by Dana Delamar
Enrico had no answer. A strange light came into Dario’s eyes. “I’ll tell you, Lucchesi. She loved our father more than she ever loved you.”
“She loved me.”
Dario shook his head. “She loved me. Why do you think she sacrificed herself in marriage to you? She wanted me safe, she wanted me out of your father’s hands.”
“But she—”
“Told you she fancied you, yes? That she thought you’d make a good husband, that you were a better man than her father. Isn’t that what she said?”
Enrico’s chest started to ache. That was almost exactly what she’d said to him.
“You’re wondering how I know. I’ll tell you—she confessed it all to me after you married. Her entire plan. Marrying you was the only way she could get me back—our father would never have conceded otherwise. She had to convince both families that this plan was in everyone’s best interests. And for a time it was.”
Enrico reeled inside, as if punch drunk. Was it true? Had Toni’s love for him been an act? Had he sacrificed so much—had he abandoned his son—for a woman who’d never loved him? It couldn’t be true. It couldn’t. “I don’t believe it.” Except the catch in his voice gave him away.
Dario shrugged. “Love is blind. Weren’t you recently taken in by your own cousin? He ‘loved’ you too.”
If Dario was telling the truth… had she planted bugs in their home? “What else is on the recordings?”
“All sorts of interesting conversations.” That slow smile crept across Dario’s lips again. “Some of them might even be of great concern to you.”
“What do you mean?”
“My father recorded all sorts of things. Many of his phone calls. I haven’t reviewed everything of course, but I would wager that some of those calls might be from your late cousin Domenico.” Dario paused and raised his eyebrows. “Might those recordings interest you?”
Enrico’s heartbeat quickened. If such recordings existed, they would prove that Dom had betrayed him, that he’d schemed with Carlo. In the wrong hands, those recordings would portray Enrico as weak for having spared Dom’s sons, when ‘Ndrangheta law called for a traitor’s family to die. In the wrong hands, those recordings would provoke Dom’s sons into war. They’d want to avenge their father; it was only natural. Even if their father had betrayed his capo, his cosca. They could claim—not unjustifiably—that Dom had been acting in the cosca’s best interests all along.
And if he couldn’t repair the breach between the branches of the Lucchesi family, Enrico would be forced to shed more blood. To shed the blood of boys he’d soon take as sons through the vow of comparaggio.
His stomach sank to his shoes. Doing such a thing—killing more of his closest kin—he couldn’t bear it. He had to have the recordings if they existed. Swallowing hard, he looked at Dario. “Yes, I want those recordings. What do you want of me?”
“An alliance. You and I against Lorenzo.”
Enrico nodded. “Done. And the recordings?”
“They will be yours. When I find them.”
Which most likely would be quite a while, provided that Dario made an honest effort and didn’t hold on to them for his own purposes.
But what other choice did he have? He slumped back in his chair and pressed a fist against his teeth.
Had Toni ever loved him?
And did he dare trust her brother?
One month later
London, England
Nick bounded up the steps to his flat, Delfina beside him, her nose and cheeks red from the December cold. He stuck the key in the lock and turned it, giving the door an experimental push. This time, no post blocked it. His grandparents had come by and taken care of it as they’d promised. Delfina was about to step past him and into the flat, but he stopped her. “Just a moment, love.” He swung her up into his arms.
She laughed. “What are you doing?”
“Carrying my gorgeous wife across the threshold.” He pushed the door open with his shoulder.
And looked at his flat through her eyes. Cramped, dingy, a bit of a mess—though his grandmother had obviously done some tidying up—his flat was the exact opposite of everything Delfina was used to. Heat crept up his neck. “I know it’s not much—”
“It’s perfect.”
He set her on her feet. “You don’t have to lie to me, Delfi. I know it’s bloody awful.”
“It just needs a woman’s touch.” She glanced around, then turned back to him and put her arms around his neck. “And it’s what we can afford.”
True that. If they were going to make it on their own, they needed to economize. He sighed. “I want to give you the best.”
She gazed up into his eyes and grinned, her fingers playing with the hair at the base of his neck. “I have you. I already have the best.”
“Did I ever tell you how wise you were?”
“No. But I like the sound of that.”
He swung her up in his arms again. They had a bed to christen, and a life together to start.
EPILOGUE
Lorenzo Andretti strolled through the garden of his modest villa in Calabria, occasionally puffing on the one cigar he allowed himself a week in a concession to his doctor’s concerns about his health.
He had fooled them all. For now.
But his grandson wasn’t stupid. Lorenzo had seen it on Dario’s face, the suspicion, the mistrust. Such a shame, but it was no surprise.
Benedetto’s disloyalty had been a shock; he couldn’t say the same for Dario’s. The boy had been nothing but a thorn in Carlo’s side since the day he was born. Stubborn, willful, intractable. An Andretti through and through.
