Chapter 35 Luca
LUCA
I wake with Katerina curled against me, and for a moment I simply stare at her.
Seven years I spent building an empire, amassing power and wealth, and none of it gave me what her sleeping form does now.
A sense of belonging. Of purpose.
My hand gently settles on her stomach where our child grows. Our second child.
The idea of it is surreal.
Me, Luca Dante, the black sheep of the family, finding fulfillment in something so simple yet profound.
"You're thinking too loudly," Katerina murmurs against my skin.
I press my lips to her forehead. "Just wondering how I got so lucky."
She lifts her head, those striking blue eyes capturing mine. "I wouldn't call taking a bullet lucky."
"Worth it."
“Don’t do it again.” She stretches, exposing her gorgeous tits. I move to suckle them, but my chest reminds me of the bullet I recently took.
She arches a brow. “You still need to rest. I need to get ready to get Enzo from school.”
“You could take care of me one more time,” I say, my dick thickening just thinking about her mouth on it again.
“Later. Rest.” She rises from bed, and I watch her, admiring her body, her beauty, her entire being.
Before she leaves, she helps me up and dresses me, which admittedly, is a little tough on the ego.
When she goes to pick up Enzo, I head down to Alessandro’s office.
I’m surprised to find I’m walking into a meeting.
Good timing, I think. I need guarantees that Katerina and Enzo will be released from obligations to both the Dante family and the Bratva.
It’s time to secure this future I’ve worked so hard to create.
Alessandro sits at his desk.
Adriano leans against the wall while Valentina sits on the couch.
We're not the children who once ran these halls, but sometimes, I can almost see the kids we once were.
“You’re up.” Valentina jumps up from the couch. “Moron. You need to be in bed.”
I shake my head. “I need to move a bit or my ass is going to grow roots in the bed.”
She pulls a chair closer to me. “Sit.”
I’d argue, but the trip downstairs to the office feels like I’ve just summited Mt. Everest, so I sit.
“I’m just reviewing my discussion with Maksim,” Alessandro says.
“Good timing, then.” Inwardly, I hope Maksim sees reason. I’m not physically able to deal with him right now.
"He’s agreed to our primary terms." Alessandro’s gaze meets mine. "Katerina and Enzo are free to leave with you. No repercussions from either family."
I arch a brow. "He agreed just like that?"
"Just like that?" Valentina snorts. "Alessandro threatened to unleash you on his entire operation if he didn't agree. Maksim practically begged to sign."
"Valentina," Alessandro warns, but the corner of his mouth twitches.
She shrugs. "What? It's true. Maksim is desperate to get Luca out of town before he slaughters what's left of the Bratva. The man's terrified of you."
Good. Fear is the best weapon in this world. It means it will be easier to keep Katerina and Enzo safe.
"With good reason," Adriano adds, and I swear I almost hear pride in his tone. “Besides, Katerina would be a liability if she stayed. The Bratva would never trust her again."
My fist clenches under the table. "Watch it."
"What? I'm stating the obvious. She chose you over her blood family. That makes her—"
"My family," I cut in.
Alessandro clears his throat. "Adriano's right about the Bratva's perspective. But that’s not why we support this arrangement. You’ve earned the right to have your life back.”
I blink, caught off guard by his endorsement.
"After everything that's happened, you deserve to have your fairy tale come true,” Alessandro finishes.
Valentina snorts into her coffee. "Did you just say 'fairy tale'? Who are you and what have you done with our brother?"
"Who knew you had a romantic streak," Adriano mocks.
Alessandro rolls his eyes. "Joke all you want. I'm trying to have a moment here."
"A moment?" I fight a grin. "Did taking over as Don turn you soft?"
"I'm reconsidering my support," Alessandro threatens, but there's no truth to it.
For a moment, we’re back to being siblings again. Teasing and pushing buttons.
But then the moment is gone as Alessandro sits back in his chair. "There's one more stipulation.”
I tense, not sure I’m up to hearing something that will fuck up my life again.
“Maksim wants assurances we won’t retaliate by proposing marriage.”
Perhaps I’m still under the influence of pain or drugs.
Or maybe the euphoria of Katerina’s touch, because I don’t know why this is a problem.
If he’s agreed to let Katerina go with me, he’s not proposing marriage to her.
