31. Adriano
Adriano
T he purge is bloody and brutal.
It doesn’t take long to smoke out the others involved in Frank’s conspiracy. Lucky for me, though, none of them are top-ranked Capos.
“An ugly business,” Marco comments, frowning as he rubs his eyes and drinks from a big glass of wine. We’re sitting in my formal dining room. The rest of the Capos are there, except for Vittorio. He’s out hunting down Frank’s family, and from what I hear, he’s having a good time.
The mood is grim. A coup like that is extremely bad for morale. Everyone’s looking at everyone else and wondering who’s going to turn next. If Frank thought I was doing such a bad job that he had to kill me, what about the rest of them? What if Frank was right?
“Twelve soldiers are dead,” I say, looking at my men. “Three lieutenants. One Capo and his entire family. All in the middle of a war with Gray Wolf.” I fight to keep my fury in check. “Do you all have any idea how this makes us look to the rest of the city’s underworld?”
“Respectfully, Don Marino, but we’re aware.” Carlo Moretti speaks up from the back of the room. He’s one of the older men and was a friend of Frank’s. “Nobody here approves of what our former associate did. May God spit on his soul.”
“He weakened our position. Maybe he thought he was doing the right thing, but he only made us look like fools.” My jaw flexes.
I don’t know how I’m going to run this meeting without losing my temper.
Frank tried to kill me. Frank, my father’s friend, a man I looked up to when I was younger.
A man I thought I could trust. He tried to murder me, his rightful Don.
Rage fills me, but worse, so does mourning.
“Anyone that helped him is dead,” Rico says. He’s next to Marco, one of the younger Capos in the Famiglia. “And if we sniff anyone else out, we’ll cut their throats too.”
“Ugly business,” Marco repeats, shaking his head distastefully.
I force myself to calm down. I take a few deep breaths before nodding at the assembled heart of the Famiglia. I need these men now, and I need to make sure that I don’t flinch when it comes time to make hard decisions.
“There’s a vacuum left by Frank’s death. He controlled territory and ran important businesses. Marco, I’m promoting you to his position.”
Marco eyes me for a moment, then nods. “It will be my pleasure, Don Marino. Thank you for this honor.”
I nod back at him, scowling at my Capos. “I’m promoting my cousin Luca Marino to the Capo job still left vacant. He’ll work directly with Marco and earn more responsibility as he proves himself. But in the meantime, congratulations, Luca.”
My former driver stares at me in total shock.
I hadn’t prepared him for this. But there’s nobody in the Famiglia I trust more right now.
I need to stack the ranks of the Capos with my own men.
I should’ve been doing that already, long before my father passed away, but I wanted to respect his traditions.
I kept the Capos at a set number, which was his preference, but now I can see how that was a mistake.
There’s a murmuring around the table, and I can tell they all approve of my decision. Luca’s well-respected in the Famiglia for his bravery and clear mind. He slowly sits down in the empty chair, looking stunned.
“I’m honored, Don Marino,” he says, bowing stiffly, one hand pressed over his heart. “I’ll serve you and the Famiglia until my dying breath. My life is yours.”
“I know you will.”
The meeting moves on. I name six more Capos to the council, swelling the total number to fifteen.
I can tell that surprises most of the remaining old guard, but now they’re outnumbered.
Seven men directly owe me their positions, while several more are my peers and close allies.
Only the few older Capos are left from my father’s reign.
They’ll remain, as long as they obey.
After drinking and celebrating the new Capos, I finally manage to retire back into my office. I slump down behind my desk and lean back, staring up at the ceiling. My head’s fuzzy from drinking, and all I can think about is Frank looking at me like he wanted to rip out my throat himself.
That man was like a second father to me.
I don’t understand why he didn’t come to me with his problems. We could have worked on a plan together.
We could have figured out a way to make him happy while solving all our issues.
Instead, he thought things were so dire that he had to put a bullet in my head.
It makes no sense. I slump forward, hands curled into fists. Why the hell did he do it? Why did Frank throw everything away to kill me?
There’s a light knock at my door. The only person in the world I want to see right now pokes her head inside. “Do you want some company?”
I gesture for her to come inside. “Close the door behind you.”
She obeys and quietly sits down in a chair across from me. I lean back and shake my head, beckoning her closer. “Please.”
