and I gave Luca a quick, forced smile before I made my way back to the side. After that, I did what I could do best—had learned to do best—I pretended I wasn’t there. My aunt choosing modest dresses in subdued colors from last year’s collection definitely helped with that. I couldn’t wait for the Vitiello Christmas party to be over. Christmastime was connected to too many horrible memories.
ChristmasTime seven years ago
I couldn’t sleep. No matter how I twisted and turned, I always managed to lie on the bruises. Father had been in a horrible mood today. Mother said it had something to do with us being in New York. Tomorrow, we’d finally return to Atlanta, and then his mood would be better. Soon, everything would be better. Soon, Father would have solved all of his problems and we’d finally be happy. I knew it wasn’t true. He would never be happy, never stop hitting us. Father enjoyed his unhappiness and he enjoyed making us suffer.
Something clanged downstairs. I got out of bed and stretched, trying to get rid of the soreness in my limbs from the beating I endured this morning. A sound in the corridor drew me toward the door, and I carefully opened it, peering out the crack. A tall man lunged at me. Something over my head gleamed in the light, and then a knife was wedged into the wooden doorframe. I opened my mouth to scream, but the man clamped his hand over my mouth. I struggled, terrified of the huge stranger.
“Not a sound. Nothing will happen to you, Kiara.” I froze and took a closer look at the man. It was my cousin Luca, my father’s Capo. “Where is your father?”
I pointed toward the door at the end of the corridor, my parents’ bedroom. He released me and handed me over to Matteo, my other cousin. I wasn’t sure what was going on. Why were they here in the middle of the night?
Matteo began to lead me away when my mother stepped out of the bedroom. Her terrified eyes landed on me a moment before she jerked and fell to the ground.
Luca threw himself to the ground as a bullet hit the wall behind him. Matteo shoved me away and darted forward, but another man gripped me in an unrelenting hold. My gaze froze on my mother, who stared at me with lifeless eyes.
Only Father had been in the bedroom with her, and he had killed her.
Dead. Just like that. One tiny bullet and she was gone.
I was dragged downstairs and out of the house, pushed into the backseat of a car. Then I was alone with the sound of my shallow breathing. I wrapped my arms around my chest, wincing as my fingers touched the bruises on my upper arms caused by my father’s outburst this morning. I began rocking back and forth, humming a melody my piano teacher had taught me a few weeks ago. It was getting cold in the car, but I didn’t mind. The cold felt good, soothing.
Someone opened the door, and I shied away in fear, pulling my legs up to my chest. Luca poked his head in. There was blood on his throat. Not much but I couldn’t look away. Blood. My father’s?
“How old are you?” he asked.
I didn’t say anything.
“Twelve?”
I tensed, and he closed the door and sat in the front beside his brother, Matteo. They assured me I was safe. Safe? I had never felt safe. Mother always said the only safety in our world was death. She found it.
My cousins took me to an older woman called Marianna, whom I’d never met before. She was kind and loving, but I couldn’t stay with her. As honor dictated, I had to stay with family, so I was sent to Baltimore to live with my Aunt Egidia and her husband, Felix, who was Underboss in the city like my father had been Underboss in Atlanta.
I had met her only during family festivities because she and my father hated each other. Luca took me to them a couple of days after my mother’s funeral. I was silent beside him, and he didn’t try to make conversation. He looked angry and tense.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered when we came to a stop in front of a large villa in Baltimore. Over the years, I’d learned to apologize even if I didn’t know what I’d done wrong.
Luca frowned at me. “What for?”
“For what my father did.” Honor and loyalty were the most important things in our world, and Father had broken his oath and betrayed Luca.
“That’s not your fault, so it’s nothing you should apologize for,” he said, and for a little while I believed it to be true. Until I saw Aunt Egidia’s disapproving face and heard Felix say to Luca that it would reflect badly on them if they took me in. Luca wouldn’t hear it, so I stayed with them, and eventually they learned to tolerate me, and yet not a day passed when I wasn’t acutely aware that I was seen as a traitor’s daughter. I didn’t blame them. From a young age, I’d learned that there was no greater crime than betrayal. Father had tainted our family name, had tainted my brothers and me, and we’d always carry the blemish. My brothers, at least, could try to make a name for themselves if they became brave Made Men, but I was a girl. All I could hope for was mercy.
Today
Being regarded as a traitor’s daughter, facing the pitying or disgusted expressions wasn’t the worst part about these gatherings. Not even close. He was. He caught my eyes from across the room, and his face held the knowledge of what he had done, the triumph over what he had taken. He stood beside my aunt—his wife—beside his children—my cousins—and was regarded with respect. His eyes on me made my skin crawl. He didn’t approach me, but his leering was enough. His gaze was just like his touch; it was humiliation and pain, and I could not stand it. Cold sweat covered my skin, and my stomach churned. I turned around and hurried toward the women’s restroom. I’d hide there for the rest of the night, until it was time to leave with my Aunt Egidia and Uncle Felix.
I splashed my face with water, ignoring the minimal makeup I wore. Luckily it was waterproof mascara and a hint of concealer to cover the shadows under my eyes, so I didn’t do much damage. I needed the cold of the water to help me get a grip on my rising panic.
