Chapter 21
Chapter Twenty-One
Five Months Later
Sitting outside on his favorite bench, Luka tugged the zipper a little higher on his sweater.
The crisp autumn air wasn’t cold, but after his injuries and illness, he seemed to be more sensitive to temperature.
He suspected it was related to the ongoing anemia, but he couldn’t be sure.
His bloodwork had improved substantially, and his treatments were working.
A few more weeks and he’d have a clean bill of health.
And then what?
The peace pact had been dissolved. The Raffaelli family had been forced to admit they’d lost the money held in trust. To avoid being taken out, Carlo Raffaelli had agreed to pay the Russians what they were owed for the deal Luka had arranged on the promise of the trust money.
Luka hadn’t revealed to anyone that he knew exactly who had taken that money.
There was no point in dragging Skender into this, not after he’d had to have half his face rebuilt with metal plates and screws.
It was easier to let everyone believe that Kristo and Carlo’s capo had been scheming.
Which, actually, wasn’t a total lie. Kristo had been working with Paolo Barella to undermine their bosses.
Blaming the whole thing on the two of them was a neat and tidy way to tie up loose ends.
A bird caught his attention. It landed in Drita’s kitchen garden and started to peck away at the dirt.
He stared at the neat rows of winter vegetables that were starting to grow.
He’d never really paid any attention to all that hard work she put in, but five months of recovery, of biding his time and being stuck in a bed and then a chair had opened his eyes to a lot of things.
There was so much invisible work that happened around the house, and Drita never complained.
She did it happily, served the family loyally.
I owe her so much more than I pay her.
Surviving a bombing, kidnapping, shooting and sepsis had forced him to take a step back and evaluate his life.
The answers he found weren’t good. They proved what he’d always feared.
He had accomplished nothing of value. He had done nothing to add anything positive to the world.
He had taken and taken and taken and never once tried to give.
Not like Elona.
She’d lost everything as a child. She’d been exiled from her home, forced to move to a strange country with a language she didn’t know, after losing her father and most of her family to violence and bloodshed.
She’d survived that villain of a mother.
She’d made it through an abusive relationship and had come out stronger on the other end.
She had gone to college, gotten two degrees and established herself in the business world.
She didn’t make excuses. She got up. She did the work. She made things happen. She even found time to volunteer and give back to her community.
She gave and gave and gave.
Not like me.
I can’t live like this anymore.
It’s time.
He’d been thinking about it since waking up alone in that ICU bed. The thoughts slowly morphed into plans that he quietly and carefully put into place. Now, he was ready to pull the trigger and make those plans a reality.
He perked his ears to the sound of crunching grass. He recognized the footsteps and didn’t bother glancing back to confirm it was Zec. He glanced at his watch, noting that, as usual, the family’s underboss was exactly on time.
“You wanted to see me?” Zec stopped a few feet away from the conversation set under the tree. Ever since that terrible night, Zec had been distant, more aloof than usual.
Luka nodded and gestured to the chair across from him. “Sit.”
Zec brushed a few errant leaves from the cushion before sitting. Never one to shy away from a difficult conversation, he held Luka’s gaze in that unnerving way of his. “Did you want to talk about the meeting tonight?”
In a few hours, all of the street captains, the bosses of their affiliated clans and families across the country and their allied organizations in nearby countries were meeting at a secret location for a conference that hadn’t been held in seventeen years.
It was time to settle the old debts, once and for all, and make some changes.
“I do.” Luka decided there was no reason to draw it out and make things harder than they needed to be. He inhaled a steadying breath before admitting, “I’ve decided it’s time for me to step back. To step away. To give up control to you.”
Zec blinked twice. His brow furrowed, only barely, and his lips parted and then shut. Finally, he said, “I don’t know what to say.”
“You don’t have to say anything.” Luka exhaled tiredly.
“We both know the truth, Zec. I was born for this job, but it’s not who I am.
It’s not me. It’s never felt right. Not once.
I’ve spent every single day of the last seventeen years waking up with a pit of dread in my stomach.
” He touched right above his navel. “I went to bed every single night wishing I would wake up and the whole thing would be a terrible dream.”
“I didn’t know it was that bad.” Zec seemed surprised. “I knew you didn’t enjoy it, but I never thought it was that bad.”
“I got good at hiding the truth. I could pretend. I could inhabit that role that was expected of me, but every step was so uncomfortable, like I was wearing shoes three sizes too small. I’ll never fit, Zec. No matter what I do, this isn’t the life for me.”
“There are other men,” Zec insisted. “Besian—.”
“Besian has created a life for himself in Houston. He’s got a legitimate empire there. In a few years, he’ll be almost completely removed from the dirty dealings that made him rich. He’ll be insulated from the illegal side of it. He’s not coming back here. He would never do that to Marley.”
“What about—.”
“I chose you, Zec,” Luka interrupted. “There was never any other choice. You’re the man this family needs. You were made for this.”
Zec shifted uncomfortably. For the first time ever, he actually looked discomfited. He wasn’t a man who accepted things from others. Not gifts, not compliments. Nothing. Now, he’d been handed the actual keys to the kingdom.
“I’ll take care of the family for you. When you’re ready to come back or if your children—.”
“No.” Luka shook his head and slashed his hand through the air with finality.
“This is it for me and my family. If I have children, they’ll never be a part of this.
I want something else for them. I want them to make their own choices.
