Chapter 1
Chapter One
“ Y ou will marry Cybil, Luciano, and you will act accordingly,” my father tells me as I sit back in the chair across from him and try to think of a way out of this. It’s not that I wouldn’t want to marry Cybil; she’s beautiful, but she’s also the enemy here.
“Why would I do that?” I ask this time, waiting to hear what he has to say. I’m sure there’s some bullshit reason behind all this mess, and I want to get to the bottom of it.
“Because that’s what I said, Luc. Let’s not get into details here. All you need to know is that you’re marrying her,” he tells me. Like fuck I will. I’d rather slice her head off than marry her. She’s everything I hate in the world, being born into the family she was.
“And if I refuse?” I ask, leaning forward and resting my elbows on my knees, looking him in the eye.
“You won’t refuse. I’ll see you dead before I let that happen.” Now I laugh, not just any laugh, either. It’s dark and sinister.
“See me dead? I’m the one who does the killing, Father. Or did you forget that?” I taunt him. I know he has other hired killers but none of them are as good as me. None of them come close to what I am.
“You forget there are others?” he asks, looking me in the eye this time with all the hatred he can muster. Not that it bothers me, because it doesn’t. I can give as good as I get and he knows that.
“Others better than me?”
“Why are we debating this, Luc? Just do as you’re told!” He roars this time, probably hoping to get a rise out of me. He won’t.
“Not until I know why.” He huffs out a breath and leans forward, folding his hands together on the desk in front of him as he glares daggers at me.
“There is going to be a war, Luciano. A war we might not survive unless we have the backup we need. We need support.” I raise my hand to stop him now, not needing to hear anymore.
“So you’re pawning me off on them?”
“Not pawning you, no. This unification will set forth many things in motion. Don’t you see that?”
“I see you’re afraid of what might come, but, Father, I can handle that. War is what I’m good at,” I remind him. He nods his head before grabbing a drink and downing it one shot.
“I’m well aware of what you’re capable of, Luc. I’m also aware of what they’re capable of. I don’t want to see this family driven into the ground by the likes of the Mancetti or the Ortega families. That’s what we’re up against. If we take on allies like the Moretti’s, we’re sealing a deal of sorts.”
“We can’t stand them, Father. Never have, never will. I don’t see how getting into bed with them is the best option for us.” With a sigh, I know this conversation is coming to an end. He’s had enough of my questions, and I know he’s had enough of this conversation.
“It’s what needs to be done,” he declares.
“After what that family did to us? You can honestly sit here and say that this is what you want?” I look him dead in the eyes now because I can’t fathom why he wants anything to do with them after what they’ve done to this family.
“Do you think I forget so easily, Luc? Come on! She was my wife!” He yells loudly this time.
“And my mother. Patty’s mother. And you’d jump into bed with them the first chance you get just because you’re afraid,” I hiss in his direction. I know he doesn’t want to see this family fail, and neither do I, but that doesn’t mean anything in the grand scheme of things.
“I’m not afraid. Worried, yes, not afraid, Luciano. Are you going to do as you’re told?” I sit back in my seat and cross my arms over my chest, glaring at him. He can’t expect me to marry a woman whose family murdered my mother. Then again, I could always take that out on Cybil. A new thought forms in my head, one of making her pay for all the shit her family has done to mine.
“You know what, Father? I will marry her. I will make her life a living hell the way they made ours,” I tell him truthfully.
“No, that’s not the deal.”
“What do you mean?”
“Her father was afraid of that and he insists this marriage is a good one. If he hears otherwise, he will end it all.”
“You aren’t seriously thinking I’m going to be loving toward that murderer, are you?” I ask him with a cold, dark chuckle.
“I expect you to be as kind as can be,” he replies. Now I’ve had enough. I stand, shoving my chair back as I go so it squeaks across the floor before I lean forward, resting my hands on his desk in front of me.
“Then you might as well cancel your plans, Father. I have no intentions of being nice of noble to those who stole my mother away from me, let alone from Patty.” With that, I shove off the wall and turn, leaving his office, listening to him curse and scream as I go.
I walk straight down the hall toward my sister’s room and, without knocking, enter, closing the door behind me.
“You could knock,” she says as I wave my hand dismissively through the air.
“I could, but I don’t. Tell me all you know about Cybil Maretti.”
“Why would you want to know about her?”
“Apparently, I’m to marry her.” My sister chokes on air as she looks over at me with wide eyes.
“Did you say no?”
“Of course, I said no. It’s not an option.”
“Jesus, Luc. You have to marry her? Like really?”
“Yes. Now tell me all you know about her so I can use it against her.”
“There’s not much to tell. From what I know, she’s pretty quiet and down to earth. Not many hate her the way we do,” she tells me. That’s not what I wanted to hear.
“That’s not helping me, Patty.”
“She likes black flowers. That’s weird, right?”
“Not considering who we are, no. You like black flowers,” I remind her. Patty’s shoulders droop as she looks to be thinking.
“There’s really nothing. What I know is she doesn’t like this life and doesn’t want to be a part of it.” Now I laugh.
“That’s too bad now, isn’t it? She’s set to be my wife.”
“I don’t know why this is happening. We hate them.”
“Apparently, father doesn’t hate them enough. But not to worry, little sister, I will make her life a living hell once she’s under this roof.”
“She has to live here?” She blanches.
“Where else would she live?” I ask her now.
“Shit, Luc. You’re going to have your hands full,” she giggles.
“No shit. Anything you can think of, let me know. I want to make sure this place is a living hell for her.” Patty nods her head as I move off the bed and back out of the room. I head back toward my room when I hear my father yelling once more. Not that I care, but if it’s business, I want to know what’s going on.
I walk back to his office and step inside to see him on the phone, his face reddened by the argument he’s caught up in.
“How can you be so sure?” He roars into the line. “Yes. I’ll get Luciano on it right now,” he yells, his eyes coming to meet mine. Hopefully this is a job for me to do and not have to worry over the mess with this girl.
“What is it?” I ask when he hangs up the phone.
“The girl, she’s missing.”
“What, girl?”
“Don’t be stupid, Luciano! Cybil is gone. Someone has taken her!”
“That’s actually perfect. I won’t have to marry then,” I muse.
“It isn’t perfect. That will leave us vulnerable, and you know it. You have to find her. You have to kill anyone who dares stand in the way of what we’re working for.” As serious as this may be, I want no part of it. I don’t want her. I hate her and all she stands for.
“Fine. What do we know?” I ask this time.
“We know she was out with friends, and they were ambushed,” he explains. I sigh. This really isn’t what I feel like doing, but if I must.
“Fine, Father. I’ll find the girl.” I leave his office and round up a few of our men. I fill them in on what’s happening before we climb in the SUV, ready to head out.
I don’t know where the hell we’re going to look for them. The obvious would be a rival family, and I send out some texts and emails to see if there are any leads I may need to follow up on. My father was very vague with what he was telling me which isn’t helpful at all.