by Tabatha Kiss
I follow behind them across the lot, limping on my wounded leg as I move. Words stand out on tombstones as we pass by them. Fathers and mothers. Sons and daughters.
Brothers and sisters.
My mother stops at the end of the line of stones. Sofia looks down and tears spill from her eyes as she reads the name.
Rosalie.
“We all deserve a place to mourn,” my mother says. “Now, she will always be close to you.”
Sofia sobs. “Thank you.”
I step closer to her and she leans into my embrace, clinging to me with all the life she has left.
With my arm around her and Lucian in the other, there’s nothing more affirming than this.
She buries her face into my shoulder, sniffling softly and I rest my lips against her head until she’s ready.
Sofia wipes her eyes and I lay Lucian into her steady hands. She smiles at him, throwing on a brave face and I adore her even more as she whispers words of love in his ear and walks towards the car.
I linger behind with my mother. “You’re the strongest of all of us, you know that, Ma?”
“Well, what did you expect?” She peeks up at me. “I created you.”
***
“We should kill them,” Yuri says from the sofa. “All of them.”
I glance around the study, drifting from one face to the next to gauge the reaction.
Markov sits beside Yuri with a flexed jaw, obviously just as ready and eager to take out every last one of Zappias with him. My mother gives a short smile from the armchair by the door, admiring the plan for its simplicity, while Fox stands tall against the opposite wall, silent as always.
And then, finally, I look to the empty chair behind my father’s desk.
“It wouldn’t be easy,” my mother points out.
“But it would be poetic,” Markov says.
“We should, at least, burn their house down,” Yuri shrugs.
I let out a quick, dry laugh. “I’ve thought about that before.”
My mother crosses her arms. “With that little shit inside of it.”
She hasn’t called Giovani by his name in days. None of us have.
Yuri looks at Markov. “Any luck tracking him down?”
He shakes his head. “Not since we found his parachute. We will keep looking.”
“Let him run,” I say. “There is nowhere for him to go.”
“He may crawl to Papa,” Yuri says.
“Doubtful. I don’t think he’s eager admit how badly he’s fucked up.”
“So, our choices include doing nothing or sitting on our hands?”
The room falls silent again and I raise my eyes to the door. “What do you think, Sofia?”
All heads turn towards her in the doorway. She stands there in her sundress, elegant and strong, with her hands by her sides, absorbing every word we say.
She tilts her head. “We could kill them…”
“Or?” I ask.
“Or…” She inhales a breath and stares forward into the space between us. “A Zappia man is a proud man. He doesn’t just take what is his, he earns it. He carves his name from stone itself. So, you can imagine, how the family reacts to failure.”
I don’t say a word. I couldn’t even if I tried. My eyes stay locked on her, unable to pull away from the absolute perfection in front of me.
“You pick away at stone long enough, it dissolves beneath you,” she says, meeting my eyes. “As they panic, we take our secrets, go to the top of the world, and we scream them out. Then, we watch as the Zappia family destroys themselves.”
“Sofia…” My lips curl. “You are sinister.”
She smiles back at me. “Thank you.”
I blink away and look around at their faces. Each of them still have their eyes on her but they nod softly, whether they realize it or not.
“Well…” I say. “You all heard the lady.”
“Where do we start?” Yuri asks, tepid excitement growing behind his vengeful eyes.
I pause for a moment and look over at Fox. “What do you say, comrade?” He stares back at me, standing with his thick arms crossed over his chest. “How would you like a ride home?”
He nods. “Sounds like a plan.”
Markov rises off his chair. “I will prepare the plane.”
“We’ll leave as soon as it’s ready,” I say.
My mother shakes her head. “I’ve been to Chicago once,” she says with an upturned nose. “That was enough.”
“You can stay here with Sofia and Lucian, Ma,” I smile.
“That’s my boy,” she grins as she pops up onto her toes to kiss my cheek.