I want them to live their lives in the light, not hiding in the dark. ”
“Where I excel.” Zec laughed, but it sounded more like a wheeze, rough and raspy.
Frankly, the sound terrified Luka and proved that he was exactly right to pick Zec as the new boss of this family.
He inspired loyalty and fear, a difficult mix to balance.
Zec wouldn’t be afraid to make hard decisions, to cut throats if it meant growing and taking new territory and consolidating power.
“I’m keeping this house and other family properties,” Luka continued, certain he didn’t need to lay out the full plan. Zec wasn’t the kind of man to greedily take what belonged to another. “The family money that’s separate from organization will be split with my sister. Everything else is yours.”
“That’s more than fair.”
“And I’d appreciate your protection when I come back to visit or if I decide to move back and raise a family here when I’m tired of traveling.”
Zec actually looked offended. “You don’t have to have to ask. Whether you’re boss or not, you’re always family.”
Luka hated that he had ever doubted Zec. Neither of them had ever mentioned it, but he was certain Zec must have known he suspected him. After all the years of dedication and service, it had to have been a painful blow to realize how little faith there was.
“When will you leave?” Zec asked, obviously trying to piece together a timeline.
“Tomorrow.”
“Where are you going?”
Luka shrugged and confessed, “I have no idea. The only thing I do know is that after tonight I’m done with this.”
Zec regarded him for a moment. “Well, Elona’s stepfather will be glad to hear that.”
Startled by the mention of Brett, he asked, “What do you mean?”
Zec gestured toward the house. “He’s here. With Drita. In your house. Right now.”
“What?” He twisted in his chair and grimaced at the throbbing ache in his midsection. He’d healed, but those scars and all his rearranged plumbing was still tender if he moved too quickly.
“I thought you knew.”
“No.” Luka rose from the chair and crossed the yard. What was Brett Cartwright doing here? Had something happened to Elona?
It had been five months of radio silence from her.
He’d gotten her new number from Marley who still kept in touch with her.
He’d texted six times, and after no replies, he’d stopped.
He wasn’t proud of it, but he had basically been stalking her online, following her career move to Shanghai.
She rarely showed up in social media, but she had popped up in a few photos and short videos on the official accounts for the project.
Seeing her so happy and healthy eased his worries, but it inflamed his jealousy. He couldn’t stop thinking about her. He craved her. He needed her.
But she didn’t need him.
She’d moved one so easily.
And it killed him.
Hurt worse than being shot twice.
Will I ever be good enough for her?
He entered the house through the main patio doors and found Drita standing dangerously close to Brett in the entryway of the villa. He narrowed his eyes at the way Drita’s hand drifted along Brett’s arm. What the hell is going on here?
“Luka!” Drita guiltily removed her hand and smiled too broadly. “I was going to come get you. Mr. Cartwright just arrived.”
“Luka.” Brett Cartwright extended his hand. He seemed impossibly tall, looming over everyone.
Well over six feet himself, Luka felt dwarfed by the older, more successful man. He grasped Elona’s stepfather’s hand. “Mr. Cartwright.”
“Brett,” he insisted while studying him intently. “You look much better than the last time I saw you.” Brett let go of his hand and gestured to his arms and face. “No tubes. No bruises. You look almost perfectly recovered.”
“Almost,” Luka agreed. “Can I invite you into my office for a drink?”
“I’m on a short layover on my way to Riyadh. I had my pilot make a pit stop here for business I needed to handle.” Brett’s gaze skipped toward Drita for a second. “I was asked to give you this.”
Luka accepted an envelope that Brett produced from the inner pocket of his suit jacket. Written on the front in bold black marker were two words.
FINAL INSTALLMENT
“My stepson decided it was time to draw a line under this whole business,” Brett explained. “Inside you’ll find a crypto wallet address and the key that you need to unlock it. I’m told that every penny that’s due to you and your family is waiting there.”
Luka suspected Skender might not have made this choice of his own accord. Regardless, he wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth. “Zec.”
The new boss of the family stepped up and accepted the envelope. The exchange seemed to pique Brett’s interest, but he was too polite to ask.
“I’m done,” Luka said plainly.
“Done?” Brett echoed with surprise.
Luka nodded. “It’s time for a new CEO for our family business.”
“Uh-huh,” Brett remarked with a curious glance between the two men. “A shake-up in the C-suite?”
“More like retirement,” Luka clarified.
“I see.” Brett tilted his head. “Takes a brave man to give up that much power.”
“I’m not brave. I’m tired,” Luka admitted.
“Maybe you should take a vacation.”
“That’s the plan.”
“I hear Shanghai is beautiful this time of year.”
Taken aback by Brett’s suggestion, Luka searched the other man’s face. It wasn’t a joke at his expense. He was serious. “Is it?”
Brett nodded. “I know someone who lives there who might enjoy your company.”
Luka swallowed hard. “You think?”
Brett offered an encouraging but slightly hesitant smile. “I know.”
“And you approve?” Luka asked, dreading the answer.
“I’m not sure yet,” Brett answered honestly. “You’ve got a chance to prove yourself.” Brett stepped closer, lowering his voice to a threatening timbre. “But if you break her heart, you’re going to wish those bullets had finished you off.”
Certain Brett had the resources to make him disappear, Luka accepted the warning without complaint. This was Elona’s father, and he had a right to question intent.
But Brett didn’t need to worry. The only heart at risk of being broken was his own.