Luca

24 - I need a plan

Luca

The study door shuts behind us with a heavy thud, sealing the men inside and the women outside. The shift in atmosphere is immediate — laughter turning darker, voices dropping lower, the air thickening with cigar smoke and old power.

The Don takes his seat at the head of the room, a glass of whiskey already in hand. Hammer, Jett, Ghost, Tank, Hawk, Toby, Marco, Dragon, Strom, Cobra, Razor, Vinny, Eagle, Wolf, DJ, and Rabid settle into chairs or lean against the walls. Dray drops into the seat beside me, smirking like he knows something I don’t.

I ignore him. If I confront him about how he acted toward Sofia at dinner, I might break his neck. My brother pisses me off in ways I can’t explain. He just couldn’t keep his mouth shut.

My mind isn’t all here right now, it’s in the living room with Sofia — her quiet voice, her nervous hands, the way I know she’ll try to make herself small even when surrounded by women who mean her no harm.

She doesn’t belong in a world like this, but she belongs with me. Of that, I have no doubt.

Dad raises his glass. “To the wedding.”

A chorus of low cheers follows, glasses clinking.

Then Hammer speaks, voice blunt as a hammer strike. “Don’t pin your hopes on a happy marriage, Luca.”

The room quietens.

I breathe deeply through my nose. I’m not in the mood for this!

Hammer leans forward, elbows on his knees. “You seem overly obsessed with that girl, Luca. But we all know how this ends. Sofia won’t live to see out the year.”

My jaw clenches so hard it hurts. I don’t look at him. I don’t trust myself to. He’s my uncle, and I was taught to respect my elders. That doesn’t mean I want to hear him bashing Sofia. Everyone thinks I’m obsessed with her. I’m not. I’m obsessed with keeping her alive.

Dray chuckles under his breath. “Uncle Hammer is right. She’s a Romano. She’s nothing but collateral, Luca.”

My fingers curl into fists.

Dad doesn’t correct them. He doesn’t deny it. He just sips his whiskey, eyes unreadable.

“Wow,” Wolf mumbles. “The way you talk about women is disgusting.”

“Shut the fuc.k up, Wolf.” Dray snarls. “This has nothing to do with you.”

“No,” I look at my brother. “But it has everything to do with me!”

Dray rolls his eyes at me.

Hammer sighs. “You’re a good kid, Luca. But don’t get attached. You knew what this marriage was about when your dad ordered Dray to marry Sofia. You were the one who stepped into his shoes, knowing you were too kind-hearted to deal with the outcome. When Roberto falls, Sofia falls with him.”

A cold wave washes through me — not fear, but fury.

I force my voice steady. “Putting Sofia with Dray was a mistake, no matter the reason, and you all know it!” I hiss, and Dray snorts. “She’s not her father, and she doesn’t deserve to die because Roberto Romano is a piece of s**t!”

Hammer shrugs. “Doesn’t matter.”

“It matters to me.” I roll my neck. “Sofia is a good girl. If any of you spent time with her, you’d see it too.”

The room is still.

Ghost exhales smoke, watching me with sharp eyes. “You’re thinking with your heart, not your head.”

“Maybe,” I say. “But I’m still thinking.”

Dray scoffs. “You’re blinded. You don’t know what she is.”

I turn to him. “I know exactly what she is.”

“And what’s that?” he challenges

“Someone who’s been hurt enough. God, you all make me sick! You’d really kill an innocent girl just because of who fathered her?”

The room goes silent. Even the Don pauses mid-sip.

Before anyone can respond, Hawk leans forward from the corner. “Killing Sofia because of who her father is?” he says quietly. “That’s a dangerous precedent.”

Hammer frowns. “It’s necessary.”

Hawk shakes his head. “Is it? Should I have let Brooke die for her father’s crimes?”

