Undressed By The Mafia God

Vee remembered what Luca had told her. A ten-year-old boy offering himself to Massimo so his mother could live. It had sounded horrific then.

Hearing Massimo speak of it without regret made it worse.

"I didn’t bend then," he said. "I gave my firstborn son the kiss of death. I didn’t bend then. You think I’d bend now?" he asked. "This life, my life, has always been about sacrifices, and both of you are about to learn that."

"We already know sacrifice."

"You know pain. You do not know sacrifice." His gaze turned cold.

When he spoke, his voice was low enough that Vee almost wished he had shouted.

"Luca will put a bullet through Marco’s head and your sister will die by your hand. You better believe that."

"Don, no one outside the immediate family knows about my sister’s treachery," Vee said. "Surely, this can be handled quietly. No one will question you or Luca if they do not have the details of what happened. Marco has served this family loyally for years. If no one knows what Valentina did, then no one is waiting to see whether you punish him for it."

Vee held his gaze, keeping her voice steady even though her pulse was beginning to pound unpleasantly behind her eyes. She was not asking him to forgive Valentina. At this point, she was not even sure she could forgive Valentina. She was asking him not to create another tragedy purely because tradition demanded one.

"Regina, there is nothing you can say," Massimo said.

Then he stepped around her and walked out, leaving Vee standing in the middle of the room. She exhaled slowly.

Reasoning with Massimo was like negotiating with a brick wall. Vee closed her eyes and forced herself to breathe.

The doctor had already been worried about her blood pressure. It was through the roof. She placed a hand over her stomach.

Her daughter came first. That had to remain true, even when everything else around her was burning. She had a child to be concerned about. Keeping calm was the only path left to her now, she just had to stay calm. She needed to. It was important. Right? Screaming would not save Marco and stress certainly would not help the baby. There had to be another angle. Another rule. Another technicality. Something Massimo respected enough to make him hesitate.

Meanwhile, Massimo stormed out of the suite and headed downstairs. Marco stood waiting near the centre of the room, his travel clothes still on, posture calm despite the fact that he knew perfectly well why Massimo was coming for him.

Luca stood directly in front of him.

"Get the men to restrain him and put him in holding," Massimo instructed. "His execution will be made public. Every single mafioso needs to understand that even their wives have to be kept in line."

"Not yet, Don."

Massimo stopped. Marco looked at Luca. "I don’t think I am hearing you as clearly as I should. What did you just say?"

"I said not yet."

The words came through gritted teeth.

"I need Marco for a plan," Luca continued. "It’s important."

Marco frowned slightly. That was news to him too.

Massimo narrowed his eyes. "And what plan is this?"

"I have intel Valentina is currently with the Bastiones planning to make a move."

"Your wife is a gift that keeps on giving, isn’t she?" Massimo’s eyes moved to Marco first, lingering there long enough to make the insult land properly, before returning to Luca.

Marco stood remarkably still. Either years beside Luca had given him nerves of steel, or he had simply reached the point where one more catastrophe no longer deserved a facial expression.

Massimo stepped closer to Luca. His voice dropped. "If this is a stalling tactic, you may be my only surviving son, but be damned sure I will not hesitate to put you where you belong if you even think of betraying me."

Luca knew his father meant every damned word coming out of his mouth. Massimo had never been a man who used death threats for decoration. If he said he would do something, Luca had spent enough of his childhood watching consequences arrive to know better than to dismiss it.

Still, he refused to cower.

"I assure you, this is for the good of the famiglia."

Massimo’s gaze shifted briefly towards Marco. "He still dies."

Luca had no response. Every argument he possessed had already been used, and Massimo had crushed each one beneath the same answer: rules were rules. The famiglia survived because men feared the consequences of breaking them. Luca understood the logic.

That did not mean he could accept Marco becoming one of those consequences.

Massimo stepped away from them and moved towards the built-in bar.

"I’ll be at Commissioned," Marco said.

Luca gave the smallest nod. The room stayed quiet until the door closed behind him. Massimo poured himself a drink.

"You still trust him."

Luca looked towards his father.

"Even after everything, you still trust him."

"He could have run, Don. Do you realise that? He was safely away. I told him not to return, and yet..." He gestured towards the door Marco had just walked through. "He is here."

"That does not make him innocent."

"His actions do. I trust him. He followed orders he hated. He challenged me when everyone else was too frightened to. He protected Veronica. He protected my child. He has taken every bit of shit this family has thrown at him without once turning against me. I gave him my heart once and told him to look after it."

"He did," Luca said. "He has saved me more times than I can count. So yes, I trust him infinitely. And I do not plan on giving up on him."

Massimo was just about to speak when a crash came from upstairs. Luca’s head snapped towards the ceiling.

He shot Massimo one final look and headed upstairs without another word.

Massimo knew exactly what was happening.