Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 98583 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 493(@200wpm)___ 394(@250wpm)___ 329(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 98583 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 493(@200wpm)___ 394(@250wpm)___ 329(@300wpm)
I step away from him. My heart’s hammering in my chest. I’m seething with horror and anger.
This bastard wants me to give away Lucy.
The thought represents everything I hate. It’s weak and short-sighted. I can’t imagine how this man thinks it’s a good idea, but clearly he’s ready to appease Gray Wolf in any way they want.
“You’re a fool. You’re a goddamn fucking idiot.”
Frank shows his teeth. “Just kill me, Adriano. Just do what you have to do and be done with this farce. You made your mistakes, and you won’t stop making them until the Famiglia is ruined.”
I step away. My heart’s racing in my ears. This fucking bastard. He thinks keeping Lucy is a mistake, while I think it’s the only good decision I’ve ever made in my miserable life.
But how could he understand that? How could this rotten old man understand the purity of a woman like Lucy?
She’s all I have. She’s light in the darkness. She’s grace for a sinner. I’ll kneel at her feet and wash her toes for the rest of my life just for the chance at catching a whiff of her hair. Lucy is everything now.
And this man thinks I should throw her away like trash.
“I hereby place the black mark on you and your family,” I say very slowly and soberly. Frank’s eyes go wide with pure horror. “Your wife and daughters are now my property. Your sons will be murdered. Only those under the age of twenty will be spared, but they will be exiled from my city. Your name will be burned, and your house will be destroyed. Your bloodline will die with you. For this betrayal, your name will be spoken of with nothing but horror and regret. You will be forgotten. You will not be missed.”
“Please, Adriano,” Frank begs, shaking his head. “Just take me. Don’t hurt my girls. Don’t kill my boys. Please—”
He knows what this means. Frank has a big family. Enzo’s just one of four other boys, and they had three lovely sisters. Frank’s wife is still living too, the poor fucking woman.
But now they’re all nothing.
Vittorio’s men are already spreading throughout the city. By the time the sun comes up, I’ll have all their heads, and I’ll display them for Frank. I’ll make him look into the dead eyes of his boys one more time before I finally give him death.
And that will be a mercy.
“You betrayed your Don,” I say, turning away, fury running through me. “And for that, you will suffer.”
“Please!” Frank screams as I walk away. “Please, Adriano, no! Have mercy, please, they didn’t know. They didn’t know! Please!”
I leave him thrashing and sobbing. Vittorio joins me outside as Luca climbs behind the wheel and starts the car.
“All of them,” I tell him. “You know what to do.”
“Yes, Don Marino.” Vittorio’s vicious smile is a knife in the dark night. “It’ll be my pleasure.”
I nod to him and get into the car.
Luca drives us back to the mansion, and my thoughts are on murder.
Chapter 31
Adriano
The purge is bloody and brutal.
It doesn’t take long to smoke out the others involved in Frank’s conspiracy. Lucky for me, though, none of them are top-ranked Capos.
“An ugly business,” Marco comments, frowning as he rubs his eyes and drinks from a big glass of wine. We’re sitting in my formal dining room. The rest of the Capos are there, except for Vittorio. He’s out hunting down Frank’s family, and from what I hear, he’s having a good time.
The mood is grim. A coup like that is extremely bad for morale. Everyone’s looking at everyone else and wondering who’s going to turn next. If Frank thought I was doing such a bad job that he had to kill me, what about the rest of them? What if Frank was right?
“Twelve soldiers are dead,” I say, looking at my men. “Three lieutenants. One Capo and his entire family. All in the middle of a war with Gray Wolf.” I fight to keep my fury in check. “Do you all have any idea how this makes us look to the rest of the city’s underworld?”
“Respectfully, Don Marino, but we’re aware.” Carlo Moretti speaks up from the back of the room. He’s one of the older men and was a friend of Frank’s. “Nobody here approves of what our former associate did. May God spit on his soul.”
“He weakened our position. Maybe he thought he was doing the right thing, but he only made us look like fools.” My jaw flexes. I don’t know how I’m going to run this meeting without losing my temper. Frank tried to kill me. Frank, my father’s friend, a man I looked up to when I was younger. A man I thought I could trust. He tried to murder me, his rightful Don.
Rage fills me, but worse, so does mourning.