The room shifts. Everyone knows Aunt Brooke’s story. Her father, my mother’s father, was a racist piece of crap. He did terrible things to my mother and to Brooke. My mom, because she fell in love with my Italian father. Brooke, because she fell in love with Hawk. Their father hated Hawk because his mother was half black. Aunt Brooke was pregnant with DJ when her father kidnapped and tried to kill her. Hawk saved her; his father killed Brooke’s father. Then he married her and built a life with her.

“Of course not,” Hammer says.

“No, because Brooke was her own person,” Hawk says. “And so is Sofia.”

A murmur ripples through the room.

But Hawk isn’t done.

“Marchello is already proving he’s more than Roberto’s son. He’s loyal. He’s smart. He’s nothing like the man who raised him.” Hawk’s gaze sweeps the room. “So why is Sofia any different?”

No one answers.

Because there is no answer.

Because they all know the truth — Sofia isn’t a threat. She isn’t a player. She isn’t even a pawn. She’s a girl who’d been beaten down her whole life and still found a way to smile.

Hammer grunts. “It’s not the same thing, Hawk.”

“It is,” Hawk says. “You’re all just refusing to see it.”

“Marchello isn’t going to live either, Hawk.” Tank tells him.

Hawk chuckles darkly. “So, you allowed Antonio to fall in love with Romano’s son, build a life with him, just to snuff it out when you’re done with him. Wow, you really are fucke.d up.”

He has a point.

Dad finally speaks, voice calm but heavy. “This family doesn’t kill without reason.”

Dray mutters, “Being a Romano is reason enough.”

I turn to him, voice low and lethal. “Say that again.”

He smirks. “Touchy.”

“Dray, you’re seriously pushing it with me!”

“Enough,” the Don snaps. He looks at me — really looks at me. “You care for her.”

It wasn’t a question.

I don’t deny it. “I respect her.”

“And more,” he says.

“Sofia is not what you think she is, Dad. I like her, I won’t deny it. I understand that you believe Sofia will be loyal to her father. However, I don’t think so, Dad. From what I’ve gathered from the way she talks about him, not that she has much, Sofia can’t wait to get away from him for good. I honestly believe that Sofia will be loyal to us.”

Dray scoffs beside me, but I ignore him.

Dad leans back in his chair. “We’ll see how things unfold. But for now… Sofia lives.”

A breath I didn’t know I’d been holding escapes me.

Dray’s jaw tightens. He’s not happy about what Dad just said, but I don’t give a shi.t.

Hammer looked unconvinced.

Hawk nods once, satisfied.

But I know the truth.

This isn’t a promise.

This isn’t protection.

This is a pause.

A temporary reprieve.

And if I want Sofia to survive — if I want her to have a life beyond being Roberto Romano’s daughter — I will have to fight for her.

Against my father.

Against my brother.

Against the entire world I’d been born into.

I lift my glass, but I don’t drink.

Because while the men talk business and betrayal and blood, all I can think about is the girl in the living room — sitting quietly, trying not to take up space, unaware that her life is being debated behind closed doors.

And I make myself a silent vow.

She will not die for her father’s sins.

Not while I’m breathing.

I’ll do everything I can to make Sofia fall in love with me. I’ll have her so hooked on me that she won’t see anything but me. In doing so, Sofia will trust me with any secrets her father has. If she knows any, that is. Once I have the information, I’ll hand it to my father. Hopefully, that will show Dad that Sofia is loyal to our family, thus keeping her alive.

By the time the meeting ends, my jaw aches from clenching it. The men filter out of the study in small groups, laughing, arguing, slapping each other on the back like they hadn’t just debated whether the woman I’m going to marry should live or die.

I stay behind for a moment, letting the room empty.

I need a breath.

I need to get my head straight.

I need to see her.

When I finally step into the hallway, the noise from the living room drifts toward me — the women still talking, laughing, planning. Sofia’s voice isn’t among them. She’s quiet, always quiet, but I can feel her presence like a pulse.