And besides, she might be Bratva born, but she’s a Dante now. Or will be once I put a ring on her finger.
“To Valentina.”
I think my head just exploded. "Valentina is supposed to marry Maksim?"
I glance over to find Valentina studying her nails with detached interest.
"This isn't happening.” Am I having a nightmare? "I'm not letting my sister be bartered like some medieval peace offering."
Alessandro's jaw tightens. "It's a traditional alliance—"
"It's bullshit," I cut him off. "Maksim is twice her age and a psychopath. You've seen what he does to people who cross him."
"I've agreed to it," Valentina says, her voice devoid of any emotion.
I turn to her, disbelieving. "What?"
"I said I've agreed." Her gaze meets mine without fear. "The Bratva respect strength through bloodlines. This solidifies everything."
"You can't be serious."
"Deadly." She straightens in her chair. "This isn't your call, Luca. You get to leave with Katerina and build your perfect little family in Chicago. I'm choosing to serve ours here."
I’m not sure whether she’s dissing me or not. After all, they kicked me out of the family and even after that, I “served” them. Is she suggesting I’m abandoning them?
“I’ve served—”
“No one is questioning your loyalty or dismissing all you’ve done for us,” Alessandro interrupts me. “This is about brokering peace.”
"There has to be another way," I insist, looking between my siblings, sure that they’ve all lost their minds. "Alessandro, you can't approve this."
"It's done," Alessandro says with finality.
"This is how I protect our family, Luca. This is how I protect you,” Valentine says.
"I don't need your protection," I snarl. “Not like this.”
"No," she agrees. "But your children do. And this way, when you leave, you'll know they're safe. The Bratva won't touch them. Not when I'm sleeping in Maksim's bed."
I’m not sure how to respond to this. For all my power, I'm helpless against my sister's determination to sacrifice herself.
"I won't allow it," I say finally, futilely.
Valentina smiles. "You don't have to allow it, Brother. You just have to accept it."
"Maksim will take advantage of this," I growl, unable to let this go. "You think he wants a political marriage? He wants a Dante under his thumb. Someone he can break and manipulate."
The thought of Valentina in that monster's hands makes my blood boil.
I've seen what the Bratva does to women who displease them.
I know without a doubt he’ll take out his anger toward me and Alessandro on Valentina.
"I'm not a child," Valentina snaps. "I know exactly what I'm walking into."
Alessandro raises his hand, silencing us both. "I've thought of that. Valentina won't be alone. I'm assigning her a bodyguard."
"A bodyguard?" I laugh bitterly. "Against the Pakhan of the Bratva?”
Alessandro ignores that final comment. “I’m sending Cristian Bonetti. His family has long worked for us. He’s loyal only to us, and he's nearly as lethal as you, Luca."
Valentina rolls her eyes. "I don't need a babysitter."
"It's non-negotiable," Alessandro counters. "Maksim doesn't touch you.”
“Is he going to sleep with them too?" I snap.
“Maksim knows what’s at stake. If he hurts Valentina, bodyguard or not, I'll burn his entire operation to the ground."
“See, nothing to worry about.” Valentina looks at me like I shouldn’t worry.
But hell yeah, I’m worried.
I don’t trust Maksim.
However, it’s clear the deal is made and everyone but me is on board with it.
Since I have no say in Dante business, my opinion doesn’t count for anything.
I leave the conference room with my head spinning, torn between relief for my own future and dread for my sister's.
Her sacrifice, all in the name of peace, doesn’t sit right with me.
In my room, I start to pack and make a mental list of what Katerina and Enzo might want to bring with them.
I make a quick call to Franco, letting him know I’m coming home and giving a few to-dos for him to execute before I return.
When I get off the call, the door opens and Katerina and Enzo walk in.
“Daddy!” Enzo runs for me, and I know it’s going to hurt like a mother fucker when he barrels into me, but I don’t care. I squat down and wrap him in my arms. “Hey buddy. How was school.” I’m not wrong. I feel like I might have torn my chest open. But my son’s embrace offsets the pain.
“Good.” He steps back and studies me. “You’re not sick anymore?”
“I’m almost one hundred percent.” I look up at Katerina. “We have the approval we need.”
She sniffs back tears as she comes to me. “Finally.”
I rise and wrap an arm around her. “Finally.”
