“We’re going to get there in time,” Nico said beside me. “But not if we get into a wreck.”
After the update from Tony, I drove my Jaguar around the mansion toward the old chapel. We headed to and circled the Rossi estate in Scarsdale after receiving confirmation that it was where Luca had taken Sera.
I glanced in my rearview mirror. Trevor was driving a Patrol loaded with Arrows and he was having trouble catching up with my Jaguar. Dom led another group to help Luca, who was holed up in one of the mansion rooms.
I took a sharp turn at top speed, trusting the tires to hug the curve. My brother, who was used to my driving, let out a string of profanities.
The gate of the church was up ahead.
“Is that—” Nico started. “Holy fuck. Drive faster.”
Fury ratcheted up inside me.
My wife was on her knees, Santino about to execute her.
I floored the gas.
The Jaguar slammed through the gates, and with the sound of metal on metal, the destruction of the car I love was eclipsed by an all-consuming compulsion to save my wife.
My life.
Santino was a dead man.
The bastard swung his gun at me and fired.
Bulletproof, motherfucker.
Realizing this too late, he raised his arms as if he could ward off the five thousand pounds of steel hurtling toward him.
I struck him, tossing his body like a doll thrown by a child having the end-all of tantrums.
My rage.
I was in the thrall of bloodlust, but my reflexes were honed, my senses sharp. I hit one of his crew with precision, missing Alessandro by scant inches. I jacked the brake, spinning the Jaguar in a one-eighty and rode the gas again. No speed was fast enough to get to my wife.
Trevor and the rest of the Arrows arrived.
The Jaguar screeched to a halt beside Sera and I scrambled out of the vehicle and slid to my knees in front of her.
She was sobbing into her hands.
“Sera.”
She raised her tear-streaked face as though finally realizing it was me.
“Matteo.” She fell into my arms. The agonizing crack in her voice when she said my name made me want to hit Santino with the Jaguar again.
And so we sat there for what seemed like an eternity, oblivious to the hustle of activity around us. The aggression that had spread like wildfire in my veins tempered with the need to be the protector, the safe haven for my wife who was crying in my arms with relief.
“I got you,” I whispered, locking her tightly. “I got you, baby. You’re safe.”
I had my arms around Sera as we walked into the De Lucci mansion. The Jaguar was wrecked in such a way that it wasn’t drivable for long distances. Besides, the damage to its hood would call too much attention. The cleanup crew we had on standby brought a tow truck and removed all traces of our involvement before the police arrived.
It helped that the estate was large and secluded enough not to have nosy neighbors call nine-one-one when all the shooting started.
Frankie Rossi was dead. His death would be blamed on one of Santino’s men, but from what I gleaned it was Luca who made the killing shot. The whole situation was still a blur and my wife was not coherent enough to tell us what happened. Sandro Rossi was involved but he was taken back to his territory and a mob doctor was called in.
The only person who had all the pieces was Luca.
He was standing in the foyer talking to Dad.
He rushed forward when he saw Sera, relief etched on his face.
Fuck no.
Rage that I’d kept on a simmer surged to a boil. I let go of my wife and met him head-on.
He stalled, realizing I was seething with aggression. “Now, wait a minute, De Lucci.”
I punched him across the face with my left hand.
“Sera almost died, you motherfucker,” I roared.
Dad came between us and told me, “Don’t mess up your other hand.”
“Matteo, don’t,” Sera said softly, touching my shoulder.
I was breathing hard for long seconds, jaw clenched, gaze laser-focused on Luca.
Finally, I one-armed Sera to my side. I couldn’t last a few seconds without touching her. “How could you risk her! Sera is meant to be protected. Not used as a pawn.”
Luca’s eyes flashed, then he dropped his gaze to fix the sleeves of his suit. “Don’t talk to me about using her as a pawn, De Lucci. You did the same.”
“I didn’t put her deliberately in harm’s way.”
“Debatable,” he sneered, this time pinning me with a disdainful stare. “This whole circus started because you stole her from Santino—”
“Why, you—” I took a step toward him.
Sera hung on to me and pleaded, “Enough. Everyone is fine. Santino is dead. We’re okay.”
“But I admit,” Luca continued, “Sera is better off with you.”