She looks up the moment I enter the room. Her eyes soften, relief flickering across her face before she masks it. She shouldn’t have had to hide that. She shouldn’t have to hide anything.

“Ready to go?” I ask gently.

She nods, standing from the sofa. The women give her warm goodbyes, promise to talk more tomorrow, and offer to help with anything she needs. She smiles politely, thanks them, and follows me out.

We say our farewells to the family — Hammer’s firm nod, Willow’s hug, Maria’s wink, Amber’s enthusiastic wave. Dray doesn’t say anything, just watches us with that unreadable expression I’ve learned to hate.

Once the doors close behind us, the house falls quiet.

I offer her my arm. “Walk with me.”

Sofia slips her hand into the crook of my elbow, light as a feather, as if she’s afraid to put her weight on me. I lead her down the hallway to the library — one of the few rooms in the estate that feels untouched by violence. Warm lighting. Floor‑to‑ceiling shelves. A fireplace that always seems to be lit.

I close the door behind us.

Sofia stands in the center of the room, fingers twisting together. “Did the meeting go well?”

I don’t answer that. Not directly. “It’s over.”

She nods, but her eyes search mine. “Luca… can I ask you something?”

“Anything.”

She takes a breath, steady but soft. “I know I’m going to die.”

The words hit me like a punch.

My heart stops. My lungs freeze. My vision narrows.

“What?” I step toward her. “Sofia—”

“It’s okay,” she says quickly, lifting a hand as if to calm me. “Really. I’ve made peace with it.”

“No.” My voice comes out harsher than I intended. “Don’t say that.”

She smiles — a small, heartbreaking thing. “I’m marrying into a Mafia family. I know what that means. And I know my father… he’s done things. Bad things. If the Don wants me gone because of him, then… that’s okay.”

It isn’t okay.

It will never be okay.

She continues softly, “I don’t know the details. I don’t know what he’s planning. But I’m not stupid, Luca. I know it has something to do with my father.”

My eyes widen before I can stop myself.

She notices, but she doesn’t push.

She didn’t accuse. She just accepts it — accepts her own death — with a calmness that makes my chest ache.

I move before I even realize it, closing the distance between us. I take her hand gently, then guide her toward one of the leather chairs by the fire.

“Sit,” I murmur.

She obeys, but when I kneel in front of her, she startles. “Luca—”

I don’t let her finish. I slide my hands around her waist and lift her easily, settling her onto my lap. She gasps, eyes wide, hands braced against my chest.

I cup her cheek, forcing her to look at me.

“You’re smarter than anyone gives you credit for,” I say quietly. “Smarter than they know. Smarter than they want to admit.”

Her breath trembles.

“But don’t you ever,” I continue, voice low and fierce. “Think for one second that I’m going to let anything happen to you.”

She blinks, stunned.

I brush my thumb along her cheekbone. “I swear on everything I love — everything I am — I will never let anyone hurt you. I will never let anyone kill you.”

Her eyes soften, filling with something warm and fragile. “Luca…”

“You’re not dying,” I tell her. “Not for your father. Not for anyone. Please trust me, Sofia.”

She exhales shakily, then slowly rests her head on my shoulder. Her body relaxes against mine, small and warm and trusting in a way that makes something inside me shift permanently.

“I trust you, Luca.” She whispers.

I wrap my arms around her, holding her close, feeling the steady beat of her heart against my chest. “Good girl.”

She whispers, “Thank you.”

I close my eyes.

Because I know the truth.

Thank you isn’t enough.

Reassurance isn’t enough.

Promises aren’t enough.

If I want to keep her alive — truly alive — I need a plan.

A real one.

Before the wedding.

Before the Don makes his move.

Before Dray decides to take matters into his own hands.

As I hold Sofia against my body, her breath warm against my neck, I make myself another vow.

I will save her.

Even if it means betraying my family.

Even if it means burning everything down.

Even if it means killing to keep her safe.

Because she isn’t just a pawn anymore.

She’s mine.

And I’m not letting her go.