3. Max
MAX
L eona slept beside me, our fingers still looped together.
Cas had gone back to Alessio’s house a few hours ago once it was Leona’s bedtime.
Since she’d drifted off, her grip had loosened.
My fingers tingled, asleep just like her.
Her tears had just barely dried, forming little crusty crystals on her cheeks.
The astronaut nightlight cast galaxies in rotation above our heads, and I counted how many seconds it took for its stars to appear, disappear, and reappear.
She hadn’t used this nightlight in years. I teased her once, when she was six, that she was too old for it. What kind of mafia princess still needed a nightlight? After that, she’d yanked it out of the wall and thrown it into her closet.
But her dreams since our mothers died were getting worse.
I dug it out, set it up, and promised her the light would help. She’d sleep better. Finally, she’d given in.
I didn’t know what else to do for her. Our mothers were dead. There was no bringing them back. Our fathers were gone, hunting down their killers.
That left only me.
Cas had tried to help us both, but he didn’t understand fully. He didn’t remember his parents. He knew the pain of not having them, but he didn’t remember the pain of losing them.
I had to be strong for her. I hummed her lullaby under my breath as I gently extricated my fingers. Her eyes darted under her eyelids, but she didn’t wake up.
For the last couple of nights, I’d just slept in her bed underneath her princess canopy. There was no reason to go back to my house. It was cold and empty since Mamma died. Papa was never there. He was always with Uncle Luciano.
I closed my eyes, trying to stem the tears that threatened to fall now that Leona was asleep. I’d cried at Mamma’s funeral, but hadn’t let myself since. Leona needed me to be strong, to take care of her when no one else would.
A door slammed downstairs, and my eyes flared open.
They were home. Papa and Uncle Luciano. Maybe they found something. Maybe they killed the men who tore our lives apart.
I wanted them dead. I wished I could kill them myself. I might have been only twelve, but I was ready. I was old enough.
I slipped out of Leona’s room and hurried down the stairs.
The entire house was dark except for the single light still illuminating the kitchen.
Despite the darkness, I could still see the dozens of guards stationed around the Vero estate.
Their shadows moved as they patrolled the grounds, and the spotlights outside shone on the walls of the mansion.
The Family had been on red alert since that horrible day.
“We’re getting close, Luciano.” Papa’s voice came from the kitchen.
I followed the sound, one hand carefully dragging across the wall as I kept my steps careful and quiet, just like Papa had taught me.
I wanted to hear what they’d found, but they had tried to keep everything away from me and Leona.
If they heard me, they’d shoo me back to bed. “We have to be careful.”
“Plans only get us so far, Massimo,” Uncle Luciano responded with a heavy voice. Both of our fathers had barely slept in days. Another reason I had to watch over Leona. They had been sleeplessly hunting down the killers. “Every day they live is another day of pain for us. For our children.”
Uncle was right. Leona was withering away right before my eyes.
She was only eight. She’d basically stopped eating, not even when Cas tried to cheer her up with Oreos stolen from my stash.
I couldn’t remember the last time she laughed.
They had to do something fast, or I feared she’d disappear altogether.
I peeked around the corner to see Papa clasp Uncle on his shoulder. Even though they weren’t related by blood, they looked like brothers. Papa was only slightly taller than Uncle, but they both had the same shade of dark hair. I’d gotten my blond from my mother, but I shared my father’s grey eyes.
“I’m your sworn brother. Have I let you down yet?” Papa asked.
Uncle shook his head. “No, Massimo. But we need to strike swiftly and true. We know where they’re hiding now. If we wait too long, they’ll be gone.”
My hand clenched into a fist. They’d found them? Why weren’t they attacking them now? Why weren’t they avenging Mamma?
“I want them dead just as badly as you. We will wipe them off the face of the earth when we have one hundred percent surety.”
Uncle dragged a hand down his face. “How many men should we take? I don’t want any of them left alive. We need to make a lesson out of them. Don’t fuck with the Vero Family.”
Papa stepped back and handed Uncle a glass of alcohol. I could smell the bitter scent from here. “At least ten. Our wives will get the justice they deserve.”
I listened for fifteen more minutes as they planned each second of their attack, but none of this felt important . It felt ridiculous and drawn out and meaningless. With each passing minute, I became more and more impatient. Angry.
Our mammas deserved peace . And they were sipping drinks and planning? Wasting minute after minute that they could use so that Leona could wake up and finally heal?
What if they were too late?
What if those men disappeared right under their noses?
When they reviewed the plans again, I couldn’t stop myself.
I burst into the kitchen. “Papa!”
Their heads shot up. Uncle reached for his gun before Papa put a hand on his shoulder.
“Max? Why aren’t you in bed?”
“Is Leona all right?” Uncle asked.
I glared at them both, my hands balling into fists. “She’s fine. She’s sleeping. But she’d be even better if our fathers were out there getting revenge .”
“Son…”
“Papa, you know where they are! I just heard you!” My eyes flicked to Uncle’s gun. “I’ll go. I’ll go right now.”
