Arranged Mafia Marriage

Michael

“Capo.”

I glance up as Luca strides into the room. He glances around at the assembled faces. Sebastian and Christian are sprawled in chairs in front of my table; Adrian leans against a wall; Massimo is seated in the middle of a settee on the far side, with his bulk taking up most of the space. All of them stalk him as he comes to a halt in the middle of the floor. He meets my gaze head on. “Is this going to be an inquisition?” he murmurs.

“What do you think?” I lean back in my chair. “Our father thinks it’s a mistake that I took you in.”

“And you?” He folds his arms across his chest, “What do you think?”

I rise to my feet, lean forward and place my palms flat on the table, “I think it would be a mistake if I didn’t.”

His chest rises and falls, “I am sorry, Michael.” Luca looks around at his brothers. “I never meant to hurt any of you.”

“And yet, you did.” I curl my lips, “I am not interested in your apologies, Luca.”

“What then?” He shuffles his feet, “What else do you want from me, Michael.”

“Information.”

“Ah,” his forehead smoothens, “of course, you do. I should have known that this, too, would be a transaction for you.”

“You didn’t think I would simply let you walk back into the famiglia without paying a price for your indiscretions.”

“Of course, not.” He chuckles, “There’s more of the old man in you than you’d like to admit, Michael.”

I set my jaw, “Who was behind the attack, Luca?”

He blinks. “You think I know who was behind it? Don’t you think I would have stopped him, then?”

“I don’t know, Luca, would you have stopped him?”

He shakes his head, “Do you really have to ask me that question, Michael?”

“You tell me, Luca.” I look him up and down. “Last I knew, you were helping my wife escape. You watched, you even encouraged her to take the oar to my forehead.”

“I saw my opportunity and took it, Michael.”

“Why would you do that?” Christian springs to his feet, “Why would you go against one of us? You showed our enemies that we are not invincible. You exposed a chink in the armor. It’s why they dared place a bomb in the car. It’s why they dared try to harm us. You are responsible for Xander’s death as much as the person who actually planted that bomb.”

Luca’s jaw tics. He lowers his arms to his sides, “I would have done anything to protect Xander. I never would have hurt him, or one of you.”

“And what do you call what you did to Michael?” Christian glares at him. “How can you stand there and claim what you did wasn’t to hurt us when all the evidence points to the contrary? In fact, how dare you think you can simply walk back in and pick up where you left off, after everything that happened?” He lunges toward Luca, but Massimo jumps up to his feet, and with a litheness that belies his bulk, Massimo grabs Christian around his chest and yanks him back. Christian growls, strains in his hold, but Massimo doesn’t let go.

“Take him out, until he’s cooled down,” I order and Christian snarls.

“Let me get my hands on the bastard. It’s he who’s responsible for what happened to Xander. When I get hold of you, I am going to kill you, you motherfucker!”

Massimo tries to steer Christian away, but Christian resists. The two grapple. Adrian leaps to his feet and grips Christian’s shoulder. Between him and Massimo, they manage to maneuver Christian out of the room. The door snicks shut and I turn to Luca.

“Who were you working with?” I snap. “This is your chance to come clean, Luca.”

His shoulders flex. He uncurls his fists at his sides and lowers his chin. “The Kane Company,” he says in a hard voice. “My plan was to join forces with them, and try to take you down.”

“Motherfucker,” Sebastian growls. “Fucking Cani,” he grumbles, alluding to the Italian pronunciation of the word that translates to dogs.

“So were they behind the rigging of the car.”

He frowns, “I honestly don’t know.”

I scowl, “You’d better know.”

“I swear upon our mother,” Luca thumps his chest, “I have no idea who’s behind it. When I heard what had happened, all I knew was that I needed to be with my family. That I had to help you track down who did it and ensure they realize that they can’t fuck with us again.”

I drag my fingers through my hair. “Fuck,” I hiss. “This is bloody unhelpful.” I walk around the table, then stalk over to him. “What else can you tell us? What else is the Kane Company up to? You’d better have something for me, Luca, if you want to rejoin.”

Luca shuffles his feet. “JJ exploited the fact that I wanted to be Capo. He offered me the chance to be his second-in-command with the understanding that I’d take over from him.”

“And his son?” Sebastian frowns, “Wouldn’t his son be next in line for succession?”

“His son’s a tech wiz. Runs a multibillion-dollar tech start-up in Silicon Valley. He’s hardly interested in following in his father’s footsteps.”

“JJ’s not that old, though,” Seb scowls. “He’s what, forty-nine?”

“If that,” Luca retorts. “Look, I didn’t really want to take over as the head of the Kane Company. I just wanted to send a signal to you guys that you were not the only fish in the sea. That if I could not become the Don of the Cosa Nostra, there were other places I could go.”

“Fuck, Luca,” I glower at him, “all you had to do was talk to me, brother. We could have figured something out.”

“The way you did when you went off to LA, leaving the rest of us behind?”

My heart thuds in my ribcage. “I am sorry for that; I truly am. If I could do it all over again, I wouldn’t have left until I had a chance to take the rest of you with me.”

“Save it, Mika.” He cracks his neck. “It’s water under the bridge.”

“Fuck, brother, I would have done anything to ensure all of you were safe. If I had had any inkling that he’d come after you, Luca, I would have…”

“Killed him?” Luca says softly, “There’s still time.”

“He’s our father.” I roll my shoulder. “As much as I hate to say it, he is our sperm donor.”

“And he’d be happy to kill any of us if he could hold onto his position as Don.”

“What the fuck are you talking about?”

“Do you really think our ‘dear father’ will let go of his power that easily?”

I squeeze my fingers into fists, “Are you saying he was behind what happened to Xander and my wife?”

“I wouldn’t put it past him.”

Fact is, after how he beat our mother and drove her to an early death, I wouldn’t be surprised either. And yet, I can’t quite accept it. Maybe a part of me still clings to the hope that there is some modicum of love in him toward his own children? Despite what he said about Luca and Xander on the day of the funeral…

I curl my fingers into fists, “He’s a bastard, and granted, he fucked up our lives…but family is the one thing that is important to him.” I roll my shoulders. “He’s always been clear that he wanted me to succeed him. Hell, he’s the one who nominated me for Capo. It’s thanks to his vote of confidence that I took over this role.”

“You’d have become the Capo with or without his help, Michael.” Luca’s lips twist. “You have the leadership qualities, the ability to influence people, the determination and motivation to become a Don, before anything else.”

Until I met her. Now all that matters is keeping her safe. No matter that it means I am going to do something that’s going to make her hate me. It’s better that way though. It’ll make it easier for her to walk away from me.

“Michael?” Seb’s voice cuts through the thoughts in my head. I turn to him and Seb takes in my features. “You okay?”

I jerk my chin, “Have we had any other information from any of our sources?”

Seb scowls, “Nothing, Michael. It’s like whoever did it has buried himself in a hole and pulled the hole in after him.”

Fuck, every day that goes by without us tracking down those responsible, the more the danger grows. And if it’s our father who was behind it… It means she isn’t safe, even in my home. It means he might still go after her, and if anything were to happen to her… This time… I would not be able to get over it. There is only one way out. To expedite my plan.