What had he done? Other than run my family into the ground?
Had Luca not been keeping track of my family’s dealings, had he not kept Xavier quiet with hush money — I would be dead.
By Xavier’s hand.
And now that I’d taken control of my family, both in Chicago and New York, I had taken the very last ounce of strength he’d had and made it my own.
“I thought I was blood.” Xavier’s eyes narrowed.
“Things changed.” I crossed my arms. “And I did promise a meeting with the Cappo did I not?”
“About that.” Xavier held out his cell phone.
I hesitated then grabbed the phone, the screen was filled with a picture of a cut-off hand, and a finger flipping him off, in a nice donut box.
Barely able to keep my laughter in, I frowned and handed the phone back to him. “So it seems you’ve been given your answer.”
“That, was my right hand man.”
The irony wasn’t lost on me.
“Clearly, not anymore,” Sal said with a chuckle.
Xavier’s eyes flashed with hatred. “This is not over.”
“Has it just begun then?” Papi answered before I could. “Is that what you were about to say?”
“And where is your army?” I asked in a cool voice. “Your loyal men, the ones willing to die for you — and for what, so you can gain more power, more control, more money? The Nicolasi family paid you off and gave you a street corner. Be happy, go home, make love to your wife, kiss your two children on the head and know this day, if you choose to threaten me or what is mine one more time, I will take that wife. I will take those children. I will take this life from you, and I will do it slowly.” I took another step. “Painfully.”
Xavier’s brown eyes moved into tiny little slits as his jaw clicked shut.
“I’m assuming by your silence, that you understand.” I straightened my tie. “Now leave.”
He didn’t move.
With a sigh, I snapped my fingers, two of my men surged forward and grabbed him by the arms carrying him out of the church.
“Guard the doors,” I ordered the minute they shut.
I motioned to one of my trusted associates, he stepped forward. “Hank, follow him.”
“Yes, sir.”
With an exhale I whispered, “Thank you.”
Sal slapped me on the back along with Gio. Papi nodded his head and declared, “We are Family.”
“We are.” Emotion clogged in that old throat of mine as my heart sank with a wild realization that Xavier would keep coming back, wanting what he considered his due, and he’d either use me or someone I loved to get it. I would need to kill him.
And I would need to kill his entire line.
Something about that truth cracked my heart.
After all, I was a grandfather.
An uncle.
But also a businessman.
Yes. I straightened my shoulders. And a businessman, who loved fiercely, would do just about anything to keep those he loved safe.
Anything.
“Shall we?” I offered my arm to a silent Val.
With a nod, she looped her hand and then whispered, “Thank you for protecting me.”
Anything. I would do anything. For her.
Oh hell to choose love through another’s eyes!—A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Valentina
IT WAS REAL. The mafia was real. And that man had hatred rolling off of him in waves, it was nearly impossible not to feel the chill in the air as he was carried away.
I must have surprised Frank by thanking him, because for a few seconds his fa?ade cracked, and all I saw was a man who had already seen his prime and wanted nothing more than to put the past behind him.
It was like he was trying to banish the ghost only to be haunted over and over again.
“Does it ever stop?” I asked before taking my first step down the aisle.
“Yes.” Frank kissed me on the top of the head. “It ends when, for just a few brief moments of respite, you are in the arms of someone who, despite all the bad, chooses to see only good. That is when it ends.”
“Only to start over again?”
“Life.” Frank blocked my view of Sergio as he grasped my face with both hands and kissed my forehead. “Is a never ending cycle of good and bad, it is what you do with those moments that define how the cycle ends.”
He turned and walked in front of me, much like a flower girl would, but really, it was more meaningful. He was showing his protection by walking ahead of me, blocking me from view, allowing me these last few moments to gather myself as Gio took my right arm and Sal took my left.
Papi followed in the back.
Had someone told me that I’d have four uncles as my wedding party, I would have died laughing.
Instead, it had me near tears.
That the old hands holding mine, had always been willing to fight for me, to die for me. For me!
Like I deserved it.
Because to them, I was precious. I was a promise. I was everything.
I think in that moment, I shed the last part of my innocence, knowing fully that I was entering into a sacred bond, not just with Sergio, but with The Family, with the idea that my father had left behind.
One of peace.
Love.