13. Family Dinner
CHAPTER 13
Family Dinner
WHISKEY IS A GREAT WAY TO LOOSEN UP THE LIPS OF LYING MEN
I found myself back at the Costa’s for dinner. The old man was in fact Dante’s father. I could see the resemblance. Same inky black hair that was peppered with streaks of white and gray eyes.
He sat at the head while Luca and Dante flanked his sides. I decided to take the head at the other end. There was an empty seat across from me.
“Thank you for inviting me to dinner Mr. Costa,” I said politely. Dante’s father smiled at me.
“Please call me Michael,” he said. I nodded. A throat cleared behind me. I turned around to see my av? . A smile broke across my face.
“ Av? !” I said. I stood up and walked over to give him a big hug. My body curled over his. My av? laughed.
“You’re going to break my rib, querida . I wasn’t gone that long,” he teased. I pulled away, glaring. He ignored my look, patted my back and headed back to the table. The men stood up to greet my av? with hugs and handshakes. I took my seat quietly.
“Lucia?” my av? asked. I looked at him. He eyed me and then the seat. In retrospect now that my av? arrived he should have taken the end of the table seat.
But he’s been gone and I’ve had to deal with his shit so I deserved this seat. I pointed to the empty seat across from me. He said nothing taking his seat but tension hung tightly in the air.
“Should we discuss what I have to say before or after dinner?” I asked, crossing my arms. Michael chuckled.
“She’s a lot like Anna,” Michael commented, mentioning my avó . I smiled at the compliment. My av? snorted.
“You have no idea,” my av? said, shaking his head.
“After dinner, Lucia,” Dante said. He must have noticed my impatience. I nodded.
“Let’s eat, boys,” I commanded.
Half an hour later we were back in the meeting room where Dante made a mess of me on the table. I glanced at it before looking at Dante. He smirked against his whiskey glass. I rolled my eyes. At the table Michael sat at the head and we sat around.
“It’s good to see you Michael,” my av? said. They cheered their glasses.
“I wish it was under better circumstances Diogo,” Michael said. I watched the men, analyzing their relaxed bodies, watching as they spoke to each other casually. Luca sat next to me and squeezed my knee. I shot him a small smile before taking a sip of whiskey. My av? looked at me, his eyes disappearing into sadness.
“I guess now it is time,” he said. I nodded.
“May I start?” I asked. The men nodded and I took a deep breath before explaining what happened with Cole. “From my understanding and assumption of the situation the Anders want a way to take our shop, or should I say our territory,” I said, glancing at my av? . “They were looking for papers of some kind when their men broke in. And yes it was their men. Cole made it obvious by our conversation. So now this is the part where you tell me that this neural territory is bullshit,” I said. Everyone remained quiet. My av? sighed deeply.
“ Tambem, querida . It’s true to an extent. Back then there was a war between us and the Americans. We pushed them back to where they are now. We all agreed on the territories. But then your parents died and your avó was killed,” my av? began. My stomach sank. Killed? By who?
“It was just you and I. I swore that I would protect you from this life. So I disbanded the Portuguese mafia and entered an agreement with the Costa’s,” he continued. I knew it. Michael nodded. I took a deep breath, processing it all. “We declared that our territory would be neutral. The others accepted. Although the Costa’s are the ones who run things in our city ,” he continued.
“The Americans are no longer accepting of this agreement and want to take it. They must be searching for the contract we made,” my av? finished explaining.
“Pause, is this agreement a secret from the other clans?” I asked.
“It is. All the clans agreed on the neutrality portion but no one knows that we’ve been watching over Loba Vista,” Dante said.
“So you’re telling me that our territory is owned by the Italians?” I said, anger seeping into my voice. I really liked Dante and Luca. Hell, even Michael was cool but I didn’t like the idea of them owning something that used to be ours. My av? nodded. “And now the Americans want to take back what is rightfully mine?” I asked. My av?’s eyes sparkled.
“Yours?” Michael asked. I stared at him before taking another sip of whiskey. I enjoyed the burn and I used it to fuel my anger.
“Yes. The shop belongs to the Silva’s,” I said. My av? tapped his fingers on the table.
“And the city?” Michael asked.
“It was ours and was supposed to keep being ours,” I pointed out.