Fortunately, Benedetto’s betrayal had played into Lorenzo’s larger plans; the families were in an uproar over a Russian attack on Italian soil, a Russian attack on two prominent families. All the talk was of a possible war.
Now was the time to strike, to take action. To put the Andrettis firmly in charge of the whole ‘Ndrangheta.
But his years weighed upon him. Lorenzo needed a successor, someone he could be sure of. Someone who would do his bidding. Someone who would carry on his legacy.
Someone like Cristoforo Andretti.
He knew Dario had seen through him, knew Dario thought he’d win this battle. But Dario didn’t trust in the one thing Lorenzo trusted above all else: everyone had a price. Even the loyal, even the incorruptible. The trick was finding their weakness.
Lucchesi’s was family. D’Imperio’s was money. Dario’s was fear.
Cris’s was love.
Once he pulled the right levers, pushed the right buttons, Lorenzo would have them all in his fist. And when that happened, he would rain down the fires of hell upon any who dared oppose his rule.
THE END
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AUTHOR’S NOTE
Due to the high level of secrecy maintained by the ‘Ndrangheta (the Calabrian mafia) and the relative scarcity of former members turned state’s witnesses, there are few resources detailing the inner workings of the society. Therefore, I have used artistic license in portraying certain aspects of the ‘Ndrangheta, particularly as regards La Provincia.
Until July 2010, it was widely believed that there was no overarching body in charge of the ‘Ndrangheta. However, with the arrest of several prominent ‘Ndranghetisti, it is now bel
ieved that there is a capi di tutti capi (boss of all bosses) who oversees a commission (La Provincia) with direct power over the individual families. Retribution does not reflect this type of organization, though the formation of such an organization comes into play in later books.
Additionally, to make this series easier to read for American readers, I have used the term cosca rather than ‘ndrine to indicate an individual crime family. I have also greatly simplified the organization of individual crime families and have chosen to name crime families after their capo’s blood family; in real life, a cosca’s name may consist of a region or place, or a hyphenated combination of the names of the two or three primary blood families that control the cosca.
In Italy, women typically don’t take their husband’s last name; for simplicity’s sake, I have chosen to reflect the traditional American practice of taking the husband’s last name upon marriage.
I have used some artistic license in portraying the workings of the Serious Organized Crime Agency (SOCA) and Interpol. Employees of SOCA may be loaned to Interpol from time to time, but those employees are not actually in the employ of Interpol. I chose to simplify this relationship because the distinction wasn’t dramatically important.
Note that all persons mentioned in this series are fictional; no resemblance to actual people, living or dead, is intended. The family names used in this series were deliberately chosen not to reflect names of actual crime families.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
An avid traveler, Dana Delamar is forever curious about the various peoples and cultures that make up the world. Her fascination with the darker side of the human mind has led to her love of steamy, gritty stories of strong people pushed to the edge and tested by their circumstances.
When she’s not writing, Dana is zipping off to visit new locales, dreaming about her next trip to Italy, or narrowly avoiding car accidents while she conjures up exploits for her characters.
You can visit her at www.danadelamar.com.
MORE BY THIS AUTHOR
Retribution is the second book in the Blood and Honor four-part romantic suspense series, which is set in Italy among the underworld of the Calabrian Mafia. Each story features a hero and heroine forced to make difficult choices in a world where vendettas are quick to erupt and burn for generations; where family ties, both blood and criminal, drive every decision; and where passions flare up and threaten to blaze out of control.
The Blood and Honor series
Book 1: Revenge (available now)
Kate Andretti is married to the Mob—but doesn’t know it. When her husband uproots them to Italy, Kate leaves everything she knows behind. Alone in a foreign land, she finds herself locked in a battle for her life against a husband and a family that will “silence” her if she will not do as they wish. When her husband tries to kill her, she accepts the protection offered by a wealthy businessman with Mafia ties. He’s not a mobster, he claims. Or is he?
Enrico Lucchesi never wanted to be a Mafia don, and now he’s caught in the middle of a blood feud with the Andretti family. His decision to help Kate brings the feud between the families to a boil. Attacks from without and within push them both to the breaking point, and soon Enrico is forced to choose between protecting the only world he knows and saving the woman he loves.
Book 2: Retribution (available now)
Nick Clarkston, a young Interpol agent, threatens to undo the fragile peace between the Lucchesi and Andretti families when he tries to take down the Mafia don father who abandoned him. He allies with his father’s sworn enemy, a mobster both devious and ruthless. The mobster’s alluring daughter helps Nick negotiate the murky criminal underworld, but he soon learns she’s using him. Trapped, and with nowhere to turn, Nick makes a tragic mistake that plunges him further into danger.
