- LUCIANO -
Pop leads up to his suite, shutting the door behind us with an ominous click. I expect him to unleash on , but he fixes with a steely glare instead.
"You can’t be serious about that girl," he says, taking entirely by surprise.
"What?" My face screws up in confusion. "What are you talking about?"
"Fuck her and get her out of your system, Luciano. Then be done with her."
He delivers the words with venom and then stalks past to the bar. My hands curl into fists as I pivot and glare after him, trying to catch up on what I’ve sohow managed to miss.
I thought he might be a little irritated that Rory isn’t Italian. All heirs are supposed to be Italian through and through. That’s the tradition. But this degree of hostility... this doesn’t make any sense.
I have to settle down with soone before I can take over his place in the business anyway. He and Ma have been giving a hard ti about how I haven’t ever been serious about a woman, but now that I am... he’s acting like she’s sothing I should just toss away?
"That’s not happening," I manage to ground out. My teeth are clenched so tight, my jaw aches.
"Yes, it is," he chuckles, pouring the amber liquid he’s chosen from the shelf into a tumbler and swirling it leisurely.
"Why?"
"Because you’re already engaged, Luciano." He turns, now with amusent.
"Like hell I am."
"Oh, trust . You are. She’s a nice Russian girl. Beautiful, too, if the pictures are to be believed."
I stalk over to him and watch as his eyes darken the closer I get, but it doesn’t phase . I don’t give a shit about his anger right now.
"What. The fuck. Are you talking about?"
He holds my rage-filled glare, also unfazed by . This man has had years of being confronted by n who are the worst of the worst, and I’m not one of them. I’m not anywhere near it. I’m his son.
"I made a deal, Luciano. I can’t have the Bratva starting a war with us right now. We don’t have the resources it would take to et them at their scale, and there are no other families around to bring in for help if we would need it."
My head swims with the sudden flurry of this new information. It’s coming out of nowhere. Why now?
"A deal?" I hiss. "With the Bratva?"
"They agreed not to traffic anyone in our city," he says, sucking his teeth briefly and then setting his glass down. "I thought that would make you happy. That’s what started this ss in the first place."
He walks past again, leaving to stand there and stare at the place where he was. My stomach sinks. I don’t know how to manage this. It has completely blindsided .
"I’m not a bargaining chip," I finally growl. "You’re going to withdraw the deal."
His deep laughter is the reply I get, mocking . "I don’t think so, son."
"You’re going to withdraw the deal, or I’m done," I say, turning on him with a new resolution flowing like fire through my veins.
"Done," he chuckles, though I know he is aware of my aning. "Done with what?"
"Everything. I’ll walk away from it all. Leave you without an heir," I say, lip curling back over my teeth. Because I an it.
There is no way in hell I’m letting go of Rory—especially not for so shit deal that promises and my future and my children to be shared with soone else. Dex asked if I would be willing to leave the business for her, and I thought he was crazy to even imagine it. But now I know the answer.
"Don’t make foolish threats, Lucia. You’re not a child anymore."
"It’s not a threat."
"You could just kill ," he says, raising his arms at his sides. "Wouldn’t that be better? You threatened to give an early retirent just yesterday."
His tone strikes a strange cord. It’s no longer deep and hostile. I stare at him, trying to put my finger on what the hell is going on exactly. My father stares right back , and then a crooked smile slowly curves across his face. And then it hits .
"You’re fucking with ," I say, hanging my head and blowing out a heavy breath.
Pa chuckles, and this ti it’s the light-hearted one. This ti, it’s the sound of my father. The one who loves . The one who I know wouldn’t do sothing as horrifying as what he just led to believe.
"Unbelievable," I groan, raking a hand over my face. "I feel like I’m about to have an aneurysm over here, and you’re laughing."
"You deserved it," he says, coming to my side and slapping my shoulder, knocking forward a step.
I just give in to the impact, because my whole body has been flooded with relief. I’m so grateful he was lying—maybe more grateful than I’ve ever been. The old man can slap around as much as he wants, and I won’t fight it.
"That was... evil," I say, looking up at him. "Even for you."
"You threatened ," he shrugs.
"That’s your response?"
"Luciano," his voice dips. "You threatened the boss. I could have had you whacked instead."
"Right," I groan and walk over to the chair, sinking into it. My arms and legs feel like jelly.
"Now we at least know you’re really serious about this one," his laughter lessens as he returns to the bar and pours a glass of what he’s having. He brings it back to , extending the peace offering and then clinking our tumblers together.
"I’m happy for you, Luciano. Love is not an easy thing to co by these days. But if you’re willing to leave everything for her, even the family?" He raises his glass. "Then obviously you’ve found it."
I sigh heavily, pinching the bridge of my nose before finally allowing myself to smile. "Thanks."
"I suppose I would have left for your mother," he muses, a wistful grin replacing the other one he was wearing. "Thankfully arranged marriages are a thing of the past. I didn’t have to make that choice."
"Well thanks for making suffer through a rendition," I say with a soft glare. "I think you took a few years off of my life with that prank."
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