“That may be so but the land is no longer ours. It’s the Costa’s,” my av? pointed out. “The Anders are their problem now,” he said. I scoffed.
“The Anders are everyone’s problem. They believe the territory is still ours because this agreement you have is a secret. Cole made that clear when he asked about whether or not I would give the shop to the Costa’s,” I said. “Which by the way I made it known that was a no. Imagine what the other mafias will think once they find out just how much land the Costa’s own. It won’t be good. You’ll have more than the Anders to worry about,” I said. Dante sighed.
“She’s right. Anders won’t be the only ones wanting war,” Dante said. I glanced at him, surprised he agreed with me.
“The Anders are working on something. They came into your shop. They spoke to Lucia. Who can I say stood her ground,” Luca pointed out. I gave him a small smile. Michael and my av? glanced at each other.
“What do you want, Lucia?” Michael asked. I stared, taken aback by the question. What did I want? I wanted to avoid a war. I wanted our land to be rightfully ours. I wanted to work in peace at my shop.
“For you to rip that agreement,” I said.
“Lucia!” my av? exclaimed. “The Costa’s have been fair with us throughout these years. They’ve protected us.”
“Everyone still thinks it’s a part of our territory. You giving it back won’t ruffle any feathers,” I said. “It won’t cause anything,” I corrected myself for him to understand. My av? stood up and Michael waved at him to sit down.
“There’s more,” Michael said, motioning for me to continue. He watched me carefully. I took a deep breath, choosing my words carefully.
“The Anders haven’t seen the Portuguese mafia in years. That’s why they thought it was so easy to break into our shop. That’s why they thought it was so easy to speak to me. The next time they won’t be as kind. I’m suggesting we rebuild the Portuguese mafia and continue working with you guys to ensure the Americans stay in their little corner,” I said. Michael rocked his head back and forth in debate. My av? stared at me, a mix of shock, worry and amazement.
“She is very much like Anna,” Michael commented with a smile.
“I knew this attitude of yours would come back to annoy me,” my av? said. I looked at Dante and Luca who offered me proud smiles.
“In all honesty I think you’re correct Lucia. If word were to get out that we had control of the Silva territory it would signal to the other clans of a possible war. Men become greedy when they see others that have more,” Michael said, leaning back in his chair. “I would rather have word get out that the Silva clan is back in full force. The Anders have something planned,” he said. I nodded .
“You’re right as always querida ,” my av? said, placing a hand on top of mine. My body hummed at the praise. This was going swimmingly.
“One condition,” Michael said. I swallowed as I stared into his steel gray eyes. Well I thought it was going swimmingly.
“The Portuguese mafia needs a leader,” Michael said. I stared at him in confusion.
“My av? is back,” I said. My av? chuckled. I stared at the men.
“The Silva family has never been a patriarchy,” my av? said. My heart banged against my chest. There was no way he was suggesting what I thought he was suggesting. “I didn’t run the clan, meu amor . Your avó did,” he said. My jaw dropped. I pulled my hand back.
“There’s no way I could be in charge,” I said. Dante scoffed. I felt Luca’s hand on my shoulder.
“Do you not remember putting our men in their place?” Luca said. My av? raised an eyebrow in surprise. “In front of Dante and Michael?” he added.
“She’s a natural leader,” Dante said. Michael nodded in agreement. I shook my head. There was no way I could do that.
“What men will follow a woman’s orders?” I asked. Sure I handled Dante’s men but that didn’t mean they were happy about it. They looked ready to kill. The only reason they didn’t was because of Dante.
“My men will follow you,” Dante said. “I’ll make them,” he stated.
“Or else,” Luca said. I looked at my av? . Could I do this? Could I lead a group of men? But wasn’t this my legacy? I would only be taking back what was rightfully mine.
“I knew one day this would happen. You always held the same fire as your avó . You can do this if you choose but you don’t have to,” my av? said. For some reason his last line left a bad taste in my mouth.
If I let the Costa family continue to have control then that would mean giving up what my grandparents had built. I would be letting what my avó had started disappear into the wind. They built Loba Vista. They took care of it. And now our name no longer carried weight. We were just a seamstress shop.
Someone murdered my avó . Someone forced us to retreat into hiding. But I had the strength and power to bring us back. I took a deep breath before meeting Michael’s eyes.
“Burn the agreement. The Silva’s are back.”