CHAPTER THIRTEEN
KAGE
I’m fucked. Absolutely fucked. Looking into her eyes, as she all but begged me to let her live, fucking did things to me. She asked me to not punish her for her family’s crimes, and fuck me, Raina’s right. She should not die because those assholes raped a woman, and killed a baby. How the hell am I supposed to look at Reaper, and tell him two members of their family will live? The plan was for all of them to die. No more Abruzzos. The entire line would be wiped out. Bones is the head of the family, and he’ll be the first to tell me she has to die. We don’t always kill every member of a family when we have problems, but this is not your normal problem. Going against my family would have tragic outcomes for me. I could lose everything that has ever mattered to me.
I don’t care about many things. My family is all I have. Like anybody else, I have friends, but they don’t matter to me the way my brothers do. I would gladly take a bullet for any of them. My mind is racing as I get into my car and start driving. I need advice, but my options are limited. Obviously, I can’t talk to Reaper or Bones about this. And honestly, Psycho will probably stab me, thinking I’m in love with her. I’m not. I barely fucking know her. It’s not about that.
I text a buddy of mine while I’m driving. Yes, I know it’s dangerous, but I do a lot of fucking things that are dangerous.
Me: Hey, man. I need to talk through some family bullshit. Are you busy?
Dante: Nope. I’m having a drink with my brother.
Me: Where?
Dante: The Devil. Where else?
Me: On my way.
I pull up to The Devil, Domenic De Luca’s club, and park in a spot designated for the De Lucas as I snicker to myself. This is how the entire war with the Abruzzos escalated. My brother, Reaper, killed one of them over a goddamn parking spot. When he told me, I knew shit was going to get out of hand. Retaliation is a guarantee in our world, but my brother doesn’t think about shit like that. Before Bella, he didn’t have a reason to care. Had the tables been turned, we would’ve gone after the man that wronged us, not a woman, and an unborn child. We do a lot of shit that most of society would claim to be wrong, and downright evil, but even we have lines we won’t cross. The Bonettis aren’t like the De Lucas though. We don’t have some sort of code that says we won’t hurt women. If it needs to be done, it will be, which is why I know for a fact that Raina will die, by my hands or one of my brothers’.
I walk into the club, and head straight to the spiral staircase that leads to Domenic’s office, because that’s where they always are. After knocking, I enter and spot Domenic behind his desk, and his brother Dante on the black leather sofa, with a drink in his hand.
He sits back and nods at the bottle, and empty glass, on Domenic’s desk.
“Grab a drink, brother.”
I pour myself nearly a full glass of Whiskey, and they both chuckle.
“Oh, it’s one of those situations,” Domenic says.
Joining Dante on the sofa, I take a gulp of my drink. The burn in my throat is welcoming, as it travels through me.
Dante turns to me with a knowing grin.
“This is about a woman.”
I nod slowly as I admit, “We went after the Abruzzos and I took their daughter.”
Domenic arches an eyebrow as he leans back in his chair, but doesn’t say anything.
“My brothers expect me to kill her, and I should. Her father and brothers brutally raped Bella, Reaper’s girl, and killed their unborn baby. Bones ordered us to kill every living Abruzzo. That was the plan.”
“And then you fucked her,” Domenic says plainly.
I throw back the rest of my drink.
“I did, but it’s not about that. She begged me not to kill her. Not to punish her for her family’s crimes. And she’s right, she shouldn’t be killed for the choices of four vile men. Yet, I don’t see another option, because I have to follow Bones’ orders, and of course, how can I do that to Reaper?”
Dante looks over to me.
“Are you in love with this girl?”
I shake my head no.
“No, you know me. I don’t do that love bullshit, and I barely know her anyway.”
Domenic laughs, like I told a funny joke.
“My personal opinion is, it’s not right to kill the girl. What has she done to wrong you? Nothing. But… Going against your family may cost you. Bones can’t just turn a blind eye to such behavior.”
And that’s the problem. I know he’s right.
He continues, and I listen to every word, because I trust both Domenic and Dante with my life.
“Either you kill the girl or go against your family. It’s that simple. You could talk to Bones, but if his mind is made up, it won’t change anything. So you need to decide for yourself. How important is her life? What are you willing to lose to save it?”
I sigh audibly as Domenic stares into his glass, like he’s lost in the past.
“My wife was also from a rival family. You know the story, but I thought I’d kill her as well, and you know we’re typically against that. It would have been a mistake to hold her responsible for her father’s decisions.”
He swallows hard.
“I can’t imagine my life without her. I don’t want to. I’d gladly take her place, rather than live without Giada.”
I get up and pour myself another shot.
“It’s not like that, though. I’m not in love with her. I don’t want to marry her, or for her to have my goddamn babies. I just don’t know if I can kill her.”
I sit back down with my drink in my hand, and Dante looks at me pointedly.
“You’ve never had an issue taking a woman’s life before. If you’re honest with yourself, I think you’ll find there’s something there. Maybe not love, but some sort of affection. There’s a reason you don’t want to kill the girl you had every intention of killing.”
Suddenly everything is clear. I don’t have feelings for Raina. I’m a fucking Bonetti man. We do not shy away from killing our enemies. Our family comes first. There’s no right or wrong.
I rise from the chair and nod to both of them.
“Thank you for the clarity. I know what I’m going to do.”
Domenic asks, “Which is?”
I shrug my shoulders.
“I’m going to kill her. An order is an order. This is my family, and I cannot go against my brothers.”
As I turn to walk out the door, Dante calls to me.
“Hey, Kage.”
Glancing over my shoulder, my eyes snap to him, and he looks at me with sadness.
“You’re going to regret it, I promise you. Betraying your family is not something to take lightly but, fuck, if it was Natalia, Drake and I would hide her. Forever if we had to.”
In my head, I’m screaming ‘but you love Nat’, because Drake and Dante both do. I don’t fucking love Raina. She is nothing to me, other than a pussy to slide into.