ARIA
I rolled over onto Luca’s side of the bed. It still smelled of him, and my heart swelled. Luca had left before sunrise to drive to Washington DC to see if the current Underboss was in control of the situation after Gottardo’s death, but he’d be back tonight. I forced myself to get out of bed because I was actually hungry. I couldn’t even remember the last time I’d been hungry in the morning.
When I came down into the kitchen, Demetrio was already sitting at the bar counter, reading something on his mobile, but he rose the moment he saw me.
“I’m not the queen,” I said with a laugh. “You don’t have to get up.”
He eyed me a moment, then sat back down. He was different from Romero. He wasn’t as approachable. I took a tea and a banana, and leaned against the counter across from him. I could see that he wasn’t sure how to handle me. I could only imagine what Luca had told him.
“How long have you been a Made Man?” I asked him, cradling my cup and blowing on it to cool it down.
“Five, no six years now. Got inducted on my fourteenth birthday.”
“And now you are stuck being my bodyguard,” I said curiously. “I bet you wouldn’t have chosen the job.”
He shrugged, but I could tell that I’d hit a nerve. Of course, he’d never say it. “I do what Luca asks me to do. And that he allows me to guard his wife is an honor. It shows me that he puts great trust in me.”
“That’s true,” I said. Especially since Demetrio wasn’t only protecting me, but also our baby. “And you won’t be my bodyguard forever. I hear you are going to become Underboss.”
Demetrio shook his head. “That’s not determined yet. Only if I prove myself. And even then…” He grimaced.
I tilted my head. “Luca doesn’t care that your father wasn’t married to your mother.”
“Others do. She was his affair,” he said with a bitter twist of his mouth.
I’d heard she’d killed herself because of the affair, but I couldn’t ask him for details. I had no right to pry.
I nodded. “Many won’t like to see you rising in ranks. They are the ones you shouldn’t care about.”
Demetrio’s eyes flickered with acknowledgement as if he was starting to see me as a human being, not only a thing he had to protect.
LUCA
Aria was stretched out on the lounge chair on the roof terrace enjoying the first warm days of spring. Her belly protruded unmistakably now, and she was confined to the penthouse most days because of it. So far hardly anyone knew about her pregnancy except for the closest family and a few loyal soldiers.
I had absolutely no intention of changing that. Dante and his family had disappeared completely from the public eye since Valentina had given birth to their son six months ago. Except for a few minor attacks on Pittsburgh and the photo fiasco, Dante had lain low, perhaps because of his children or because he was planning something big.
“What’s wrong?” Aria asked quietly, watching me standing in the doorway to the roof terrace.
I shook my head and moved toward her. “Nothing.”
She frowned but didn’t push the matter. I sank down beside her and she shifted a bit to give me space. “You don’t have to carry your worries alone, Luca. Being pregnant doesn’t make me breakable.”
I smiled darkly. She was breakable, vulnerable. She was where my enemies would aim if I gave them a chance, and I had so many enemies, not in the Famiglia anymore, not since my last few cleanings, but there were still enough enemies left. Matteo and I, along with my men, had gone on so many killing sprees in the last few months, I could hardly get rid of the pink tinge on my skin anymore. But for every enemy I killed, a new one seemed to surface.
Aria tensed and I did the same in turn. Her hand shot out, grabbing mine and pressing my palm against her belly, and that’s when I felt it – a kick.
I closed my eyes because it still seemed impossible that I would become a father, that Aria was carrying our baby.
“Have you thought about names?” Aria whispered, and I opened my eyes, still dry, always dry.
It took me a moment to realize what she was talking about. “My grandmother was called Marcella.”
Aria’s blonde eyebrows rose. “The female version of Mars, the god of war?”
I leaned down and kissed Aria’s stomach, then her lips. “Our daughter will be strong. She won’t bow down to a husband. She won’t ever have to fear a man, that I swear.”
“Marcella,” Aria said thickly, and that look in her eyes got me every time, still after almost five years. It would always get me.
My cell ruined the moment and I groaned. Couldn’t my soldiers deal with one fucking thing without me? But when I glanced down at the screen and saw Orazio’s name, I picked up at once and stood. “What’s the matter?” It wasn’t time for his monthly report, and if he felt the need to call that was a fucking bad sign.
“Dante was contacted by Benedetto Falcone.”
“What?” I growled.
Aria sat up, eyes wide, and I turned my back to her. “When?”
“A couple of days ago. Falcone seems to be looking for support. He’s growing weaker. Many of his men are starting to resent his sadistic and unpredictable ways. He wants to forge a truce with the Outfit.”
If that happened, this war would reach New York and not just the outer borders.
“What did Cavallaro say?”
“He doesn’t trust Falcone and refused a meeting.”
“Will he change his mind?”
“He might, but I doubt it. I also heard a rumor from one of my contacts in England. A rumor about Falcone’s son.”
“Son?” I remembered dimly that the head of the Camorra had several sons, but that was all I knew. I hadn’t bothered with the Camorra.
“His oldest son Remo. He’s seventeen, and has disappeared with his brothers from the boarding school they attended. I don’t think it’s public knowledge in Las Vegas yet. Falcone might be eager to keep it hush-hush.”
“Why?”
“Because Remo Falcone supposedly wants to kill his father and take over the West.”
“Do I need to worry about him?”
“I don’t know, but from what I hear he’s spent the holidays killing for his father and the rest of the time for fun. His brothers may have attended that school but Remo, he’s a born and bred killer.”
