Total pages in book: 136
Estimated words: 128209 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 641(@200wpm)___ 513(@250wpm)___ 427(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 128209 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 641(@200wpm)___ 513(@250wpm)___ 427(@300wpm)
I had absolutely no intention of changing that. Dante and his family had disappeared completely from the public eye since Valentina had given birth to their son six months ago. Except for a few minor attacks on Pittsburgh and the photo fiasco, Dante had lain low, perhaps because of his children or because he was planning something big.
“What’s wrong?” Aria asked quietly, watching me standing in the doorway to the roof terrace.
I shook my head and moved toward her. “Nothing.”
She frowned but didn’t push the matter. I sank down beside her and she shifted a bit to give me space. “You don’t have to carry your worries alone, Luca. Being pregnant doesn’t make me breakable.”
I smiled darkly. She was breakable, vulnerable. She was where my enemies would aim if I gave them a chance, and I had so many enemies, not in the Famiglia anymore, not since my last few cleanings, but there were still enough enemies left. Matteo and I, along with my men, had gone on so many killing sprees in the last few months, I could hardly get rid of the pink tinge on my skin anymore. But for every enemy I killed, a new one seemed to surface.
Aria tensed and I did the same in turn. Her hand shot out, grabbing mine and pressing my palm against her belly, and that’s when I felt it – a kick.
I closed my eyes because it still seemed impossible that I would become a father, that Aria was carrying our baby.
“Have you thought about names?” Aria whispered, and I opened my eyes, still dry, always dry.
It took me a moment to realize what she was talking about. “My grandmother was called Marcella.”
Aria’s blonde eyebrows rose. “The female version of Mars, the god of war?”
I leaned down and kissed Aria’s stomach, then her lips. “Our daughter will be strong. She won’t bow down to a husband. She won’t ever have to fear a man, that I swear.”
“Marcella,” Aria said thickly, and that look in her eyes got me every time, still after almost five years. It would always get me.
My cell ruined the moment and I groaned. Couldn’t my soldiers deal with one fucking thing without me? But when I glanced down at the screen and saw Orazio’s name, I picked up at once and stood. “What’s the matter?” It wasn’t time for his monthly report, and if he felt the need to call that was a fucking bad sign.
“Dante was contacted by Benedetto Falcone.”
“What?” I growled.
Aria sat up, eyes wide, and I turned my back to her. “When?”
“A couple of days ago. Falcone seems to be looking for support. He’s growing weaker. Many of his men are starting to resent his sadistic and unpredictable ways. He wants to forge a truce with the Outfit.”
If that happened, this war would reach New York and not just the outer borders.
“What did Cavallaro say?”
“He doesn’t trust Falcone and refused a meeting.”
“Will he change his mind?”
“He might, but I doubt it. I also heard a rumor from one of my contacts in England. A rumor about Falcone’s son.”
“Son?” I remembered dimly that the head of the Camorra had several sons, but that was all I knew. I hadn’t bothered with the Camorra.
“His oldest son Remo. He’s seventeen, and has disappeared with his brothers from the boarding school they attended. I don’t think it’s public knowledge in Las Vegas yet. Falcone might be eager to keep it hush-hush.”
“Why?”
“Because Remo Falcone supposedly wants to kill his father and take over the West.”
“Do I need to worry about him?”
“I don’t know, but from what I hear he’s spent the holidays killing for his father and the rest of the time for fun. His brothers may have attended that school but Remo, he’s a born and bred killer.”
As if I needed another worry added to my list. “If he’s busy killing his father, he won’t cause troubles elsewhere, I presume.”
“Maybe. But if a new Capo arises in Las Vegas, they might return to old strength, if he manages to unite the underbosses of the West.”
“I will consider doing something about the Camorra, but for now I don’t want to give them more reason to work with the Outfit.”
“Understood.”
“Keep your ears and eyes open, Orazio.”
“Will do.”
He hung up and when I turned, Aria was close behind, her palm against her stomach and worry on her face. I forced a smile. “Nothing for you to worry about.”
She tilted her head with a knowing look.
Matteo and I were on our way out of the Sphere and back home to our wives when a young man at the bar with dark hair caught my attention. He held himself with a certain air of self-assurance and barely restrained violence. His dark eyes locked on mine and he didn’t look away. He was a teenager, but his eyes revealed that he had seen and done more than most grown men. I stopped and so did Matteo.