The door opened and Giulia slipped in. She was beautiful in her bold violet dress with her light brown hair. She carried herself with confidence and had for as long as I could remember. That was probably how she had managed to make her marriage with Cassio work despite their age difference.
She came toward me and touched my shoulder, her brows drawing together. “Are you okay? You left the party.”
“I’m not feeling well. You know I’m not good around so many people.”
Her eyes softened further, and I knew what was coming. “Luca would kill him if you told him what he’s done.”
“No,” I croaked, my eyes darting to the door, afraid someone would come in and overhear us. I often regretted that I’d confided in Giulia shortly after it had happened, but I had been broken and confused, and she was always kind. “You swore not to tell anyone. You swore it, Giulia.”
She nodded, but I could tell that she didn’t like it. “I did, and I won’t tell anyone. It’s your decision, but I think Uncle Durant needs to pay for what he did.”
I shuddered, hearing his name. Turning my back on her, I washed my hands again. “You know that I will be the one to pay, Giulia. This world isn’t kind, least of all to a woman like me. I can’t go through this. I will be worse off than I am now. Your parents already have trouble finding a husband for me. If the truth got out, I’d die a spinster. They would never forgive me.”
Her lips formed a thin line. “My parents never treated you the way they should hav
e. I’m sorry.”
I shook my head. “It’s okay. They took me in. They never hit me, never punished me harshly. It could have been worse.”
“I could ask Cassio if one of his men would be a good match for you. There are many decent men in his ranks.”
Decent. Cassio ruled over Philadelphia with an iron fist. What he considered decent probably didn’t qualify as decent for other people, but I had no right to be choosy or judge others.
“No. That would offend your parents. You know how they are.”
“Yeah, I know …” Her brows tightened.
“Don’t worry about me. I’m in no hurry to marry,” I said. Marriage would be my final ruin.
CHAPTER 2
NINO
“I assume you will hold back during our meeting and not offend Vitiello,” I said as Fabiano and I boarded the plane.
“I’m not a genius like you, but I’m no imbecile either. Don’t worry, I know when to shut up.”
I nodded as I sank down into one of the comfortable leather seats. Fabiano usually had a good handle on his emotions, unlike my brother. “That Luca even agreed to meet us at all is a good sign.”
Fabiano sat in the seat across from me. “It might be, yes, or Luca wants to put a bullet in our heads.”
“No,” I said. “He won’t risk war with the Camorra. Remo would attack, and he wouldn’t do it with subtle tactics like Dante Cavallaro. He’d go to New York and go on a killing spree they haven’t seen in the Famiglia before.”
Fabiano smirked. “Yeah, he’d do that. But I hear Luca has gone on a few impressive killing sprees in the last few years to get the Famiglia under control and shut up the Bratva. He and Remo are pretty similar when it comes down to it.”
“To some extent, but Remo doesn’t have wife and children he needs to protect.”
Fabiano raised an eyebrow. “Remo protects Savio and Adamo, and even you and me by some degree.”
“That’s different,” I said.
Fabiano regarded me carefully. “You really think marrying is a good idea?”
“It’s—”
“Don’t say it’s the logical choice,” Fabiano muttered. “I want to know if you really think you can be with a woman like that. You are messed up, Nino. Not in the same way Remo is messed up, but still fucking messed up. Fuck, even I’m messed up, and it almost cost me Leona. And it’s still fucking difficult sometimes to make this relationship work because I keep saying or doing things that unsettle her. And let’s be real: I’m the fucking epitome of normalcy compared to you. Women aren’t like us. They want their fucking knight in shining armor. They want roses and all that emotional shit. They want declarations of love. That’s not something you’re going to give your future wife. To be honest, I think most women would kill themselves within a few weeks of marrying you rather than live under a roof with all you Falcone fuckers.”
“From what I know, arranged marriages aren’t based on emotions. They are based on tradition and rationality. A woman who’s given to me in marriage knows what’s expected. She’ll know it’s business. She’s a chess piece. And I can assure you, I will prevent her from ending her life for as long as her survival is required for peace.”
Fabiano sighed, touching his temple. “Maybe you should keep your thoughts to yourself as well. Most of the shit coming out of your mouth won’t set anyone at ease, least of all a woman.”
My muscles tensed when I pulled our rental car up in front of the abandoned Yonkers power plant. After we landed in New York, Romero had sent me a text saying that was where Luca would meet with us. The building was decrepit, and the area was deserted. A good place to torture and kill, I had to give that to Luca.
“This is fucking great,” Fabiano said, his lips curling. “I’m not in the mood to die today.”
“Neither of us will die today,” I said, pushing open the car door and getting out. My eyes searched the area. On the roof of the building, two snipers were lying in wait. The moment Fabiano stepped up beside me, a gate in the old factory building swung open and three men emerged. I recognized them as Luca, Matteo, and Romero.
“I assume you saw the snipers pointing their guns at our heads,” Fabiano murmured. Despite his words, he appeared relaxed from the outside.
I inclined my head in confirmation.
