35. Max #2
“Oh, Max,” he chuckled, waving his hand in the air. “At first, I was fine with letting you continue your little plans. Massimo was like that, too. He tried to expose my…alternate business ventures. But your father’s favored planning never stood a chance against my decisive action. ”
My father had done everything he could to stop Luciano, but Luciano had always been one step in front of him. I should have been more careful. I should have been more ruthless.
Luciano picked up the gun and weighed it in his hand. He stood from the chair.
“Are you going to kill me then?” I asked, standing to face him. He might shoot me, but one bullet wasn’t enough to take me down. If I was going to die, then I’d take him with me.
“No.” He shook his head, holding the gun at his side. “I’m not above admitting I need you.”
“For what?” I’d done everything Luciano had asked for the last six years. What the fuck could he want now that I knew the truth? What did he think would stop me from screaming it to the whole of New York?
“It seems I’ve drawn the attention of the Camorra.”
I froze. Fear careened down my limbs, turning my fingers numb. “They’ll kill all of us because of what you’ve done.”
The Camorra. They would squash us under their feet like a fucking bug. If they knew what Luciano had been doing, they’d kill him for me. All I’d have to do was wait him out. Maybe I could even let them in, show them the evidence I’d gathered.
Fear transformed into frenzy. My heart raced. This could be what I needed to end him. The Camorra could be my answer.
“Yes, they will,” he said with a nod. “That’s why I need you to help me.”
I laughed. “Why would I do that when I can just expose you to them? To everyone?”
I made to turn to the door, but he tsk’ d his tongue and pointed the gun at my chest. “I wouldn’t leave this room without hearing what I have to say.”
“Shoot me, then.”
He cocked the hammer of the gun. “As of this evening, I have officially announced you as my second-in-command. I’ve sent messages to all the Families, and to the Camorra themselves, praising your hard work and growth since the death of your father.
I went on and on about how much of a help you’ve been to me.
How you’ve stepped into your father’s shoes.
How you’ve taken over certain parts of the business and we’ve been making more money than ever. ”
“What?” I breathed.
“You’re my protégé. I’ve made that crystal clear.”
He was trying to set me up. But they’d never fall for that, would they? I had evidence. Proof. I’d never been involved. For the past six years, I’d been trying to take him down, not help him.
“You’re thinking now that you’ve spent years building a case against me, and that it would be impossible for me to pin it on you.
You underestimate me again. Since I’ve known how you’ve been watching me, and I’ve been watching you, it’s been easy to forge a trail of your location history and match it up with the locations I used to transport products.
It’s been easy to build just enough of a paper trail to cast doubt on your side of the story.
The Camorra would never believe you weren’t involved.
You have known, of course. And you’ve done nothing.
So you see, if I go down, you’re going with me. ”
My brain cycled through what he was saying, trying to process it. Was that…possible? Had he beaten me so thoroughly? Would the Camorra wipe us all out just for a clean slate?
They’d done it before, in Campania. They’d wiped out an entire branch of their Family when they thought omertà was broken. They killed and then asked questions. Not the other way around.
“I’ll kill you, Luciano. If what you say is true, then fine. We’ll both go down. I have nothing to lose.”
He laughed, hand on his belly. It made my skin fucking crawl. “No, you won’t, Max.”
“And why are you so certain?”
“Killing me is equivalent to killing Leona. ”
I blinked, trying to control my reaction, but my entire body felt cold. “How?”
“All the plans you make against me force her to become collateral damage. You know that. If you expose me, they’ll wipe us all out.
If you kill me and try to take control, she’ll be a target for her marriage prospects.
The Family will belong to her husband; everyone knows that.
If I die, she will follow. And as you said, her safety is the most important thing . ”
My hands fisted at my sides. “You’d use your own daughter as a human fucking shield. You’d use your her for blackmail.”
“No, not blackmail. How could it be blackmail? We’re one happy family! And we will be cemented together for life once you marry her.”
