Chapter 39
39
Two Months Later
The Lombardi family is at war.
Correction: wars .
War with the Marchettis.
A civil war with Antonio’s uncle, Sonny.
So much has happened within the past year.
The pro of violence is, it offers a momentary escape from the unhappiness of losing Pippa.
The downside is, people I care about are at risk of dying.
Cristian murdered Vinny after he kidnapped Natalia, Cristian’s fiancée, who also happened to be Vinny’s ex and Cristian’s daughter, Gigi’s, best friend.
Seeking revenge, Vincent attempted to kill Cristian’s son, Benny. Instead of the bullet hitting Benny, it struck his wife, Neomi. She survived, thank fuck.
Vincent’s act not only created more problems with the Marchettis but also with Severino Cavallaro, Neomi’s father and our largest weapons supplier. As expected, we lost that relationship. Shortly after, Vincent passed away from a stroke before Cristian or Severino could kill him.
After his passing, Antonio assumed leadership as boss of the Lombardi family. Sonny is now making a claim for the title, causing a split within the family. Half of the traitorous men have aligned with Sonny, and the other half remain loyal to us.
If we want to stay alive and get rid of Sonny and his men, we’re in desperate need of weapons. Cernach Koglin is our final hope.
I know the bastard won’t make this easy and will want more than a simple cash deal. This time, he knows we’re at his mercy.
As we step inside the dank warehouse, Cernach is waiting with a smug grin. Three men stand behind him, like soldiers, staring at us in distrust.
“I’m only doing this because I detest your son-of-a-bitch uncle,” Cernach bites out.
Rumor has it, Sonny fucked one of Cernach’s mistresses during a trip to Boston. Even after Sonny mailed him a thousand-dollar check with a note saying, Payment for your whore for the night , Cernach still holds a grudge against him.
Antonio cuts straight to the chase, opening the duffel bag of guns on the table Cernach brought us.
“And before I give you these, I want to make a deal,” Cernach adds with a huff as Antonio unloads three AK-47s.
“What kind of deal are you looking for?” he asks Cernach, inspecting the guns.
“After you kill Sonny and his men, you marry my daughter, Riona.”
Antonio raises his hand, showing off his wedding band. “I can’t do that. I’m already married.”
“To who?” Cernach grunts.
“Giana Marchetti.”
“Giana Marchetti.” Cernach pauses, as if waiting for Antonio to tell him he’s fucking with him. His eyes widen when Antonio doesn’t. “As in Cristian Marchetti’s daughter?”
“The one and only.”
Cernach barks out a laugh. “You’re married to the daughter of the man who wants to murder you?” He runs a hand through his beard. “You hold a gun to her head?”
“I’d never do anything like that.” Antonio smirks.
That’s precisely what he did.
He took Gigi captive, held a gun to her and a priest’s head, and forced her to say her vows to him. That made reason nine fucking hundred thousand to have Antonio on Cristian’s kill list. Adding to the problem, Antonio hasn’t returned Gigi. He’s not keeping her out of spite. He loves Gigi and fears Sonny will hurt her.
Cernach snorts and then directs his focus past Antonio. He shifts his gaze from Julian to Emilio and then rests it on me.
“If you can’t marry my daughter, then I want one of them.” He drums his fingers along his chin. “I want a capo … someone high in rank. Not some schmuck.”
When he realizes no one is eager to volunteer, he points at each of us, one by one. I’m last, and I glare at him.
I already know who he’s choosing.
As soon as Antonio said he was unavailable, I knew it.
“Damien,” he says, shocking the others, but not me. “You’re the type of man I desire my Riona to marry.”
I work my jaw, not saying a word.
“No contract, no guns,” he adds.
Sonny made it clear anyone who supports Antonio will die. While I stopped fearing death at the age of twelve, I still need to protect the ones I love. Knowing Sonny’s brutality, I’m unsure if he’d spare Clara’s and Amara’s lives. He’s determined to get rid of anyone bearing the Lombardi name.
Right before I killed one of Sonny’s men, he mentioned Pippa, knowing she’s one of my weaknesses. Broken up or not, it’s still my responsibility to keep her safe.
Pippa left me, threw away our future.
There’s no chance for us to marry.
I’ve accepted a lonely life. After losing Pippa, I knew it was a bad idea to ever bring an innocent woman into my world—especially after all the violence we’ve had lately.
Antonio shakes his head. “Sorry, Cernach?—”
I step to his side and interrupt him, “I’ll do it.”
This is a sacrifice I must make.
I hate it, but I hate losing people I love more.
Antonio holds up his hand. “Damien?—”
“I’ll do it,” I grind out. Each of those words pains my throat as I say them.
“Excellent.” Cernach snaps his fingers in the air.
One of his men produces a document, dropping it beside the guns.
Cernach draws a pen from his coat and taps it against the papers. “I need both of your signatures here, and the deal is done. You can take your weapons and leave.”
“You’ll also continue providing us with firearms.” I jerk my head toward the paper. “I want that in writing.”
“And going forward, you only charge us half,” Antonio adds. “Damien is a capo. He’s worth it.”
My hand sweats as I scribble my name on the dotted line and pass the pen to Antonio.
“You sure?” he asks from under his breath while taking the pen from me.
I lower my voice so he’s the only one to hear me. “If this is what it takes to get rid of Sonny, then that’s what I have to do.”
His tone matches mine. “You know who Riona is, right?”
I straighten my collar. “I know exactly who Riona is.”
This is what I must do to end the war.
But I don’t know if Pippa will ever forgive me for agreeing to marry her cousin.