Luca

5 - I won't back down!

Luca

My head is banging.

How much longer can my father scream at me? He’s relentless, his fury shaking the air.

Okay, I get it. I stepped on his toes and ruined his plans where my brother is concerned. But I thought I was doing us all a favor. Dray would never have married Sofia, no matter what my father did to make it happen. Dray would have gone crying to Mommy, and she would have done everything in her power to make Dad see that the marriage wasn’t right for her little boy. Just as she made sure Romano knew that she wouldn’t allow the marriage between Sofia and me. I’ll talk to Mom about it later, if Dad ever stops yelling.

Dad wants to end Romano’s secret human trafficking ring. Secret because Romano thinks he’s so smart that he pulled the wool over Don Vidal’s eyes. Nothing gets past my father; nothing happens without him finding out almost instantly. That’s what happens when people both fear and respect you: they blab on the little man to get in your good graces.

Why hasn’t my father killed Romano and ended his men already?

Because that would be too easy.

Dad knows Romano's game. But we need proof—where the victims went, who he took. To rescue anyone, we need evidence. Taking out Romano is easy; finding his victims takes time. That’s why the wedding must happen: to get Romano to lower his guard.

The trouble with my father finding out about people like Romano is that no one is safe. He will end the lives of every single person involved. Trafficking people for any reason is not something Dad has ever been involved in. One thing Dad won’t tolerate is that.

I know my dad, I know him very well. He raised me and trained me in the way of the Mafia. Nothing is out of our reach, and nothing goes unpunished. This marriage may well be to fool Romano into thinking he has an ally, but it has a lot to do with helping Sofia – I know it does.

This is going to be a massive take-down. Romano has dozens of men working for him, all sick f***s who wouldn’t think twice about hurting women like Sofia. Those women who were trafficked deserve to be found and returned to their families.

It won’t be easy. Many of them could be dead by now. It could take us years to locate the whereabouts of those who are alive. But we won’t give up until we find every last woman. This wedding is a ruse so that Romano thinks having the most feared Don on his side will make him stronger. It’s common knowledge that my father isn’t into the same things as Romano, but the man is so stupid that he believed my father when he said he wanted in. The i***t was only too happy to agree.

Who the hell wouldn’t want Don Vidal on their side?

Who wouldn’t be jumping for joy, knowing their daughter would be marrying into the most powerful Mafia family in the country?

None of this will end the way Romano stupidly expects. Romano also has four older daughters, all married, with husbands who work for Romano and are about to face my father’s wrath. No one will survive what my father has planned for them.

Sofia also has an older brother, Romano’s only son. Marchello works for my father without his own knowing that he’s willingly betraying him. Marchello is gay, and Romano hates that. He’s embarrassed by his son and thinks that by giving him jobs that most would only hand to underlings will make his son straight. The fool. You can’t turn a person straight, just as you can’t make one gay. We are what we are. It wouldn’t come as any surprise if this marriage came about because of Marchello wanting to save his sister from their father. He hasn’t made a secret of the fact that Sofia means everything to him.

I also know from Marchello that his father blames Sofia for his wife’s death. In reality, it had more to do with her age than the baby she gave birth to. The woman was forty-five, and that had to have taken its toll on her body, especially with a heart condition. Romano blaming Sofia would make a lot of sense as to why he treats her the way he does.

Well, it all stops once Sofia is my wife. My motivation is to end Romano's crimes, ensuring he faces justice, and to give his daughter the safety and happiness she deserves. Of course, this depends on whether I can convince my father to allow our marriage.

“Dad, yelling and throwing your weight around won’t change what’s happened.”

“You had no damn right, Luca! What the hell were you thinking?”

“That you were making a mistake!” I yell back. “Dray would never have gone through with it, no matter what you threatened him with, and deep down you know that.” He has to know that. “You could have dragged Dray to that altar, but you couldn’t have forced him to say I-do.

“I don’t know what your true motive is here. Whether you want to save Sofia from what’s coming, or if you don’t give a damn about her, and all of this is just a game to hurt Romano. Something to do before you finally put an end to his empire,”

My father’s eyes widen, and I can tell he’s gritting his teeth behind his closed lips. But I won’t stop until I get this out.

“Sofia is special, Dad. I saw it the second I looked at her, and I saw it even more when we talked. I know I’m not the one you wanted for this, but I want this, Dad. I want to help you end Romano, but I want his daughter for my own.”

Dad sighs. “The marriage wasn’t meant to last, Luca. It was meant to pull your brother in line, to help him realize that he’s a better man than he lets others believe he is. It was meant to be nothing more than convenience, and once Romano was out of the way, so would his daughter be.” My heart slams into my chest, and I feel as though I’m about to choke. “I knew Dray could handle that, Luca. You’re identical in features, but you aren’t wired the same, and you know it.”

“But she’s an innocent! Sofia has done nothing wrong. I won’t let you hurt her!”

“She’s gotten to you already,” Dad sighs again. “A woman with that power is a dangerous creature, Luca.”

“Is that what they told you about Mom?”

He chuckles to himself, knowing that Mom is the only woman to have enough power to wrap him around her finger.

I can’t believe my father would target an innocent girl. And Romano must be a fool—Dad’s been sabotaging him non-stop, yet Romano hasn’t caught on.

How dumb could he be?

“Please, Dad. I’m sorry that I took Dray’s place. But even if you did manage to force Dray to marry Sofia, he wouldn’t have been a good husband. I love my brother, but you know as well as I do that he wouldn’t have treated her right. I’m not saying Dray would have beaten Sofia, but can you honestly sit there and tell me that he would have been anything but a bastard to her?”

Dad breathes deeply, but he doesn’t say anything.

“Dad, I’ll do whatever you need me to do, but please let this marriage between Sofia and me happen. See how it goes, let me get the information you need, and if we’re good together, let me keep her.”

Dad looks at me. “Why are you so desperate to keep Sofia, Luca? Why the hell would you even want Romano’s daughter?”

I shift in my seat. “Because she is nothing like her father, Dad. It’s easy to see how innocent she is just by looking at her. Just as you saw that Mom was nothing like her father. You knew Mom didn’t deserve to die for her father’s sins, and neither does Sofia.” I groan while scrubbing my hands over my face. “There’s something about her that hits me in the heart. I know that sounds stupid, but it does. I want her, Dad.”

“Looks like you’ve already made your mind up,” I have, and nothing will change it. Sofia is mine. I don’t care how long or how little I’ve known her; she is mine. “Don’t ever step into your brother’s shoes like that again, Luca.”

“One-time thing, Dad,”

“You may have saved Dray this time, but there won’t be a next time.” I nod my head because I know he’s right. I cannot keep bailing my brother out of things. It’s time he grew up. “I’ll talk to your mother and see if I can talk her around.”

“Thank you,” I breathe a sigh of relief before Dad excuses me.