They all head for the door but Sofia lingers with me, waiting until they all leave before closing the door behind them. She puts her back against it and I bite my lip.
“You don’t really think I’m going to stay here, do you?” she asks.
I step towards her. “Sofia…”
“I will not sit here and do nothing, Luka.”
“I would never expect you to.”
“I’m coming with you,” she says, not even blinking.
“Of course, you are,” I whisper, reaching out to brush her lips with my fingertips. “I couldn’t stop you even if I wanted to.”
She accepts my kiss, straightening against the door as I pin her to it. I take her face in my hands and she trembles, splitting her lips as I move my tongue with hers.
I reach down and draw her skirt up her thighs, laying kisses on her neck as she lets out heaving breaths for me. She slips a hand into my zipper and I instantly grow hard in her fingers.
I raise her up and she wraps her legs around my waist.
“Luka…” she whispers as I press her even harder against the door. I look into those eyes of hers, falling deeper in love with her than I was before.
She guides my cock and I lose my breath the instant my tip impales her. Her tight comfort surrounds me and I fill her completely as she moans for my ears only.
I take her with deep thrusts, easily holding her little body against the door. She squeezes me hard from the inside and everything in me throbs with lust for her.
“Sofia…” I groan her name and she smiles. “Tell me what you want.”
Her core quivers and she rolls her hips on me, taking me in deeper and harder. “I already have it…” she sighs.
I slide a hand over her breasts, feeling every piece of her as I grind her perfect, wet pussy. She’s pulsing around me already, just moments away from purring all over me and I nibble on her lip to stop her from screaming.
The tension breaks and she gives into the pleasure tearing her apart. She settles against my grip, trusting me to hold her up, and I cradle her even closer to me, refusing to let her go.
Strong and beautiful Sofia. My Sofia.
I can’t wait to see the looks on their faces.
Chapter 23
Sofia
The Zappia casino is unlike anything I’ve ever seen in my life but, then again, I’ve said that quite a few times recently.
It sits on the water, just west of the beach. I fill my lungs with the constant Chicago wind sailing in from the waves and I hope for it to calm my nerves.
It doesn’t.
“Sofia…”
Luka reaches down and grabs my hand. He kisses my knuckles before tugging me along with him towards the entrance across the dock. Suddenly, that story of a man being swallowed whole by the giant whale enters my mind.
We walk inside, right into the belly of the Zappia beast.
A dozen tables line the floor, each one surrounded by players with stacks of chips and drinks from the bar. My nose twitches from the chaotic mix of smells — from alcohol to sweets to cigarette smoke — and my ears ring from the constant chatter. I grip Luka’s hand even tighter and he pauses to look back at me.
He smiles, his silver eyes calm and steady as ever and I breathe a little easier.
I look over his shoulder and I spot Antony standing on the balcon
y above the floor.
He sees me, too, and my heart stops.
That stare; so full of bitterness and apathy. Ever since the day Rosalie and I were dropped off at his estate in Rome, he’s looked at me like that. Tonight is no different but as recognition crosses his eyes, confusion settles in along his brow.
“Antony!” Luka shouts with a grin. “How are you? It’s been a long time.”
The sudden boom of his voice draws plenty of eyes. Most of them instantly turn back to their games but there are some who pause.
Enzo and Marty, Gio’s brothers, stand up from their poker table.
Antony’s eyes shift from me to Luka, looking even more confused as he makes his way towards us. He walks down the balcony stairs and I scan the room, feeling two other pairs of Zappia eyes boring holes deep into my skull.
I flash a smile. “Hello, Antony.”
He flinches at me. “Luka… what is she doing here?”
“She’s with me.”
I watch over our shoulders as Enzo and Marty stop behind us.
“With you?”
Luka’s smug smile remains. “That’s right. I wanted to come here and let you know, in person, that Sofia is no longer a madam of the Zappia household. Her marriage to Gio is over. She and our son now reside in Moscow.”
