11. Adriano
Adriano
“ I stink like smoke.” Lucy stands in my bedroom at the Marino Mansion and stares around with a stunned look on her face. She’s still in shock and not fully functioning yet.
“Take a shower.” I steer her toward the big, marble-filled bathroom. “Take a bath if you want. I’ll have Bianca bring you some clothes.”
She looks down at herself. She’s still in her wedding dress. “I don’t have any of my things.”
“We’ll get them tomorrow. For now, I need to make sure this isn’t part of a larger attack. You’ll be safe here, do you understand? Take a shower and hang tight. Don’t leave my room.”
“Right. Your room.” She blinks rapidly and shakes her head. “This is where you live?”
“Welcome home.” I gently nudge her to the bathroom. “Get moving, wife.”
She does as commanded, as if on autopilot. I think she’d do jumping jacks if I told her to. Eventually, the adrenaline hangover will clear, and she’ll be thinking clearly again, but for now, I need to be gentle with her.
I find Bianca downstairs in the great room, glued to her phone. “It’s all over the news,” she says, looking up.
“Do me a favor. Lucy needs something to wear. Can you help her out? She’s showering in my room.”
“Right, of course. Happy to help.” Bianca’s laugh is quiet and disbelieving. “They’re calling it a terrorist attack.”
“It wasn’t.”
“How do you know?”
“Because it was a message. Please, Bianca. Before she’s finished.”
My sister quietly leaves. I start sending out messages to my most important and trusted Capos, calling them to the house. Then I check the news to confirm what Bianca said.
So far, the local sites all think it was some kind of attack on the city. The police are out in force, making sure nothing else happens.
But it won’t. Unless it happens here.
“I got the guys you asked for,” Luca says, coming into the room. He’s wearing body armor and holding a rifle. “Twenty men, all kitted up.”
“Make a perimeter around the house. I don’t want anyone getting anywhere near this place without eyes on them, understand?”
“I hear you.”
“A few of the Capos are coming. Send them straight to me when they show up.”
“What’s going on right now? You know something you’re not saying.”
“All I have are guesses.” I share a look with him. “Did you hear from Carmie?”
“Lev and her got out fine. Seems like most of the guests are okay. Our boys took care of them.”
“Good. The fucking rumors are going to be hell.” I pace across the room to a small bar in the corner. I pour myself a stiff drink. “Get ahead of it. I want to make sure nobody blames our family for what happened.”
“What should we say?”
“Terrorism, just like the news thinks.”
“But that’s not true.”
“It is for now. Start spreading the word.”
Luca nods and turns away. I watch him walk out, feeling the weight of the family on my shoulders.
Every single important person in Philadelphia was at that wedding. Half of them are going to hate me and my organization for putting them in danger, and the other half are going to be too afraid to care either way. I’m going to lose business because of this mess.
And that’s exactly what Gray Wolf wanted.
I’m furious by the time my top Capos begin arriving.
Frank Molinari is first, a grizzled, older veteran of a dozen street fights, with gray hair and a craggy face.
He shows up with Vittorio Esposito, only thirty-five, my youngest Capo and the first man I promoted to the position.
He’s a ruthless killer and one of the most feared men in the city.
Marco Calabrese comes in after, mid-fifties; he manages the family’s money laundering activities.
They’re still wearing their tuxedos.
We gather in my office. The men sit at a large table, pour drinks, light cigars, and start bullshitting each other. There’s a deep nervous energy in the room. Bianca shows up a few minutes later and lets me know that Lucy is safe and curled up in my bed. That’s one less thing I have to worry about.
“You all know why you’re here.” I stare at the men around me. “You all saw that shitshow back there.”
“One hell of a wedding, Adriano,” Frank says, showing crooked, gold-capped teeth. “Ended with a bang.”
Marco rolls his eyes. “Terrible joke.”
“It’s late, and I’ve been drinking.” Frank shrugs, leaning back. “But the question is, what do we do about what happened back there?”
“The response should be simple,” Vittorio says, sounding cold and controlled. “Find who is responsible and kill them.”
“Might spook the society folk,” Marco says, considering. He frowns at me, head tilted. “And the next question is, do you even know who is responsible?”
I let that question linger for a moment before answering. “I can’t say for sure, but Demir Yilmaz made it clear that he didn’t want me to marry Lucy. I have a feeling the car bomb was Gray Wolf’s work.”