“Finally what?” Enzo says, tugging on my arm.
“Finally, we’re a family. We’re moving to Chicago. What do you think of that?” Katerina says, pushing Enzo’s hair from his forehead.
“Will there be friends?”
“You’ll make lots of friends,” I assure him. “Best yet, we’ll be a family.”
“Yay!” Enzo’s arms shoot up in victory.
“You need to decide what you want to bring from the cottage,” I say.
We make our way to the home Katerina built for her and Enzo.
None of us had been there since Maksim sent men to shoot it up.
But with a focus on moving, those memories don’t seem to bother either Enzo or Katerina.
Enzo rushes to his room to gather up his favorite toys.
I go to the kitchen to pop a few pain relievers.
“Something is up,” Katerina says from the kitchen entry.
"The deal Alessandro made for peace and our freedom includes Valentina marrying Maksim.” I toss the pills into my mouth and chug down water.
Katerina's face drains of color. "No. She can't."
"She's insisting on it. Says it's her choice, her sacrifice." I set the glass in the sink, my mind whirling with possible solutions to this new problem.
"That's suicide. He'll destroy her."
"Alessandro's assigning Cristian Bonetti as her bodyguard, but—"
"Valentina is strong, stronger than most men I know, but Maksim… he breaks people for sport." Katerina takes my hands in hers. "She's doing this for you. For us."
"I know, and I don't want our happiness built on her suffering."
For a moment, I worry I’ve said something that will cause Katerina to retreat. But she doesn’t. “We could stay—”
“Staying would be worse. Maksim would see it as a threat. And… fucking hell, Valentina is dead set on this. She sees it as her duty to family.”
Katerina gives me a wan smile. “She’d be pissed if you took it from her.”
I nod. “Crazy, isn’t she?”
“It’s a Dante trait, I’m afraid."
I blow out a breath and pull her close. “Let’s focus on us now. We need to talk to Enzo.”
“Oh?”
I rub my hand over her belly. “He’s going to have a brother or sister.”
Her smile is radiant. “He is.”
We find Enzo sitting cross-legged on the floor, sorting his cars.
"Hey, buddy." I crouch beside him. "Mind taking a break? Your mom and I need to talk to you about something."
He looks up. "Is it about Chicago?"
"Sort of." I ruffle his hair.
Katerina sits on his bed and I pick him up so we can sit with her.
"We wanted to tell you something exciting," Katerina’s hand finds mine as Enzo settles between us.
“Okay.”
“How do you feel about being a big brother?” I ask, feeling like I have the goofiest grin on my face.
“Like a baby?”
“Yep, like a baby.”
Enzo's eyes widen. "Am I getting one?"
God, I hope he’s happy about this. I’m certain that Alessandro always hated me because I was the one who made it so that he wasn’t an only child anymore. "Yeah, you are. Your mom is going to have a baby."
"For real?" Enzo bounces. "When? Is it a boy or a girl? Can I name it?"
Katerina laughs. "It'll be a while before the baby comes. And we don't know if it's a boy or girl yet."
"Either way, you're going to be a big brother," I add. "That's a pretty important job."
Enzo puffs up his chest. "I'll be the best big brother ever. I'll teach them everything."
The moment is bittersweet. I love that I have the family I lost.
But in this moment, I keenly feel what I missed the first time around.
Katerina’s pregnancy.
Enzo’s birth.
His first steps.
But there’s no sense ruminating on the past. Not when the future is so bright.
"There's one more thing.” I bring Katerina’s hand to my lips. "The only thing left to do is for your mom and me to get married. What do you think about that?"
“Yeah!” Enzo claps his hands. “Then we can be together forever.”
Katerina arches a brow at me.” Are you proposing, Luca Dante?”
“Yes.” I hope I haven’t played this wrong. Maybe I should have arranged a fancy dinner and flowers. And a ring. Fuck, I don’t have a ring.
Enzo tugs at my sleeve. "Say yes, Mommy."
"Yes," she says, her gaze holding mine. "That's definitely a yes."
I pull her into my arms, Enzo squished between us in a tangle of limbs and laughter.
"I love you. Both of you. All three of you."
“We’re a real family now,” Enzo says, wrapping his short arms around our necks.
I couldn’t agree more. “A real family forever.”