“Don’t choke on your words.” Dad clapped a hand onto Moretti’s shoulder. The other man stiffened.
“I don’t like being touched,” he clipped.
Dad shook his head but remained unperturbed.
“Stop being an asshole,” my wife told her uncle, extricating herself from my embrace and into the arms of the man I wanted to bury. “Now give me a hug.”
For a few seconds, I saw the veneer of ruthless mafia boss slip from Luca’s face as he tightly squeezed his niece. “I’m glad you’re okay. I don’t know if I could forgive myself if anything happened to you.”
Then why risk her? I kept those words to myself. A headache was starting to pound at my temples. To function with precision, I took a cocktail of painkillers plus Adderall, and they were starting to wear off.
“We need to debrief. We have to do it now.” Luca let go of Sera and transformed back into crime boss. “I have to go back to Chicago. Word of the Rossi shake-up would have reached them now and I have to calm the family. Natalya Conte will remain here.”
“Natalya Conte?” I asked. “You have her?”
“Yes.” Luca looked around at the people milling around. “Not here.”
“Where is she?”
“She’s in the study with Ava,” Dad said. “She’s getting looked over by our physician.” As if on cue, Mom appeared. “Doc said she’s fine. She didn’t suffer any physical abuse.” Expression tight, she stared at Luca. She wasn’t as diplomatic as Dad and still pissed at Sera’s uncle for the chaos he instigated. “You got to her in time.”
“Of course I did.”
“At the expense of Sera,” I gritted.
Luca narrowed his eyes at me before turning to Dad. “Let’s talk.”
“I’m all for that,” Dad said. “But it’s Matteo who you have to explain this shit to.”
My dad’s deference to me and my place in the family finally sunk into Luca’s stubbornness. Unlike before though, the thought that I was half Italian didn’t bother me. Luca’s beef with me was because I was competition for his niece’s affection and loyalty. He looked at me coldly. “Lead the way.”
I put my arm around my wife again and headed toward the study. Dom was already inside talking to a woman who looked familiar. Natalya Conte was the only daughter of Vincenzo Conte, half brother of Gustavo and the kingpin of the Galluzo mafia before Santino sent him into hiding.
“She was with Frankie all along?” I asked.
“Santino wasn’t only here for Sera,” Luca said. “He snatched Natalya from the NYU campus before he moved on Vincenzo.”
“And why are you involved?” I asked. “And why involve Sera?”
“She was my only bargaining chip. Santino wanted Sera as a form of revenge.”
A growl vibrated in my chest.
“I admit my uncle’s methods are radical,” Sera hurriedly put in. “But I agreed. Frankie Rossi was known to be abusive. There were always rumors circulating how his first wife died. How they had to disguise the huge bruises on her face. How he paid off the cops so there wouldn’t be any questioning. I couldn’t let that happen to another woman.”
And there it was. Luca played on my wife’s weakness. It pissed me off as well as made me feel impotent to get mad at her. But it was not her weakness, it was Sera’s strength and I admired her for it. And I admired her more after I spent time at the soup kitchen. This was an intrinsic part of my wife’s compassion, proof how far she would go for the protection of women.
It made me love her more even when it made me lose my mind that she staked her life on it.
“I understand.” I smiled at her faintly but raised condemning eyes at her uncle. “But I still don’t understand risking your niece for her.” I looked at Natalya. “No offense to you.”
The woman in question stared at the floor and I felt like an asshole, but I wasn’t pissed at her, just Sera’s uncle.
“Vincenzo asked me for help.” Luca walked to Natalya. His back was to me and I couldn’t see his expression, but Natalya gazed up at Luca in a rapt and dreamy gaze that was like a piece of a puzzle. The puzzle pieces fell into place faster after he picked up her hand and kissed the back of her knuckles.
“I’m so thankful to you for saving me,” Natalya whispered.
Holy hell, couldn’t she see that Luca was a wolf in sheep’s clothing? My jaw clenched.
After a few more words of comfort to Natalya, he stood and faced us. “Santino was humiliated when Sera rejected him. Naturally, the Galluzo was humiliated too. We would have worked out recompense if he hadn’t acted unilaterally. I felt responsible for the bloodshed that tore through that organization. I gave Sera the choice to help.”