All three men stare at me. They know what it means if Gray Wolf is behind the bombing.
War, and an ugly one.
“What could they have to gain?” Marco asks, looking around the room. “It wasn’t like any of our people were hurt.”
“Optics,” Bianca says. She looks at me. “You couldn’t protect your own wedding.”
My jaw flexes. Anger surges through me. “I didn’t think I had to keep a fucking car from exploding in the goddamn lobby.”
“Nobody here blames you. We were all there.” She holds out a hand in a calming gesture. “But that’s what people are going to say.”
“She’s right,” Vittorio agrees. “Those fucking lemmings are going to scatter to the wind.”
“Gonna be a hit to business,” Frank says, looking grim now. “Real big fucking hit.”
“We have connections with many prominent families in the city. If they start abandoning organizations affiliated with the Famiglia because they fear Gray Wolf—” Marco cocks his head, squinting into the middle distance, looking like he’s doing a hard math problem. “The fallout will be considerable.”
I start pacing again. My heart’s a steady march, but my chest is ablaze with anger. I knew Demir was crazy, but I had no clue the lengths he’d go to sabotage this marriage.
All because he thinks he has a claim to my wife.
“Luca’s doing damage control, but we all need to get on the phone and start making calls. I’ll reach out to as many people as I can to see how bad this is.” I nod over at Marco. “You take the lead on this one.”
“Understood, Adriano.” He nods slightly and stands. “I’ll get on it right now.”
I turn to Vittorio. “I want Gray Wolf men. Two of them if you can. I want them in my basement by tomorrow night. I have questions.”
“That I can do.” Vittorio stands languidly and stretches. “How healthy do you need them?”
“Feel free to soften them up first.”
Vittorio lazily salutes and walks out after Marco.
Frank studies me. He puffs on his cigar, one hand on his thick belly. “You know, this is the sort of situation the Don should be aware of.” His eyebrows raise. “Where is your father, Adriano?”
I meet his gaze. “The Don isn’t feeling well.”
“Must be pretty bad if he missed his own son’s wedding.” Frank chews the end of his cigar.
Bianca glances at me. “Papa’s just recovering from a procedure?—”
“Cut the shit,” Frank says, sounding exhausted. “Are we really still doing this dance? Nobody believes it anymore.”
I hold Frank’s gaze. I feel the danger in this moment. Right now, I’m at my weakest, and if Frank or anyone else in the Famiglia wants to rise up to take power for themselves, that car bombing was the perfect cover.
“The Don will be happy to see you when he’s feeling better,” I say coldly. “Or is that not good enough for you, Salvatore?”
He grunts and shakes his head. “Say what you will, but we all know you’re the real power here. I’m on your side, Adriano. I’m too fucking old for a coup and way too lazy to run this whole damn show. Your monkeys, your fucking circus.”
I don’t fully believe him, but I nod as if I do. “I appreciate that.”
“But I want to see my friend.” Frank’s gaze is hard. “How bad is he, really?”
“He’s sick,” Bianca says. “He wouldn’t want you to see it.”
“ Che peccato … I’ll light a candle for him tonight. Che Dio l’aiuti . Life is too short. Your father was a good man.”
“He’s still a good man,” I say and slump into a chair. “I need you on the family, Frank. If you’re on my side, then prove it. Make sure everyone’s on the same page here. Gray Wolf is the enemy.”
“That’ll be easy. Half the fucking morons on the street are slobbering for revenge. The bastards bombed your damn wedding. You might not be the Don yet, but they all know who the real power is.”
“Keep an eye on Vittorio for me too.”
“You don’t trust him?”
“I don’t trust anyone. Including you.”
Frank laughs and pushes himself to his feet. “Heavy is the crown,” he mutters as he stubs out his cigar. He gives Bianca a kiss on the cheek. “Good luck with this one.”
He leaves me alone with my sister. She gives me a look as she fixes herself a drink. “What a mess.”
“No kidding.”
“Cleanup is going to be a nightmare.”
“And it’s not over.” I give her a meaningful look. “How’s my wife?”
“You should go check on her.”
“I have too much work to do right now.”
Bianca nods slightly and looks like she wants to argue, but she holds her tongue for once. Instead, she heads out, promising to peek in at Lucy for me.
I stay in my office. The phone starts ringing, and soon the calls come in like a flood. I spend my wedding night chained to my fucking desk, preparing for blood.