“You had best have a pretty good reason for turning up at my fucking house, Romano,” I seethe, the grip on my gun tightening as I look through my metal gates at him.
“Are you not letting me in?” He looks around and up at the camera stationed on the brick wall looking at him. “We need to speak. In private.”
Maddie.
Fuck.
I aim my gun at him.
He holds his palm up in surrender and chuckles. “It’s not that kind of party, unless you want it to be.”
“Like you said, trust is earned. Prove you have the information I need,” I spit back.
I don’t have time for this, and I certainly don’t want the Capris knowing about Rosa.
“Someone working for you isn’t who he says he is. He has Maddie, I am certain. If you let me explain, you’ll see why.” He calmly pulls out a thick white envelope from his jacket and waves it.
“You better not be wasting my time again, Romano.”
I key in the passcode to open the gates.
I lead him to the back entrance of the house, the furthest away from my bedroom that sits above the front door.
“Take a seat.” I point my gun at the dining table.
“The information I have, it never came from me.”
I narrow my eyes as he walks around the offered chair, hovering by the side table filled with picture frames.
He picks up the photo of me holding Darcy, taken on the first day I met her. “Cute family you’ve got, Luca.”
I don’t like where this is going, and I grit my teeth together to bite my tongue. “Just spit it out.”
“Depends if we have a deal?” He looks up at me.
“I thought deals like that never came around twice?” I counter.
“Things change. I want my guns in New York, and you have the shipping facilities. An alliance would be good for business for both of us.”
“An alliance?” This suddenly became interesting.
He waves the frame idly. “Do you want to find Maddison?”
“Of course I do.” Grayson’s a mess, I’ve never seen him so broken. I’d do anything to make this right.
“I’m giving you one chance, and one chance only, Luca.” He takes a step towards me, and I straighten my spine.
He shoves the picture into my chest, pushing me backwards.
“My daughter, Maria, wants to build my empire in New York for me. She’s an overachiever, you could call her. She needs a visa, so you two will marry. She will also be there to keep an eye on you, make sure you are conducting my business in the right way here. If you fuck this up, well–” He pauses, looking at the frame. “There is nothing more devastating to a father than losing his only daughter, is there, Luca?”
My blood boils at his words, the muscles in my neck threatening to pop out. “That’s my niece you’re talking about, you fucking cunt.”
He tuts, taking a step back.
“This–this is what I’m talking about, your irrational behavior. You think I haven’t had eyes on you for a long time? My daughter will whip you into shape, carve you as one of us. Keep you in line. If you do that, then I’ll send you right to Maddie. No one has to get hurt here. It’s all up to you now.”
He places the picture right-side-up on the dining table.
I squeeze the back of my neck–marrying his daughter?
“Luca, this isn’t really a choice. If you don’t do this, I’ll burn everything and everyone you love to the ground for stealing from me. If you do this, they live, you run my guns, marry my daughter, you do as we say. You get Maddie back in return.”
I lose Rosa.
Again, I lose any chance I potentially had at happiness with the one woman who made me feel anything.
But, they’re my family. There is nothing I won’t do to protect them.
So the old asshole is right.
I don’t have a choice, family over everything, right?
“Deal. Now tell me who has Maddie.”
“You might want to sit down for this one,” he says.
I grip the back of the chair in front of me.
“I’m fine.”
“Your new friend, Frankie, isn’t who you think he is.”
He rummages in his beige linen suit jacket and throws the load of paperwork over the table. I pick it up and scrunch it in my hands as I look at the photocopy of a driver’s license with Frankie’s familiar face on it.
My guts turn to ice when I read the name. “Mr. Francis Falcone.”
Fal-fucking-cone.
That motherfucker.
My legs feel weak and I slump into one of the chairs. “Tell me everything.”
He shakes his head. “It’s all there. He has her, mark my words. I don’t know why he decided to keep you alive, but you’re lucky. He’s clever. Don’t underestimate him.”
As he turns to leave, he pauses. “I expect a ring sent over to Maria by next week. We will sort out the details once you retrieve Maddie. Welcome to the family, son.” He puts particular emphasis on the last word before he steps outside.
When the door slams shut, I let out a ragged breath, staring down at the picture left on the table. Then my gaze drifts to the frame he was holding. Darcy.
Squeezing my eyes shut, a headache forms at my temples. I frantically throw open the cupboards.
Fuck. No scotch.
So, instead, I fling the pile of papers from my reach and watch them scatter across the tile, resembling my life.
Frankie. What the hell have you done?