As if I needed another worry added to my list. “If he’s busy killing his father, he won’t cause troubles elsewhere, I presume.”
“Maybe. But if a new Capo arises in Las Vegas, they might return to old strength, if he manages to unite the underbosses of the West.”
“I will consider doing something about the Camorra, but for now I don’t want to give them more reason to work with the Outfit.”
“Understood.”
“Keep your ears and eyes open, Orazio.”
“Will do.”
He hung up and when I turned, Aria was close behind, her palm against her stomach and worry on her face. I forced a smile. “Nothing for you to worry about.”
She tilted her head with a knowing look.
Matteo and I were on our way out of the Sphere and back home to our wives when a young man at the bar with dark hair caught my attention. He held himself with a certain air of self-assurance and barely restrained violence. His dark eyes locked on mine and he didn’t look away. He was a teenager, but his eyes revealed that he had seen and done more than most grown men. I stopped and so did Matteo.
“Do you know him?” I asked in a low voice, reaching for my Beretta.
Matteo shook his head, also reaching beneath his jacket.
The guy smiled a fucking twisted smile and rose. Scars littered his arms and one crossed his eyebrow. With a last challenging glance, he left my club. Matteo and I followed and the moment we stepped out I pulled my gun, my eyes searching the dark street for a sign of him.
“Luca Vitiello,” came a voice out of the dark.
I aimed my gun in that direction. “Step forward,” I ordered.
And he did, holding up his hands with that same twisted smile on his face. He didn’t show fear. I nodded at Matteo, who lunged and grabbed the guy’s arm and pressed his knife against his throat. The guy didn’t try to defend himself, didn’t even flinch, only stared into my eyes, and I took my own knife out. We’d see how long he’d hold up that twisted smile. Matteo dragged him deeper into the dark and I moved very close to the crazy fucker.
“Tape?” I asked Matteo.
He shook his head.
“I won’t scream,” the crazy fucker said.
“We will see,” I said quietly. “Who are you?”
His smile widened, and I lost my shit. I grabbed his arm and brought my knife down. Matteo clamped his hand over the guy’s mouth, but he didn’t need to. The guy shuddered but made no sound, and I wasn’t entirely sure if he didn’t enjoy the pain. A challenge.
Matteo gave me a look as he dropped his hand from the guy’s mouth.
“Who are you?” I growled.
“Remo Falcone.”
Fuck. “And what, pray tell, are you doing in my territory?”
“Looking for alliance. I’m going to kill my father and all his men and take over Vegas, and you can either be my ally or my enemy—it’s up to you.”
Matteo snorted. “To think there’s someone who’s more crazy than you and I.”
I gave Remo my coldest smile. “How about I kill you now?”
“Then my brother will have to hurt your wife.”
I gripped his throat. “What did you just say?”
“Your penthouse is well guarded,” he pressed out. “There isn’t a good shooting position even for the best shooter from any of the surrounding buildings, except for one. There is one window in a nearby skyscraper that allows a clear shot if someone’s leaning on the banister of your rooftop. It’s a difficult shot. Few men could hit a target from that distance. Few men could have figured out that one spot. Luckily one of those men is my brother Nino, a true genius. And your beautiful wife is leaning against that banister right as we speak.”
I dropped my hand from his throat, my stomach clenching tightly. Matteo met my gaze, lowering his knife.
“What do you want?” I said with barely controlled rage. I focused on it because the other emotions would weaken me, and I had a feeling Remo knew how to use weaknesses.
“Only your attention,” he said. “I have no intention of hurting your wife.” He brought the cut on his arm to his lips and sucked the blood away. “I want you to stay out of my fight, and I don’t want you to help my father no matter what he offers you. I will be Capo soon, and then I want you to remember this day,” he said, lips and teeth covered with his own blood.
Crazy and dangerous.
He took a step back.
“I thought you wanted to know if I was ally or enemy?”
He tilted his head. “I think you might need more time to think it through. Perhaps one day we can do what should have been done a long time ago: destroy the Outfit and split their territory between us. When my father contacts you, remember that I could have killed your beautiful wife and didn’t, Luca. I don’t care for your territory, but I want what’s mine, and I will do anything to get it.” He walked backwards slowly and disappeared in the shadows, and then the engine of a bike roared up.
I ripped my mobile out of my back pocket and called Aria.
The moment she picked up, I hissed, “Get inside now!”
She sucked in a breath but I heard movement. “Luca, what’s going on?”
“Where are you?” I asked, already running toward my car. Matteo was close behind, talking to Demetrio and ordering him to send out every available soldier to look for Nino and Remo Falcone.
“In the living room. Demetrio is letting down the shutters. What’s going on?”
“Stay inside.”
I hung up, my pulse racing with fury and fear alike.
“What the fuck was that?” Matteo muttered.
“A warning,” I growled. The Camorra had never been in my focus. That would change now.
The moment I stepped into the penthouse, Aria came running and I clutched her to my body. Orfeo had joined Demetrio. She looked confused and scared. “What’s going on? Nobody’s telling me anything.”
“False alarm,” I assured her, and she frowned.
I kissed her forehead then moved to Orfeo. “Find someone who’s been a sniper. I want to find that spot.” Orfeo nodded and rushed off.
We didn’t find the spot until a letter was taped to the door of the Sphere two days later with directions. I wasn’t sure what kind of game Remo Falcone was playing, but I couldn’t risk a fight with him as well. Dante and the Outfit needed to stay in my focus. I couldn’t deal with the Camorra on top of that.