Uncle and Papa exchanged a meaningful glance I didn’t understand before Papa nudged him. “Give us a minute, sì ?”
Uncle nodded. “I’m going to check on Leona.”
“And waste even more time?” I snapped. “I’m taking care of Leona just fine. You do your job and I’ll do mine.”
“Maximiliano,” Papa scolded.
Uncle cupped my cheek. I stood straighter, glaring. “You’re growing into such a fine young man, Max. Thank you for looking after her.”
“I always will.” Even if you can’t .
He patted my cheek gently. “One day, you’ll understand.”
Papa and I stared at one another as Uncle left. His footsteps echoed up the stairs until the sound faded. “Sit, Max.”
My feet were rooted in place. “I can’t stand how much time you’re wasting. Mamma deserves better.”
Papa flinched, then straightened and pulled two chairs from the table within the breakfast nook. Like a mirage, I could picture my mamma and Leona’s mamma sitting in the same spot and laughing while sipping their coffees. It disappeared with a blink.
“Sit.”
This time, it wasn’t a request. Reluctantly, I obeyed.
“Son, you know what kind of world we live in,” he said as he sat in the opposite chair.
My jaw clenched, but I nodded. Of course, I knew. It was the kind of world that killed mammas and gave little girls nightmares.
“Do you want to survive in it?” he asked, voice turning hard. “Thrive in it? As your father and grandfather did before you?”
I frowned, staring at my bare feet. “Of course, I do.”
I’d known what our Family was since I was a boy. And I knew what kind of man my father was. Despite what we did, he was a good man, a strong man. He served Uncle faithfully, and together they ruled our kingdom.
“Then, listen to me.” He leaned forward, and his voice dropped to a whisper. “Your feelings cannot dictate your actions. Ever.”
I blinked. “What do you mean?”
“You are in pain. We are all in immense pain. You have no idea—” his voice cracked, and he cleared his throat.
I looked at my hands. He loved Mamma, too.
“But emotions lead to rash decisions. You must temper yourself if you want to grow strong. If you have any hope of ever leading this Family one day, learn that lesson now.”
“Lead the Family?” Uncle was the Don, not Papa.
He leaned back in his chair while rubbing his eyes. “Leona is Uncle’s daughter. You are my son. A marriage between the two of you would cement our Family’s leadership for generations. It’s what your mothers always dreamt about.”
I loved Leona. I always had. She was the closest thing I had to a sister, but…marriage? Is that what people expected of us one day ?
He waved a hand, dragging it through his hair. Every day, he seemed to get more greys. “It doesn’t matter. Whether you marry or not, the lesson remains. Your feelings cannot dictate your actions. Make your choices based on logic and strength. Think , Max. With your head.”
“I don’t understand.”
Papa gusted a breath. “If we were to rush in right now and kill the men responsible for killing your mother, there would be blowback. Consequences. Or we would make mistakes that might cause harm to our men. So we have to plan carefully, choose wisely, and act with strength. We have to hold our cards close to our chest until we’re ready to strike, like an animal stalking its prey.
Rather than wiping out five men of this gang, we will end them all . ”
My eyebrows knit together. “But isn’t it smarter to take out your enemies as soon as possible?”
My father regarded me with an icy stare. I looked away, unable to hold his gaze with the strength emanating from him. “Son, it’s smarter to win. This is how we win. This is how your uncle and I rule New York.”
I bit my lip as I tried to make sense of it, but I didn’t know much about the Family yet. I didn’t know how this all made sense. But if they were planning to hurt the men who killed Mamma and Auntie, I wanted to help. “Can I come with you?”
Papa shook his head, then glanced at the expensive watch on his wrist. Mamma and I had picked it out for his last birthday. “No, you’re too young. You’re not strong enough.”
“Papa, I?—”
“Maximiliano.” He silenced me with a word. “When you can show me you understand this lesson, you can take your place as a capo within this family. Until then, you are only a boy.”
Hurt sliced ragged down my chest, but my father was a master of control. Strength. I wanted to be strong like him. I wanted to follow in his footsteps. My mother was gone, and there was only the Family that remained. If he lived his life by this rule, so could I.
We were all each other had left. I couldn’t lose him, too.
“Do you understand me, son?”
I steeled myself. “I understand, Papa. What can I do to help?”
His gaze softened as his arm came around my back and he gave me a quick hug. An emotion shot to life inside my chest, stinging the corners of my eyes. When was the last time he hugged me? It was before Mamma had died, for sure.
I swallowed the emotion down. Feelings cannot dictate actions. Be careful and controlled.
“Be strong for Leona,” he said. “She needs you to keep her safe while Uncle and I are dealing with this. Then become strong, so no one can ever do this to our Family again.”
My eyes flicked up to the ceiling where I knew Leona slept only two floors above.
I would do exactly as Papa said. I’d protect Leona and Cas from everything. They’d never have to feel this kind of pain again.
I would keep them safe.