“You took her by force,” I snarled, getting worked up again.
“I’m not going to explain to you the fucked-up situation you left Chicago to handle,” Luca said. “I was more than within my rights after you divorced my niece. I would take her with me now if she hadn’t convinced me that her place is with you.” His mouth tightened. “I’m respecting her choice. Don’t make me regret it.”
The fucker. My fist itched to rearrange his face, but Sera squeezed my hand in warning.
I didn’t have much to defend myself with and Luca knew it.
He glanced at his watch. “I need to return to Chicago ASAP.” His gaze fell on Sera. “Look after Natalya.”
After Sera and her uncle hugged once more and said their good-byes, Luca nodded to everyone else in the room and walked to the door.
“I’ll see you out,” Dom said.
Boss-to-boss fuckery again.
“Fuck me,” I muttered as the door closed behind them.
After Luca left, Mom and Sera sensed we needed to discuss the situation without Natalya in the room, so they led her out of the study.
When the women were gone, I turned to Dad and Nico. “You get the sense Luca is contemplating a marriage to Vincenzo’s daughter?”
“He’s going to chew her alive,” Nico agreed.
Dom returned to the room. “I just heard back from Sandro’s crew. He’s going to be okay barring complications overnight.”
“How about the remaining Rossi soldiers? Wouldn’t they try to whack him since he betrayed Frankie?”
“You wouldn’t believe how many of them didn’t like Frankie,” he said. “The ones loyal to Sandro are keeping overwatch, but one of you might want to go check on him.”
“Why?” Dad narrowed his eyes.
“Because someone told Bianca, and from what I gathered, she left Cambridge twenty minutes ago and is heading straight to Harlem.”
“Goddammit.” Dad looked at Nico who sighed.
“On it,” my brother said and exited the study.
“This is becoming a clusterfuck,” I gritted.
My cousin eyed me. “It’s being handled. Our business is how to address the blowback from you running Santino over with your car.”
I glared at my cousin. “He was going to shoot Sera.”
“I’m not saying it wasn’t justified, but Santino has loyalists in the Galluzo that might retaliate.”
“Let them come,” I snarled. “We’ll be ready.
Dom cut a glance at Dad. “This is where Luca could help. You all caught on about his interest in Natalya?”
“It’s hard to miss,” Dad said.
“He would have sway with the Galluzo leadership. Once Vincenzo is reinstated, having Luca as a son-in-law and given his reputation, it’s going to go a long way for this not to cause trouble for us.”
“You’ve contained the details of Santino’s death. There’s no reason for it to get out,” I said.
Dom said, “We always want insurance.”
“By committing Natalya to a lifetime with Luca?” I asked incredulously.
“If Luca is that bad, you think Sera wouldn’t say anything? Your wife seems to have a soft spot for abused women.”
“She does.”
“Don’t you think she’ll be the first one to stand up against Luca if he doesn’t treat Natalya right?”
I couldn’t argue with him there. It still didn’t mean I liked it. Natalya didn’t look much older than Bianca, who was twenty-one.
“Who’s going to head the Rossi crime family now?”
Dom named a few prospects.
“How about Sandro?”
“He might be ostracized after this.”
“Does he even care? He’s been banished before and he has his own territory in Harlem.”
“Maybe it’s time to recruit him into the Syndicate,” Dom said.
“Let’s not be too hasty with this,” Dad said. He flicked a gaze to me. Sandro had been close to the family through Bianca but they had a falling out.
I was done sticking my nose in anyone’s business, but the Archer Syndicate was mine. “I agree with Dad. Let’s see where his headspace is first before we make rash decisions. After all, he played a role in his brother’s death.”
My hand throbbed and I hissed when a stab of pain shot through my knuckles. They almost felt like they’d doubled in size.
“How is it?” Dad asked, nodding to my hand.
“It’ll be fine.”
“You’re lucky you didn’t break anything,” Dom said.
“I’m only regretting not breaking Luca’s face.” I exhaled in annoyance. “Are we done here? I want to check on my wife.”
“Wife? She divorced you.” Dom had the audacity to point out.
I invaded his space. “She’ll always be my wife, got it?”
Dom’s smile was all teeth. “Don’t fuck it up this time.”
