Chapter 41
My brother sat there puffing on his cigar as a handful of men seated with him at the table playing poker.
Emilio was standing off to the side, just watching.
I’ve been on house arrest for over a week, and I was starting to get cabin fever.
This was the first time I saw Emilio since he dragged me back to Chicago.
He had distanced himself so far from me that I barely got a hello.
There was no official goodbye parting, just an absence.
A sudden abrupt absence louder than any voice could be.
The room was full of cigar smoke and the smell of bourbon. Standing at the table, I clear my throat.
“Luca.”
My brother glances up at me as I stand opposite the table. “What are you doing here?”
“I have a proposal for you.”
This made Emilio walk closer to the table, standing behind Luca. Both of them waited for me to speak.
“What is it?” Luca asked, uninterested.
“Hamilton Branton.”
Luca raised his head from his deck of cards and looked at me. “The D.A.’s son. What about him?”
“Arrange a marriage with him.”
Shocked, Luca asked, “Why should I do that?”
“He’s the D.A.’s son.”
Luca looked back down at the deck of cards. “I already have the D.A. in my pocket.”
“For now.” I stood tall, confident in my words.
He was looking back up to me. “For now?” he repeated, urging me to continue.
“The Branton family are political legacies. There is no doubt that Hamilton will be the successor to his father.”
“That’s up to the people of Chicago,” Luca shot back.
“And we know how the people of Chicago vote,” implying the obvious. “So when Hamilton takes his father’s place, you’ll need him on your side.”
“Except arranging this will mean I owe the D.A. and I don’t like owing anyone. The point of having someone in your pocket means you have control over them, not the other way around. I don’t see this working in my favor.”
I look down in defeat. Part of Luca must have felt bad for me.
Since Aria found out she was pregnant, she has been in New York figuring things out.
They should know who the father is any day now, so Luca has been in a mood.
The whole situation had him on his feet, and I was convinced that was why he went easy on me—or maybe my mother and sisters put pressure on him to be kinder to me.
“Then pick someone,” I request.
“Pick someone?” Luca was holding back from laughing. “Last time I had arranged something for you, you threatened to kill yourself.”
Taking a deep breath and exhaling, I nod my head. “Take it as a plea to get back in your good graces.”
Luca observed me and realized I wasn’t kidding.
“Everyone, leave,” he stated. Everyone but Emilio left the room. “Emilio, remember what we spoke about the other day?”
“I do,” he replied.
“Bethany would make a good match.”
“It would be more convincing than the match with Gabe.”
Luca paused to think, then nodded his head. “How can we convince Gian Morrechi to marry his nephew to Bethany?”
Morrechi was the third most powerful family in the country under us, DeCarlos and the Baricellis. They were based out of Connecticut.
“I have blackmail on the kid,” Emilio replied, not looking at me.
Luca glances at Emilio, who has moved into his line of vision. “What kind of blackmail?”
“Something he wouldn’t want anyone to know. Or the Morrechi himself, for that matter.”
“Like what?”
“The kid is into pegging. Not very good reputation for anyone in this lifestyle.”
“What the fuck is pegging?” Luca asked.
Emilio leaned in and whispered into his ear. Seeing my brother’s expression, I had to hold back from laughing.
“He’s a sick bastard,” Luca said in disgust. “You got proof?”
“I do.”
“How did you come about this information?”
“I had the blonde get it on film when he came to visit Chicago a short time ago.”
The blonde? Who was he referring to?
“She pegged him?”
Emilio laughed, “You want the details?”
“No,” Luca replied.
“Grace is good at what she does.”
Grace. The blonde. It clicked. She was coming out of Emilio’s condo that night. It wasn’t him that she was messing with. She was just dropping off the evidence. Emilio was always a step ahead and had something up his sleeve ready to be used to their advantage.
Luca’s interest was piqued. “B, are you sure?”
I nod my head. “I’m sure.”
It wasn’t like me to agree blindly to something like this, but it was better than being stuck in this limbo period with Luca.
I was just hoping the guy was half-good-looking, and although his sexual experiences are different from what I prefer, I think I can manage.
The pegging would have to be done by someone else, though. That, for me, was crossing the line.
“Set it up,” Luca stated to Emilio.
“Consider it done.” Emilio got to his feet and left the room without so much as looking at me.
He didn’t pay me any attention. I expected him to fight the decision or make another suggestion, but no, he would let this marriage happen. And just like that, I felt my heart break again. Why do my expectations get the best of me?
“I like this change, B. It suits you.”
“You mean being heartless.”
Luca shook his head, “It’s not about being heartless. It’s learning how to use your heart less.”
“What good will that do me?”
“Gives me peace of mind that you’ll be okay.”
I roll my eyes, “Why wouldn’t I be okay?”
“You never know. I may not be around forever.”
Shifting in my seat, “Why are you saying that?”
“It’s true. I can be here tomorrow and gone the next.”
As if I wasn’t emotional enough, his words almost brought me to tears. “You wouldn’t let that happen. You have Antonio. Me. The whole family leans on you. You are Luca DeCarlo.”
“I’m going to be straight with you, B.” Luca looked serious. “Being at the top doesn’t always mean things are easier. So, never think that you’re safe. Look at what happened to Aria at the spa.”
“Was the guy caught?”
“It was more than one person. Emilio told me that you happened to see one of them. Are you sure you know what you saw?”
“I do,” I replied. “I’ll never forget that birthmark.”
Luca looked uneasy. “The description you gave matched a particular person, but it’s impossible for it to be that them.”
“How come?”
“They’re dead.”
“Oh,” I replied, unsure how to process that.
“But it shouldn’t concern you. Someone was after Aria, which means you’re still safe.”
“But Aria isn’t, and if that baby is yours, then neither are they.”
I could see the anguish in Luca.
“If that child is mine, I’ve already failed it. Like Liliana and potentially Antonio.”
“Liliana wasn’t your fault, Luca. And Antonio is doing so well for himself already.”
“It doesn’t matter, B. Antonio will always have to look over his shoulder even though I’ve made it possible for him not to take the same path I have. Until I take my last breath on this earth, my family will always be subjected to the unknown.”
“The cycle can’t be broken,” I conclude.
“Not on our level. It’s not about power for me; it’s about survival.”