Chapter 50 Carter
Sitting in the office I've claimed, I glance from Lio to Roman, happy to have them both with me once more, but still terrified it's too soon for them to be back at work.
“If you don't stop, I'm going to stab you,” Roman threatens with a roll of his eyes.
I huff but smile a little, happy to see some of his sass back after worrying over him. “So long as you two are sure about this. We have a lot to go over today, but I don't want either of you to push too much, too soon.”
“No,” Lio responds. “I need this. I can't stay locked up in my medical room forever. I'm ready to be released, and sleep in a real bed, with those I love. The only way I can convince Doc and Dr. Ranlen, or even Javi, of that, is by showing them with my actions.”
I incline my head. “Fair enough.” Pursing my lips, I wonder how to start this conversation. There are things I need to tell them, but I'm also well aware it's probably going to break their hearts.
“I suppose I should rip the bandage off.
While we were looking for you, we became aware of a…
situation. As you now know, Allesandro got hurt while scoping out a safehouse with Marcus.
He's doing better now, but we weren't sure if he was going to live at first. It's why he and Cristian are here.
I'm sorry that decision was taken from your hands, but we didn't have a choice.”
“It was the right move,” Lio tells me. “We're no longer defending two fronts, which is better for our resources.”
“As much as I'd rather not see Cristian every day, I agree. It was part of my plan, after all, for letting him live. He gets to see the chaos he wrought.”
My heart aches at Roman's words. I hate how fucked up his relationship with Cristian has gotten. Cristian may not have always brought Roman’s unique outlook on life into the equation, but I know, down to my very bones, that he loves him.
But as I've learned over the last six months, love isn't always enough.
“Getting back to my point, Marcus and Antonio then went on a mission to try to track down Cecily Dowing, and Antonio was kidnapped. He has some new scars, but Doc is working with a plastic surgeon, and hopefully, they can help him with that, as he's very insecure about them now.”
Pausing, I run a hand through my hair, letting the two of them absorb the information I've just given them. “We were able to rescue Antonio quickly, and capture Cecily, but…it came at a cost.”
Roman leans forward. “What do you mean?”
“It came out that the kidnapping of Antonio was orchestrated by Leandro.” I let them have a moment to parse those words, before I say the worst part of it all. “According to Leandro, he was righting a wrong. A ‘miscalculation’.”
“What the fuck does that mean?” Roman asks carefully.
Taking a breath, I look between my co-leaders, and break their hearts.
“Leandro knew Cristian and Allesandro were going to be taken.
He was working with Kieran Dowing to take down his father.
He…didn't know everything. I believe him when he says that, but the point is, he knew what Seán and Cecily were planning, and he did nothing to stop it.”
The look of shock on their faces quickly morphs. Roman looks devastated, as tears roll down his face.
“He…he knew? Why? How?” Roman’s voice breaks, and my father's heart does as well. Reaching behind me, I pick the tablet up off the desk and pull up the feed I need—provided by Leandro himself.
“I watched it to make sure it wasn't edited. I thought it would be better hearing from the source.”
Roman takes the tablet with a shaky hand, and Lio moves his chair closer so they can watch what happened at the meeting after Antonio’s abduction.
I study their expressions as the video plays. Roman goes from devastated to angry and then back again. Lio is better at hiding his emotions than Roman, but when it gets to the part about having to deal with his Master, his eyes become glassy with tears.
By the time the video ends, the emotions in the room are palpable.
“Well, that fucking explains a lot,” Roman says, handing me back the tablet.
Lio reaches for his hand and threads their fingers together. I watch them carefully, studying the way they lean into one another as they sit in front of me. If they could, I’m pretty sure they’d be in the same chair. They’ve always been close, but watching them now…I can tell something’s changed.
Trauma? Maybe? Being kidnapped and what they went through together can either make or break a relationship.
Look at what happened between me and Cris, or Ignacio and Benjamin.
I’m happy to see that Roman and Lio seem to be using their pain and hurt to make themselves stronger, rather than letting it destroy them.
“He needs to be punished,” Roman finally says into the silence. “As…well-meaning as his intentions were, we cannot let anyone go rogue like this.”
“Agreed,” Lio replies.
