Chapter 23 Charlie
Charlie
I’ve been watching Luciano and Stefano plan this meeting with the Andrettis for days, memorizing every detail, every move of our men like a hawk eyeing its prey.
Luciano’s cold voice told me I couldn’t come, but I should be there with them.
Underneath my oversized hoodie, I’m already dressed ready to go and prove I belong in this world that has been ripped from me.
Walking back into the house, Rocco is right behind me like normal when Luciano isn’t around. “I’m just going to watch a movie for a bit,” I say to him, hoping he’ll believe me.
“I’ll come with you.” He follows me into the room. Shit… how do I get out of this?
“Actually, I’m just going to pee quickly. Can you pick the movie?” I ask him. He starts to move towards the door with me. “If you follow me into the bathroom, I will tell Luciano you saw me naked.”
Rocco’s eyes go wide. “I’m just following the Don’s orders…”
“And I am ordering you to let me pee in peace.” I storm out of the room, and when I look back behind, he hasn’t followed.
I quickly punch in the code to access the gun room inside the mansion.
Once I slide in, my heart hammers hard as I take in the rows of lethal weapons.
After grabbing a pistol I recognize and stuffing extra rounds into my pockets, I lock the door behind me.
I walk quickly to the garage and jump in the blacked-out Jeep. I drive out the front gates just as I see Rocco run out the front door, yelling at the other soldiers, but they’re not paying attention to me. Luciano is going to have their asses for it later.
Once I make it, I park just out of sight.
I creep toward the docks, every muscle tense in my body.
Up ahead I can see Luciano, Stefano, and Carlo standing in a tight formation with three big men—they must be the Andrettis.
My fingers brush the pistol in my back pocket.
I edge closer, hiding behind barrels at the shed’s edge, straining to catch their words.
All our soldiers are too focused on what’s in front of them to notice me.
The tall Andretti steps forward. “Luciano, calmati.” Luciano, calm down.
Luciano growls, “Vince, questo è il tuo unico avvertimento. Questo è il mio territorio.” Vince, this is your only warning. This is my turf.
The air is thick with tension, suffocating and sharp.
Words are thrown back and forth, with no peace in sight.
Out the corner of my eye, one of their men slips his hand into his jacket.
My heart instantly drops, memories flash of the guy running towards us last time we were here, and my panic sets in.
Shit, he’s pulling a gun, I think instantly.
I quickly look around to see our soldiers aren’t paying attention.
I draw my pistol and fire one shot, clean and deadly, straight into his chest. My lessons with Mattia are paying off.
He crumples backward, and chaos erupts around the dock.
Guns spit fire from both sides, bullets slicing the air.
The leaders stand untouched in the middle, as their soldiers become the targets.
A scream claws at my throat, but I clamp my hand over my mouth, forcing myself to breathe slow and steady. Shit.
“Abbastanza!” Enough! Luciano’s voice cuts through the gunfire like a blade. Silence snaps everyone into place, only a few muffled moans can be heard.
“Dove cazzo è?” Where the fuck is she? Oh shit, how did he know it was me?
I silently watch as everyone shakes their heads, except one tattletale. His sharp gaze locks onto me. I hear the footsteps coming before Carlo yanks me out from behind the barrels.
“Fuck’s sake, Charlie,” he mutters, half dragging me forward to Luciano. The disappointment is written all over his face.
Luciano looks like he’s going to explode, pure, blazing rage paints across his chiseled face. “Take her home,” he barks at Carlo.
“No,” I snap, refusing to back down as I try to shrug out of Carlo’s grip. “I’m not going anywhere.”
“Per una volta, smettila di comportarti come un monello e ascolta!” For once, stop acting like a brat and listen!
Vince’s eyes narrow onto me. “Chi è questo?” Who’s this? He already knows the answer, he’s just looking for confirmation.
“Charlotte Carlisi,” I say, extending my hand out to Vince. “Caterina’s daughter.”
He studies me hard, confirmation flickering across his face. “Sembri proprio lei.” You look just like her. He glances at Luciano. “This,” he gestures to the wreckage around us, “needs dealing with. Caterina’s daughter or not, she shot my man for no reason.”
“He reached into his jacket,” I start to argue, moving forward slightly.
“Stop talking, Charlie.” Luciano grabs my forearm from Carlo and squeezing tight, urging me to shut up. “We’ll repay you for the one man she killed, but not the rest,” Luciano says. “You have one hour to clear the bodies from our turf.”
Vince nods curtly as Luciano yanks me toward his car. “We’ll meet you all back home,” he says. He digs into my pocket, grabbing the Jeep car key and throws it to Stefano.
The drive home is suffocating, the silence between us stretching on for far too long.
I steal silent glances over at Luciano, but his eyes never leave the road, his hands gripping the steering wheel so hard I fear it may break any second.
I can’t understand why Luciano is so angry with me when they nearly killed one of us.
When we reach the house, I bolt out of the car, slam the door and run towards the front steps, desperate to escape him and the incoming lecture.
“I told you to stay here,” Luciano snaps, hot on my heels.
“So what?” I try to race to my room, but his footsteps are getting near, closing the gap between us.
“You don’t realize what you’ve just done,” he yells at me. He grabs the back of my neck and pulls me back to him, stopping me from moving.
“Yes, I do,” I say, dangerously trying to push out of his grip.
His eyes lock on to mine. “You know nothing,” he hisses. “You’ve started a war.”
“No, I haven’t. They were already coming for us.”
“You killed one of Vince’s men for no reason.” I shrink back against the wall. “You outed yourself as Caterina’s daughter and got three of our men killed! You have given him a reason to attack us. You played right into his game.”
“He was reaching for a gun,” I defend myself, but my voice is starting to tremble.
Luciano shoves his face close to mine, our breaths mingling, his piercing blue eyes blazing. “You don’t shoot unless you can see the gun,” he snarls. “Did you see the gun?”
“No, but—”
“You know nothing, Charlie!” He slams his hands on the wall beside my head. I stand my ground, refusing to flinch. “I’ve been doing this for over twenty years. If I tell you to do something, fucking listen for once.”
“But…” I whisper as he storms off, slamming the office door behind him.
Oh God, what have I done? I hurry to my room, praying to avoid the guys for the rest of the night.