2. Santino
SANTINO
I don’t think I’ve ever been more disappointed in my son than I am right now. He hasn’t been the same since his mother died. It was a tragic, unexpected accident that happened nearly ten years ago. I loved her more than life itself, and when I lost her, I lost myself for years after.
The Salvati Syndicate nearly voted for another replacement when I couldn’t seem to climb out of the grief I was consumed in.
Business tanked. Everything was chaos. I made the mistake of not focusing on my son more and turned my attention to the business to build it up, to get the trust back from the men who work for me, but what I should have done and what I did are two completely different things.
Now, he is standing in front of me, running his fingers through his hair so much it’s standing up on its ends, and he’s got dark circles around his eyes from the lack of sleep. But as disheveled as he looks, he has no one to blame but his childish self.
“I don’t know what to do, Dad. What do I do? I want Jovie but she won’t talk to me. She’s blocked my number, all of my social medias.”
“Who did you knock up, Luca?” I nearly growl, rubbing my temples as a headache begins to brew.
When it comes to the job, Luca is amazing. When it comes to his personal life? It’s a mess. A mess I’m always cleaning up. But I’m not sure I can fix this.
I’m not sure I want to.
Jovie was a sweet, beautiful woman. I’ve only met her one time, and it was brief.
I had only stopped by their coffee date to give him instructions on a shipment that was being delivered to the south docks later that night.
By how Jovie acted, I don’t think she knew what we do or who we are.
Jovie seems too sweet for our world, too kind, too na?ve, which is probably what Luca likes so much about her.
And I have to admit, the moment I met Jovie has stayed with me. Her big copper eyes blinked at me with so much innocence, I almost felt bad for thinking about ruining it, for taking it, for owning it as mine.
Since my son can’t seem to appreciate what he has, I have no problem dreaming of the chance to show Jovie just how wonderful she truly is.
Not that could ever be a possibility. There’s a seventeen-year age gap between us.
But I’d be lying to myself if I didn’t admit I’ve lied awake at night with my hand around my cock thinking about her.
It’s wrong.
And I push the thought right out of my mind.
“It doesn’t matter who I knocked up. Dad, how do I fix this?” Luca plops down in one of the oversized leather chairs sitting in front of my desk.
I slam my fist on the table and he jumps. “The hell it doesn’t matter. It matters who the fuck is carrying the next heir, Luca. Use your brain for something other than chasing ass. This fis why you’re in this position. Who did you cheat on Jovie with?”
He rubs a hand down his face before plopping his elbows on his thighs. “Talia. I had to blow off steam. Jovie is a good girl. But she won’t have sex with me. I have needs, Dad. Talia was?—”
I hold up my hand to stop him from speaking, disgusted with how he is speaking about women, especially Jovie.
“Talia Bianchi?”
He nods, casting his eyes down to the floor. He rubs the back of his neck, blowing out a breath.
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” I growl, doing my best to rein in my rage. The Bianchi’s are allies, but I don’t trust them.
“What’s the plan?” he asks me, his voice vibrating with anxiety.
My brows raise as my eyes widen. “I don’t know, Luca. You tell me. This is your child. Not mine.” My mind is racing with what this will mean for the future of both families. “I just want this kept under lock and key until she goes to the doctor to confirm the pregnancy. You will go with her.”
He shakes his head. “But I don’t want her. I want Jovie.”
I slam my fist on the table again, knocking over a paperweight. “That’s too fucking bad, Luca. You should have thought about that before you cheated on Jovie. She’s a good girl. She deserves better than you.”
He flinches away as if I slapped him and I chuckle, leaning forward.
“You can’t be surprised that I feel that way?
Men who cheat on their partners are scum to me.
All women deserve to be treated with dignity, respect, and love.
You did none of those things to Jovie. You insulted her.
You couldn’t have enough patience to wait until she was ready to have sex with you, so you had to go get your dick wet by someone else.
There is no more Jovie, Luca. You ruined that.
” I stand, stretching my palms on the imported Italian wood.
“You will go to every doctor’s appointment with Talia.
You will be a good partner. You’ll marry her.