The breath felt knocked out of me. “Marry her?”
“You’ll marry her once she turns eighteen.
” He placed the gun in the back of his waistband and sat down again.
A clear sign he didn’t view me as a threat at all.
He gestured for me to sit again, but I couldn’t get my legs to work.
I couldn’t get my body to function. “Then you’ll be tied to us forever.
If you turn on me, you’ll take yourself down, too.
If you hurt me, you’ll hurt her. If you step out of line, the Camorra will wipe us all out.
You have no options here, Max. None. The only choice you have is to follow my commands, and things will remain as they always have.
I’m not even asking you to take part in my alternate business ventures.
I’m just telling you to keep your mouth shut, and do a good fucking job as my second. ”
My stomach turned. I was going to be sick. He was right. If I married her, she’d never get out of this life. I might get the Family, eventually, but she’d never get free. She’d always be a pawn for him to use. She would be the vehicle through which he could control me.
Leona would never be safe by my side.
Marriage was a trap for us both .
What about Caspian? If I told him the truth now, surely he’d see through Luciano’s lies. Surely he’d help me kill Luciano.
“Ah, yes, I forgot,” Luciano said, as if he could read my thoughts.
“Caspian. Don’t even get me started on Caspian.
I know how much you love him. You’re brothers forged by fire—quite like how your father and I used to be.
Caspian’s in the same boat, though it would be much easier to get rid of him. ”
Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck. My brain bounced from thought to thought, trying to find a way out of this.
A way for both her and Cas to survive. Luciano had me by the balls, and he’d never let me walk out of this office without agreeing to his plans.
The Camorra were bearing down, and I was his escape plan now.
My brain latched onto that.
I was his escape plan.
He needed me.
He needed me . I could be the bargaining chip here.
“You think you have all the power here, Luciano, but you’re mistaken.”
“Oh, am I?” He tilted his head back and smiled like this was all a fucking joke to him.
“You are.” I straightened, running my hand down the front of my suit.
It was new, and in this moment, it felt like armor.
“I’ve spent six years building allies against you, and they belong to me whether you like it or not.
It doesn’t matter that you know who they are; they’re mine .
If push came to shove, there’s a chance that I’d win this civil war.
You can’t take that risk. I’m not the weak boy I was when you murdered my father. ”
He smirked. “I can see that.”
“So I’ll offer you a deal.”
“And what would that be?”
“I’ll be your second,” I conceded. “I’ll help you hold the Camorra off. I’ll distract them. I’ll help you hide your crimes. I’ll follow your commands and do everything you ask of me, but I will not marry Leona. ”
He leaned forward. “I thought you’d want to marry her. She certainly wants to marry you. She’s never hidden that.”
“I have no interest in marrying her,” I said with a flick of my wrist. “She’s my sister, my friend, and nothing more.”
The words were ash coming out of my mouth, but it was the best I could do for now. Divert his attention from Leona. Keep her path to freedom available until I figured out how the fuck to get her out of here.
Luciano tilted his head to the side as he considered my offer. “If you ever try anything against me, Maximiliano, I will destroy you like the boy you are. I am the Don. I control this city, and everyone in it. There is no way you can bring me down, and it would be foolish to try.”
He would use Leona against me. He would threaten her safety in order to get me to comply. He would be on high alert, expecting me to attack him at every turn. There’s no way I’d catch him unaware now.
My plans were crumbling around me. I had to go back to the drawing board.
He’d won the battle, but I would win the war.
“I understand, sir.”
“Good. Now, go. I expect you back in my office tomorrow to plan our next steps. We’re going to need a way to keep the Camorra out of our hair.”
I walked out of his office in a daze. I didn’t even try to check on Cas or Leona upstairs. I just had to get away from the Vero estate before I imploded.
The drive back to my house was hazy. It wasn’t until I had collapsed on my bed that it sank in. I was so fucked.