The three men stopped about two car lengths away from us. Luca evaluated me for a moment before he narrowed his eyes at Fabiano. “Do you remember what I told you last time you were in New York?”
Matteo and Romero held their guns, the former particularly looking like he’d gladly put a bullet in Fabiano’s head. I could tell that the feeling was mutual.
Fabiano nodded. “You told me I was a dead man if I returned to New York.”
Luca nodded. “And here you are asking for death.”
“We are here to offer truce, Luca.” I interrupted what would have surely soon turned into a less than pleasant argument. “As Consigliere of the Camorra, I hold the power to negotiate a peace treaty between our two families.”
Matteo snorted and exchanged a look with Romero.
Luca took a step forward. “You really think I’m going to work together with the Camorra after the message Remo sent me through Fabiano last time, after you threatened my wife years ago.”
“Remo wanted to size you up. He didn’t mean to insult you or harm your wife.” That was only a half-truth, but there was no point in revealing it to Luca.
Luca sneered. “Every word out of your mouth is a lie. I know you caught one of my drug deliveries. You’re probably having my soldiers dismembered as we speak. I have absolutely no reason to trust you.”
“I don’t trust anyone, Luca, and trust isn’t required for truce.”
Luca and I whirled around toward the voice. Remo sauntered in our direction, completely naked except for black briefs. “I’m not armed as you can see.” My brother was even barefoot. I narrowed my eyes at him. This was insanity. I wasn’t sure why I still bothered making plans if Remo always acted on his own accord.
“One day, I’m going to kill the crazy fucker,” Fabiano muttered. “He just signed our fucking death warrant.”
Remo gave me his twisted grin as he clapped my shoulder then Fabiano’s before walking closer to Luca and the others. “I thought it would be good to talk face to face, Luca. From one man of honor to the other. From Capo to Capo.”
Luca’s face reflected hatred, but there was also respect present. “And I thought you were a coward who sent out his Enforcer and his brother to fight his battles.”
“I’m many things, Luca. A coward isn’t one of them,” Remo said.
“You know what, why don’t we put a bullet in your head and help Las Vegas to a new Capo. Someone less fucked-up,” Matteo said, aiming his gun at Remo. Romero pointed his gun at me.
Fabiano pulled out his own gun, but Remo shook his head. I walked to his side. “Killing us wouldn’t serve any purpose,” I said calmly. “Savio will contact Cavallaro the moment we’re dead and offer them cooperation, and even you can’t fight both the Camorra and the Outfit.”
“Your brother Savio is only sixteen. He won’t be able to control the Camorra.”
“I was only seventeen when I began my fight to win my territory back. You were only seventeen when you crushed a man’s throat. Savio is a Falcone. He is a born killer, Luca. He can control the Camorra. The name Falcone holds power in Las Vegas and beyond,” Remo said.
Luca narrowed his eyes, but I took it as a good sign that he hadn’t killed us yet. “Do you want to risk cooperation between the Outfit and the Camorra? You can’t have peace with Dante Cavallaro unless you send him your sister-in-law and your Captain.” I nodded toward Romero.
Luca still didn’t say anything. He was probably trying to decide if he should just end us. My finger rested loosely on my trigger, but with the snipers on the roof, even my skills wouldn’t save us.
Remo moved even closer to Luca until they stood at arm’s length. Luca was about an inch tal
ler than Remo, but that didn’t come as a surprise.
“What is there to talk about, Remo? And this time I know your brother Nino isn’t aiming at my wife, so there’s nothing stopping me from bathing in your fucking Falcone blood.”
Remo grinned. “The Camorra doesn’t have any interest in hurting your family, Luca. Not your wife nor your children.”
Luca lunged, his fingers clamping down around Remo’s throat. My brother made no move to defend himself. He didn’t take his eyes off the Famiglia Capo as he rasped, “We aren’t the only ones who know about your children. The Outfit does and so does the Bratva. The Outfit attacked my territory when they thought I was vulnerable. Who do you think they will attack to hurt you, Luca? Scuderi tried to get rid of Fabiano, his own son, his heir. What will he do to the daughters who disappointed him so greatly, who ruined peace between the Outfit and the Famiglia?”
The Famiglia Capo looked like he wanted to crush Remo’s throat, and I knew he could have done it. Remo was one of the most vicious fighters, brutal to the very core, but a fight with Luca would probably kill them both. Even Fabiano and I couldn’t prevent that, not with Matteo and Romero and the snipers.
Remo’s face turned red, but he kept talking. “Dante Cavallaro is our enemy, and I’m going to walk into Chicago and show him what it means to be at war with the Camorra, show him why we are despised even among our own. I will make him pay, and it won’t be quick or fair. As for Scuderi, Fabiano is going to kill him very slowly, and if you want, we can send you the video footage so you can share it with the Scuderi sisters. You want Cavallaro’s death as much as we do.”
Luca released Remo. “Don’t underestimate Cavallaro. He is a cold fish on the outside, but he is a cruel fucker like you and I. And Scuderi is a nasty piece of shit but a strategic genius. That’s why he remained Consigliere under Dante’s rule.”
Fabiano made a low growl but otherwise remained silent.