She must hear the pain in my voice because she gets up without a fight. I draw her down into my lap and wrap my arms around her. I breathe in her sweet smell and bury my face in her neck, kissing her skin lightly.
“Are you okay?” she asks, leaning into me.
“I’m fine.”
“Someone in your own family tried to kill you. I don’t believe that you’re fine.”
“He failed. Now he’s dead.”
“Adriano, you can talk to me.”
“What’s there to say?” I kiss her again and hold her tighter. “Just sit with me, alright?”
She goes quiet as she strokes her fingers through my hair. I don’t want to think right now. I just want to feel her close. Her smell, her touch, her voice. She’s the only person in the world who could soothe me right now.
“It’s okay to feel sad, you know,” she whispers.
“He was a fucking traitor.”
“I know, and that makes it worse, right?”
I shake my head. “He got what he deserved.”
“But you loved him, didn’t you? Don’t try to act like you didn’t. I saw the way you were with him. You looked up to Frank.”
I close my eyes. God, I’m so transparent. She can see right through me. “It’s worse because it was him. Any of the others and I’d almost expect it. They’re a bunch of vicious thieves and killers. But Frank, he was like a mentor. He was a father figure. He knew me all my life, and he turned on me.”
“I’m so sorry,” she whispers, fingernails lightly scratching down my scalp. “God, that’s so awful. I don’t know what he was thinking, but he was wrong, Adriano. You’re a good leader. The men respect you. They looked up to you.”
“He didn’t.”
“He was a fucking idiot.”
I smile slightly. I like it when she curses. “What a dirty mouth.”
“Don’t try to change the subject.” She leans back and looks into my eyes. “You’re a good Don.”
“How could you know that, amore mio ? You’ve only been in the Famiglia for a short time.”
“I see it in the way your guards and soldiers act toward you. They listen to your orders and obey even when you’re not around. And when you are in the same room, they stand taller and straighter, like they want to impress you. I’ve never heard a single one of them say a bad thing.”
“My men aren’t dumb enough to badmouth the Don to his wife.”
“You know what I’m saying.”
“I appreciate what you’re trying to do. But one of the few men I looked up to in this world thought I was doing such a bad job he had to murder me. You’re right, okay? It’s like a knife in my chest.”
“You’ll get through this. You’ll be stronger on the other side.”
“This is a messed-up world we’ve built for ourselves.
” I kiss her neck and run my hand into her hair.
I fist it lightly and pull back, making her whimper with surprise.
“It’s a dark and ruthless world. My father taught me that from a young age.
Trust nobody, kill anyone that gets in your way.
That’s how he lived, and it’s the lesson he tried hardest to teach me.
I don’t think I really understood it, at least not until Frank tried to put a bullet in my head. ”
“It doesn’t have to be all darkness.” Her lips part slightly.
She looks so small and precious. I swear a halo of light glows around her head, and she smells perfect, like honey and lilacs.
I tighten my grip in her hair, and all I can think about is ruining her with my mouth, with my cock, fucking her into submission, breaking her and making her scream.
And that’s why I don’t deserve her.
“You’re wrong,” I whisper softly. “You saw what my future’s going to be.”
She tilts her head. “What do you mean?”
“What happened to my father. You saw him at the end.”
“You think it’s genetic?”
“I think it’s likely. And even if I don’t get the exact same kind of dementia, I’ll have an ugly and violent end sooner or later. I was nearly gunned down by a man I considered family. My life is always going to be dangerous, amore mio . You don’t want a man like me.”
She seems surprised. “That’s not true.”
“I’m telling you it is.” I release her hair. “You’re good, Lucy. You’re a decent person. You’re not from my ugly world. You’re lightness and brightness. You’re a feather, and I’m a rusty iron knife. I’m just going to drag you down.”
“Stop it.” She grabs my face roughly and makes me look at her. “Why are you talking like this all of a sudden?”
“Because I’ve been thinking this since we got married. I’m a black hole, Lucy. I don’t want to corrupt you any more than I already have.”
She leans in and crushes her mouth to mine. Fuck, that kiss nearly breaks me. I should shove her off. I should throw her to the floor and command her to leave me alone. I was nearly killed by my own family. Why would she want anything to do with me now?
But instead, she turns until she’s straddling me, hips grinding down against my stiffening cock. Even here, in my bleakest and lowest moment, I still want her despite everything. I should run and leave her alone. I should give her space and maybe let her find a new life outside of this hell.