You will be a good, faithful husband and father. Do I make myself clear?”
“Dad, I don’t want a life with Talia. Jovie is a good girl. I fucked up, but I have to try to get her back.”
“You’ve committed the ultimate crime, Luca.
These are the consequences. You made the choice to sleep with Talia.
You got her pregnant. You think that what?
You can easily continue to have everything you want in life?
Have I failed that much in raising you for you to be this selfish? If your mother were alive?—”
He cuts his watery eyes to me. “She’s not.”
A muscle ticks in my jaw. “If she were,” I begin again, “She’d be disappointed.
Not because there would be a baby on the way.
It’s how. It’s cheating on a good woman for a moment of pleasure.
A moment, Luca. You need to start searching beyond moments that feel good and start thinking about memories that will last, that won’t be fleeting, that will stay with you forever. You need to grow up.”
Luca leans in back in his chair, legs spread, and devastation written all over his face. “I don’t want to sacrifice Jovie.”
“You did that when you decided to get into bed with Talia,” I roar, coming around the desk and shove a finger into his forehead.
“What did you expect? Did you expect me to support you abandoning a child? You think I was going to pat you on the back for what you did? Having a baby with the Bianchi’s will complicate the business.
You didn’t think that through, did you?”
“I don’t want to talk about the business, Dad. I want to talk about… being a father. Why can’t I be a father and still have Jovie?”
I lean against my desk, cross my arms, and shake my head.
“Do you hear yourself?” I poke his head, hoping he gets the picture.
“What makes you think a woman as classy and as beautiful as Jovie is, would forgive you for what you did? You didn’t just cheat, Luca.
You went a step further and got your mistress pregnant.
Are you really this kind of man? To not take accountability for anything? ”
My mind begins to back track all the way to the day when my wife died. I know I wasn’t the best father for a while. I was swallowed by grief. I thought I pulled myself out of the hole in time to save Luca from being his own worst enemy.
I shouldn’t have been so proud. I should have put him in therapy.
What would Andrea do? My wife was so much better at these conversations than me. She brought a gentle touch. There was a calm in her voice that soothed the most troubled people.
“Going back to Jovie is a mistake, Luca,” I say with exasperation. “Focus on Talia.” There’s a bitter churning in my gut warning me that I’m being a bad father for pushing Luca away from Jovie.
There are a few reasons.
One, she deserves better than my selfish son.
Two, the thought of her with anyone else but me has me wanting to kill—but that reason is irrational. I know that.
“Luca, did Jovie know about the business?” I tread lightly, not wanting to upset him further. No one talks about business outside of a safe and secure environment. Outsiders aren’t supposed to know what the Salvati mafia is allegedly doing.
People hear whispers. We have a reputation for being blood thirsty. I rule with an iron fist. Jovie will have to be taken care of if she knows too much.
“No,” he shakes his head. “She hasn’t even heard of us as far as I know. She works so much, she doesn’t care to stay up to date on what’s going on locally.”
I hate that she has to work so hard. If she were mine, she wouldn’t have to do that unless she wanted to, of course.
Relief has me blowing out my breath. “Good. Keep it that way. She doesn’t need to know anything.”
“Dad, I’m…” he sighs, gripping a handful of his hair. “I fucked up.”
He peers up at me with his mother’s eyes, and all the anger and rage vanish when I see her through him. Even in his tone, the regret, the fear, it’s obvious.
“I don’t know what I was thinking. I felt like I could keep her, maybe? Because of who I am. I let it get to my head. I thought I could do whatever I want. Be whoever I want. Act however I wanted and everything would be fine because of who we are.”
“That was very conceited of you. Just because we are who we are doesn’t give you the right to do any of those things. Hurting people who don’t deserve it is not okay, Luca. Do you understand me? Especially, women. Did I give you the impression that this was okay? I need you to talk to me.”
“No,” he answers with a fast shake of his head. “No, it was all me. I saw how you were with mom. You’d never did to her what I did to Jovie.”
No, I didn’t. I wouldn’t have ever done that. Even if I managed to find another soulmate, I wouldn’t ever hurt her like that. I’m a firm believer if people want to cheat, then they should be honest with their partners and leave them.