My chest constricts. Having my biggest secret spoke allowed so casually is quite jarring, no matter how many times I hear it. I take a quick look at the Zappia boys and their whiplashed eyes. Both of them seem likely to run at me and squash me with their heels.
Antony stares at Luka as if he were a punk kid getting busted with too much grass in his pocket. Arrogant and immature Luka Lutrova. “Your son?”
“My son,” Luka nods. “Lucian is a Lutrova. Always has been.”
The man finally looks at me and he takes a short step forward but Luka grows a little taller beside me. “You…” he whispers. “You did this to my boy?”
I hold his stare. “You never gave me a choice.”
Antony shakes his head once and recoils from me. He looks at Luka. “Your father will—”
“My father is dead,” Luka says.
Antony stops. “Nikolai is gone?”
Luka nods slowly. “Gio killed him.” He pauses and takes the next few seconds to study Antony carefully. Shock, confusion. Fear. It all bleeds from his old eyes in a span of seconds. “It’s time for the two of us to negotiate a new truce.”
Enzo reaches behind his back and pulls out the pistol hidden inside.
Antony shakes his head. “Gio would never—”
“I’m not going to waste time proving it to you, Antony,” Luka says. “The fact is, starting tonight, you no longer have three sons.”
He scoffs. “Excuse me?”
“Gio is dead. Dead to you. Dead to me. And, especially, dead to Sofia.”
Antony glares at me again. “Now, hold on—”
“In addition to losing Gio, your family will abandon Italy completely.”
The old man’s jaw drops and he laughs, taking a step back to look Luka up and down. Marty and Enzo chuckle behind us but Luka keeps his features sharp and serious.
Antony waves a hand in the air, absolutely fed-up with us, and three guards appear from the corners with pistols drawn. “Get this piece of shit out of my sight,” he says to them, gesturing at Luka. He squints at me, the whites of his eyes nearly immersed by his anger. “The girl stays.”
Luka doesn’t move. “I’m not leaving until we’re done negotiating.”
“You were done the second you stepped in here.” Antony points a finger. “You walk into my casino alone with my son’s whore wife on your arm and tell me to abandon my boy and my homeland, and you expect… what? To walk out again?”
“Yes.”
He scoffs, deepening the anger in his forehead. “You are too outnumbered to have balls so big, Lutrova.”
“I assure you, the size of my balls is more than adequate,” Luka smiles. “I didn’t come here alone.”
I catch movement over my shoulder at the bar behind Enzo and Marty as a man slides off the barstool on the corner. His face lies obscured under the shadow of a baseball cap but I can make out the scar drawn down his left cheek.
Fox pulls a pistol from his coat and rests it against Enzo’s ear. “Give me the gun, please,” he says, extending his free hand.
Enzo doesn’t move, his jaw sagging with amused disbelief.
Antony chuckles. “You brought one man…?”
Luka tilts his head. “Not quite.”
The room falls silent. Dealers and players rise out of their chairs, standing up from the game tables and the bar to head in our direction. They move in waves, each taking their place in a circle around us until the entire casino points a gun at Antony Zappia’s face.
All of them.
Luka smiles. “As I said… I’m not leaving until we’re done negotiating. Give your guards a break and let’s talk.”
Antony stands still but his eyes hide a screaming tantrum inside. Finally, he nods at his guards to back down and Enzo drops his gun into Fox’s open palm.
“Not bad, kid…” he murmurs.
“Turns out, it doesn’t take very much to convince people to knock the Zappia clan down a notch,” Luka says. “You’ve pissed off a lot of people.”
“Power isn’t earned with cupcakes and rainbows. What do you want?”
Luka doesn’t blink. “I already told you.”
“You want me to abandon Italy?”
“You and your entire family.”
“That’s not possible.”
“Yes, it is.”
“There is nothing in my family more sacred than this, Lutrova,” Antony shouts. “Only a Zappia may rule in Italy.”
Luka smiles. “But I have one.”
