CHAPTER 16
Luca noticed it before anyone else did the way Marcello's eyes would flicker just a little longer whenever they spoke privately. The briefest pause before changing the subject, a subtle tension and guardedness Luca hadn't seen before.
It wasn't words or threats it was the way Marcello's eyes lingered a moment too long when Luca mentioned nothing.
But Luca, who knew Marcello as well as he knew himself, felt it the weight of unspoken knowledge hanging between them like a shadow.
He didn't need words.
Luca's mind raced with possibilities. Fuck... Had Marcello found out about his little secret? Shit!!
He trusted Marcello, yes but trust in their world was always measured and cautious but he had to make sure just how much the Don knew.
Luca's jaw tightened.
Because some secrets weren't meant to be shared and some truths, once revealed, could change everything.
Luca found Marcello leaning against the railing at the warehouse, eyes fixed on the large shipment that had just arrived,while smoking a cigarette.
Without a word, Luca stepped beside him, the night heavy between them.
Marcello didn't look surprised to see him, but there was a flicker of something unreadable in his gaze.
Luca's voice was low, controlled. "I know you've been watching closely lately."
Marcello's lips curved into a slight, knowing smile. "I have my reasons."
Luca's eyes locked with his. "This isn't about you thinking I was betraying you, You know something I didn't want shared."
Marcello met the challenge without flinching. "You always kept things close, Luca. But some truths don't stay hidden forever." This was a way of Marcello admitting what he'd originally thought and Luca knew it.
For a long moment, the two men regarded each other, two warriors in a delicate dance of loyalty and suspicion.
Finally, Luca's expression softened, but his tone remained firm. "I know you were near my place."
Marcello didn't flinch. "Briefly."
"Brief enough to see something?" Luca asked, finally meeting his eyes.
The air thickened.
Marcello gave a lazy shrug. "Pretty garden. Quiet house. You've been hiding something peaceful, Luca. Didn't take you for the type."
Luca's fingers tightened slightly around the rifle. "I don't keep peace. I protect it."
Marcello smiled faintly, a flicker of interest lighting in his gaze. "She's... different. Whoever she is."
Luca's jaw tensed, just a flicker but it was enough.
"I'm not your enemy," Marcello said, dropping the cigarette and crushing it underfoot. "But if you want me to stop looking, you'll have to say the word."
"My safe house is off limits" Luca stared at him eyes unwavering . "Don't make me say it twice." he continued
Marcello raised his eyebrows at him while smirking.
Interesting.
A beat passed.
Then Marcello pushed off the pillar, his expression unreadable. "Understood."
The two men stood there, silent again partners, commanders, brothers-in-arms but now with a thread between them pulled taut.
Something had shifted.
And neither of them would admit just how deep it ran.
The tension hung thick between them, smoke curling slowly through the open rafters. Marcello hadn't moved far he stood with his arms crossed, watching Luca carefully now, no longer teasing, no longer testing.
He knew something was coming.
Luca exhaled slowly and turned away from the table, his voice low and rough. "She's not part of this world."
Marcello tilted his head. He didn't speak, didn't interrupt. He let Luca talk.
"She doesn't know who I really am. Not fully. She's... she's all I have that's still pure." The words were difficult, foreign in his mouth. But true.
Marcello's gaze sharpened. "A girlfriend?" he asked his voice heavy and deep, he needed to make sure that he wasn't obsessing over something that was already taken
Luca shot him a cold look sharp, instinctive. "She's my sister."
That silenced the room like a bullet to glass.
Marcello blinked. Once. "Your sister?"
Luca gave a slow nod. "Mia. I've kept her hidden since our parents died. She was too young. Too fragile. I took her away from everything, the city, the blood, the noise. Built her a quiet life. Homeschooled. Private. Guarded."
Marcello stared, then quietly said, "You've been protecting her this whole time..."
"She cries if she hears me raise my voice," Luca murmured, a hint of something broken behind his usual iron tone. "She gets overwhelmed in public, she's kind in a way I didn't think could still exist. And if anyone ever came near her"
His fists clenched.
"I would burn this entire world to the ground."
Marcello was quiet for a long moment. Then, softer than usual, he asked, "And you think I'm a threat to her?"
Luca looked him dead in the eye. "I don't think. I worry."
Marcello didn't smile this time. No charm, no swagger. He just gave a small nod. "Then worry less. I wouldn't harm her, Luca, I swear on my blood." he assertively affirmed and he meant it.
Luca studied him. He knew Marcello wasn't the type to swear lightly.
But he also knew obsession when he saw it and Marcello had looked at Mia like she was something rare. Something dangerous to want.
And still...
He said, "If I find out you've gone behind my back"
Marcello interrupted, voice even: "You won't."
Lies, lies and lies, but Luca didn't need to know that
Silence.
Then Luca gave a slow nod cautious, reluctant, but it was trust. Thin, delicate trust.
And the cost of it, he knew, would be everything if it was ever broken.
Mia.
He hadn't said her name out loud, hadn't even dared whisper it. Like keeping her unspoken meant keeping her to himself.
And he wanted her to himself.
So, he drove at a dangerous speed to try and keep his thoughts in check.
No destination, Just the endless hum of the road and the steady rhythm of his pulse slow, tight, off.
His sister.
Of all the secrets Luca could have been hiding, Marcello hadn't expected him to be so forthcoming with this one, and now, every glance he'd stolen, every thought that had trailed behind her delicate steps, they all suddenly carried weight he hadn't asked for.
And couldn't shake.
He'd wanted to know who she was.
He hadn't wanted this.
Marcello pulled over somewhere off a quiet service road, killed the engine, and leaned back, scrubbing a hand over his face. For a moment, he just sat there a man used to wielding power, now caught in the crosshairs of his own restraint.
He should've walked away cut off the curiosity. Let it end the second Luca said the word sister.
But he couldn't.
Mia wasn't like the women in his world, she wasn't sharp-edged or calculating, she wasn't hunting power with stilettos and lies.
She was softness and quiet smiles. Wide, wondering eyes, the kind of girl who got lost in art and forgot the world was brutal.
And Luca... Luca had protected her with fire and steel. It made sense now. All the secrecy. All the tension. And yet,....
He told me.
That truth settled like a bruise inside Marcello's chest.
Luca could've lied, could've threatened, could've buried the truth like everything else he buried.
But he trusted him.
That should've been enough to kill the obsession.
It wasn't.
Marcello exhaled sharply and leaned forward, resting his arms on the wheel.
You don't get to want this one, he told himself. Not her. Not Mia.
But deep down, in the coldest, quietest part of him the part that had never needed permission, the damage was already done.
And now that he knew her name... he knew there was no turning back.
A/N
Tried to make this one as long as possible, also book has not been edited
I'll also try to update fast, as much as I can , I hope this chapter was to your liking , there's also a continuation of the previous chapter.check it out