Leaning against the desk, I brace my hands on it. “Any ideas? The…usual Martelli way of physical punishment won’t work on him. Not only will it not work, but touch is a hard limit for Leandro, so we’d be violating his trust to even try.”
Roman inclines his head. “We’ll make him pay. Antonio’s surgery is going to cost a pretty penny, and instead of taking it out of Doc’s budget, Leandro can pay for it. He wants to right his ‘miscalculation’? Well, this is part of that.”
“I agree. He is also tossing around the idea of getting bodycams. Which I wholeheartedly support. Not being able to see what was going on when the two of you were rescued? It was…stressful. Especially, when the bombs went off and we weren’t sure if you were trapped inside or not. I say he pays for those too.”
Lio interjects, “That may be enough to appease Jude, and yes, if he wants special equipment, he has to pay for it himself, but there needs to be more in order for the Martellis to be satisfied. If it’s not physical, then…emotional.”
I snort because I’m not sure my nephew knows what emotions are, but I get Lio’s point. Instead of answering, though, I look at Roman and sign my thoughts. He chews his lip. As he knows Leandro best, he’s aware this will probably piss the boy off, but then, it wouldn’t be a punishment otherwise.
“Fine,” he finally voices.
“What am I missing?” Lio asks. “I know what you fingerspelled, but I’m still behind in my ASL lessons.”
Roman leans in and whispers in his ear. Lio thinks it over before nodding. “Yes, that will work. It might not make my Family happy, but once I remind them that the point of a punishment is the lesson and the forgiveness given after, they’ll fall in line.”
Roman pulls his phone out and rolls his eyes at whatever’s on the screen. “Stop eavesdropping,” he says aloud.
Lio laughs a little while I shake my head. There’s a reason I signed my idea rather than voiced it. Leandro…is a nosy asshole.
“Can I trust you to give him our final decision later?” I ask Roman.
He nods. “Yeah, it might be easier coming from me.”
I agree. Leandro doesn’t trust, and the circle he does is very small.
When it comes to those on his guard…well, there’s a reason he didn’t tell anyone about Oliver and who he really was.
Now though, that’s going to come back to bite him in the ass.
Oh, well, he better hope Tennant is too busy with other shit to kill the guard once he’s demoted.
“This brings me to something that was brought up in the other meeting,” I tell them. Two pairs of green eyes meet mine, and I take a breath, trying to get my thoughts in order while feeling very under-qualified for this.
“When we broke off from Cristian and Allesandro, our Family pledged their loyalty to us as individual leaders. I do not believe any of them, or us, fully understood what was going to happen. We knew we had to get out, that what was happening was destructive for us all. However, we didn’t discuss anything beyond that.
From the very beginning, we’ve done everything together.
Every single big decision we’ve had to make, we came to an agreement as a whole. ”
They both nod in agreement. “I didn’t think about it,” Roman says. “It came so naturally to work with the two of you, and forming this Council…I never thought of doing it any other way.”
“Me either,” I tell them. “Which is what made it easy for me to step up and lead while you two were gone. But it circles back to something Antonio brought up. He and Marcus…after Allesandro was hurt, and Marcus brought him here, they fought. I’m sure you two are aware that Antonio took particular offense to Allesandro’s past actions. ”
Lio winces. “Yeah…”
“He brought up that they were in two different Families now.”
Both of them stare at me with wide eyes. “But…what…that’s…” Roman looks to Lio for help, but our fellow Boss just shrugs.
“This is the issue. We,” I motion between the three of us, “Might see this as one, but other people don’t, not even our own Family.
So, I propose we change that. We make it very fucking clear, to everyone, that we are the Council, and siamo molto più forti di quanto nessuno di loro sarà mai separato. ”
Roman’s lips twitch. “Council? That's all you got?”
I shrug. “Do you have a better idea? I may be the head of the De Luca Family, or what’s left of it, but I am not, and will never be, a De Luca.
I may no longer be married to Cristian—or won’t be soon—but I am an Amato.
I will not give up my name to fit someone else’s comfort.
We need to have a singular name that distinguishes us from the other Organizations, and this is how we do it.
I don't know about you, but I don't want to be defined by what my surname is or isn't. Not if I want to heal from the past.” I hesitate and look at Lio.
“Unless you would like to be recognized to the wider world as a Martelli?”