Antony’s eyes shift to his sons. “Who?”
I feel Luka squeeze my hand, firing adrenaline straight towards my heart.
“Me,” I say.
The anger in Antony’s stare turns furious. “No…” he seethes, his face turning up with disgust.
I hold up my hand, revealing the small scar that remains on my finger from my wedding day. “My blood is your blood. My flesh is your flesh. From now through eternity… Is that not the Zappia way, Antony?”
“You are no Zappia.”
“My name may change but my blood is Zappia blood. If you deny that, well…” I smile. “Where would this family be if we didn’t follow the rules?”
Luka smirks.
“You have no place here,” Antony spits at me, shaking his head.
“I think the last thing you need to concern yourself with is Sofia’s place, Antony,” Luka says. “Her place is right where she’s standing now. Beside me.”
“So, that’s it, then…” Antony growls. “You come in here and you take my family and my business and you give it to her?”
Luka inhales a deep breath and takes a step closer to him, towering above the old man. “Gio killed my father,” he says. “He killed Rosalie. Your family took my family first.”
Antony looks down.
“I planned on killing you,” Luka admits. “Out of respect for my father’s memory and the friendship he had with you, I changed my mind. That is the Lutrova way. Don’t be angry with what I’m taking from you, Antony. Be happy with what I’m letting you keep.”
A sweet shiver runs down my spine and it curls my toes.
My Luka.
“And what exactly do I get to keep?” Antony asks.
Luka gestures around. “I will let you keep Chicago. In time, I’m sure you will rebuild it.”
Antony’s face falls. “Rebuild?”
“In this city, it’s hard to see the stars,” Luka says. “But look up into the sky tonight… and you will see smoke.” He turns around to Enzo. “Yuri said your deli was lovely. He almost regretted lighting the match.”
Enzo’s face grows with panic but he says nothing, looking to his father to intervene but there’s not a damn thin
g Antony can do about it.
Five businesses were built in the Zappia name over the last two years, each one of them shameless fronts for Italian mafia deeds.
Ten minutes ago, they were all reduced to ashes.
“You son-of-a-bitch…” Antony grinds through his teeth.
“Rome is mine,” Luka says, his tone strong and cold. “Moscow is mine. Chicago is yours. I will leave your casino intact as a sign of good faith, but if I find out any of your brood have set a fucking toe in Europe again, I will come back here. If I find out that you are giving aid to Gio in any way, I will come back here and I will take the rest of what is yours for myself. This is the new truce. Negotiations over.”
I exhale the breath I didn’t know I was holding and my heart pulses wild for him.
Luka looks around the room and nods, telling the crowd to lower their guns. They all obey and the entire group moves calmly towards the exit, leaving the casino abandoned with an eerie calmness.
Without another word, we turn and follow them towards the exit with Fox trailing close behind us.
“This is treason, Lutrova.”
“No, Antony, this...” Luka pauses in the open doorway and smiles at me.
“This is war.”
***
I follow the black clouds as they travel in the sky above my head, smelling the thick, smothering smoke bleeding into my nose with every breath, but every new inhale makes me smile a little wider.
Pedestrians on the street do as I do. They stare up into the sky as they go about their evening fun, completely oblivious to what caused the string of arsons around Chicago tonight.
I stand by the car, leaning against the trunk with Fox beside me. His watchful eyes scan the passing crowd for any signs of trouble as we wait for Luka and Yuri to come back. He slides the baseball cap off his head for a second to run his fingers through his thick, brown hair and I get another close look at him before he throws the hat back on.
I wonder if this is how he’ll be from now on; completely obscured in the shadows to avoid whatever he’s running from.
“Where will you go now, Fox?” I ask him.
He takes a deep, slow breath. “I’ll disappear.”
I study his eyes beneath the cap, recognizing a little bit of me inside but it’s not who I am now. This is the old me; desperate and scared. The one that was willing to end it altogether until Luka appeared in front of me and showed me a different path.