Most men in my position wouldn’t care about such a thing, but loyalty and commitment matter to me above many other things. My world depends on it.
“I think I’m going to start with going to see Jovie and apologizing. Maybe I can win her back overtime? Or maybe I can at least earn her forgiveness.”
I nod, proud that he is taking responsibility. Maybe this situation was the catalyst he needed to become a man—a real man—not one that pretends to be.
“Don’t beg for her back. If she doesn’t want to be with you, respect that. You might not like her answer, but you’ll need to respect it. Understood?”
“Yes, I understand.” He stands, looking worse for wear. Kid doesn’t look like he’s rested.
I’m glad. What he did should bother him.
“And find out from Talia if she is really pregnant. I don’t trust the Bianchi’s.” They have been angling for an in for a while now. I wouldn’t put it past Alessio to pressure his daughter into lying for him.
“You think she would lie?”
“Yes, but because of her father. Family will do anything for family. It doesn’t mean she’s a bad person, Luca. It just means her father might be chirping in her ear.”
Luca sets his jaw. “I don’t think she would do that.”
“Well, you don’t know her well enough to know for sure, do you? You just fucked her because you have no sense of loyalty.”
“I have no sense?” he roars, slapping his hand against his chest. “I’m loyal to you. To this family. To this?—”
I grip him by his collar and slam him against the wall. “Loyal to me?” I hiss, ignoring the fear in his son’s eyes. “You have no loyalty to me, or you wouldn’t have disgraced our name due to your childish behavior.”
He shoves me away, the patience and understanding gone in his wild gaze. Luca exits the room in a rage, swinging the door open so hard that it slams against the wall, denting it.
I sigh, pinching the bridge of my nose and wonder when parenting ever ends.
Never, I know is the real answer, but when do children start using their fucking heads?
Luca can’t be so blinded by how amazing he thinks he is that he can just get Jovie back.
Even though I don’t know her well, I know Jovie is a strong independent woman.
From the brief contact I had with her, she won’t take Luca’s bullshit. All I can do is hope she stands her ground.
“Mr. Salvati?” Lorenzo, my head of security, calls out my name over the intercom.
“What?” I snap, rubbing my temples.
“You have a delivery.”
“Bring it in,” I order.
I head to my desk and open the drawer, pulling out an expensive bottle of scotch and a glass. I pour two fingers worth and lean back in my chair, needing to get Jovie out of my mind. Jovie deserves happiness and it is not my son who will give it to her.
“Mr. Salvati.” Lorenzo is hidden by a giant bouquet of flowers when he enters my office.
“What is this, Lorenzo? I didn’t order flowers.”
He sets the beautiful bounty of red carnations and black roses on the coffee table that sits in the middle of the room. “I don’t know, Sir. A young man dropped them off. He said they were for you.”
I stare at them, wondering if there is a bomb in them or perhaps some type of invisible poison on the petals that would kill me. I do have enemies.
“I checked for any hazardous residue. The flowers are cleared, Sir.”
This is why Lorenzo is my head of security.
“Thank you, Lorenzo. That will be all.”
He spins on his heel and grabs the door handle. “Open or closed, Mr. Salvati?”
“Closed, please.” I stand, undoing the button on my blazer.
The door clicks shut, leaving me alone with a bouquet of flowers. I don’t know what to make of them. As a man, I’ve never received flowers before. I find this notion… confusing.
Taking a sip of my scotch, I stroll towards the gift as if the stems might jump out of the vase and bite me.
I circle them, debating for myself if I consider them dangerous. They are beautiful. The red carnations are the brightest I’ve ever seen, and the black roses are deep as an abyss.
“Breathtaking,” I whisper, running my finger over the velvet of the petal.
I feel… I don’t know how I feel.
Men don’t typically get flowers as gifts. Is this what being wooed feels like?
I snatch the bright red card nestled between two red carnations. It’s blank with only a number on it.
“From your secret admirer?” I mutter, more skeptical than ever now.
I’ll think about messaging this person. If anyone is trying to challenge me, I will kill them.
Until then, I’ll enjoy my gift.
They smell nice.