Delfina Andretti appears to be the typical Mafia princess—but this princess wants out. Delfina dreams of being a fashion designer, and hooking up with Nick is her ticket out of an arranged marriage. Her feelings for Nick are genuine, but he’s leery of her. Even worse, his heedless drive for justice threatens to get them both killed and to put everyone Delfina loves behind bars—unless she and Nick can forge a new future for their warring families.
Book 3: Redemption (available late 2012/early 2013)
Antonio Legato has always been an outsider, even though he's moved up in the Lucchesi mob organization. When he falls in love with Bianca Lucchesi, Antonio may at last become part of the family, but he’s hiding an ugly secret about her father’s death. Telling Bianca the truth will pit blood against blood and annihilate the family he loves.
Bianca Lucchesi is on a mission to help her brothers ruin Antonio so they can take their rightful place in the organization. As the don’s assistant, Bianca seduces Antonio while pursuing her brothers’ revenge. But her loyalty is divided—she and Antonio share a secret that he’s unaware of. She longs to tell him, but fears he can never forgive what she’s done.
When Bianca and Antonio learn that her brothers have rashly allied with a cunning enemy who is plotting against the Lucchesis, can they heal the family’s wounds before everyone they love is destroyed?
Book 4: Release (available late 2013)
Ruggero Vela has long protected the don of the Lucchesi family. When his boss is framed, Ruggero is desperate to exonerate him. So desperate, he risks his life to protect the zealous anti-Mafia judge presiding over the case. She’s incorruptible—and the only person they can trust to conduct a fair trial. Although Ruggero has always survived by keeping a cool head, he’s blindsided by an irresistible attraction to the beautiful judge—an attraction that grows by the minute.
Loredana Montisi is renowned for her courageous struggle to prosecute Mafia thugs. But she doesn’t know she's the pawn of much darker forces with a truly frightening agenda. When she unwittingly deviates from their plan and gets too close to the truth, they try to kill her. Information Loredana learns from her unlikely protector forces her to question everything she knows. Can she let go of her deep-seated beliefs and place her trust in a Mafioso?
Print and E-book
Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other retailers
www.danadelamar.com
Continue reading for a special preview of Kristine Cayne’s second Deadly Vices novel
Deadly Addiction
Available April 2012
A proud people. A nation divided.
Rémi Whitedeer, police officer turned substance-abuse counselor, dreams of restoring order to his tribe. Violence and crime are rampant throughout the unpoliced Iroquois reserve, and a civil war is brewing between the Guardians, a militant traditionalist group, and other tribal factions. As the mixed-race cousin of the Guardians’ leader, Rémi is caught in a no-man’s land—several groups lay claim to him, but all want him to deny his white blood.
A maverick cop on an anti-drug crusade.
When she infiltrated the Vipers to take down the leader of the outlaw biker gang responsible for her brother’s death, police sergeant Alyssa Morgan got her man. But her superiors think she went too far. Her disregard for protocol and her ends-justify-the-means ethics have branded her an unreliable maverick. To salvage her career, she accepts an assignment to set up a squad of native provincial officers on a reserve.
A radical sovereigntist bent on freeing a nation.
Decades of government oppression threaten the existence of the Iroquois Nation. But one man, Chaz Whitedeer, is determined to save his people no matter what the price, even if it means delving into the shadowy world of organized crime.
When Rémi and Alyssa uncover the Guardians’ drug-fueled scheme to fund their fight for true autonomy—a scheme involving the Vipers—Rémi must choose between loyalty to family and tribe or his growing love for Alyssa.
Can Rémi and Alyssa leave everything behind—even their very identities—for a future together?
An excerpt from Deadly Addiction
Eyes closed, Alyssa pressed the glass of water to her n
eck. “I can do the talking if that makes you feel any better.”
Although Rémi heard the words, it would have taken an act of Parliament to get him to respond.
The heat of her skin caused the condensation on the glass to liquefy. Like a tractor-beam, his gaze followed a drop of water as it slid down the long pale column of her neck, followed the curve of her right breast and slipped under the collar of her blue cotton T-shirt into the V of her cleavage. Oh fuck. He wanted to be that drop of water. He wanted to be snuggled between her warm ripe breasts. His cock swelled and lengthened, letting him know that it wanted to be there too.
He squeezed his eyes shut and willed his hard-on away. This wasn’t the time and certainly not the place for Mr. Happy to make an appearance. But the more he tried not to think about where the drop had gone, the more he did. He’d thought he was a leg man, but he knew the truth now. It had slapped him in the face. He was a breast man. An “Alyssa’s breasts” man, and he fucking wanted to see them, to feel them, to taste them. Right now.
Print and E-book
Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other retailers
