Never Truth

11

As I rang the doorbell, I sucked in a lungful of crisp evening air and admonished myself to remember that I was no longer that pubescent teen. “Nico, it’s good to see you. Come in.” Enzo opened the door, extending his hand in greeting. “It’s good to see you too, Mr. Genovese.” “Let’s go back to my office and talk.” I follow him to a large formal office not far off the entry. He closed the door behind us, and I breathed a small sigh of relief at making it inside without any drama. The room was filled with a lifetime of books and memorabilia tastefully displayed on shelves and in glass curios. He bypassed the plaid wingback chairs in a small seating area and instead took his place behind an impressive mahogany desk. I sat opposite him in one of the leather desk chairs and tried not to show my unease. “I hope this wasn’t an inconvenience. I know it was short notice,” he offered respectfully. That was why Enzo had risen as far as he had. He didn’t leash his men with fear or abuse them like an asshole. The Lucciano boss was exceedingly savvy. He understood the importance of respect and honor while exercising his power over those who followed him. Despite his anonymity, his leadership style was felt down the ranks. His increased presence would only add to the dignity of our outfit. “Not at all. I’m honored to be here,” I responded easily. “Good, good. I have an important matter I want to discuss with you. But first, I want to congratulate you on being named capo.” “Thank you, sir. It was an unexpected honor.” “When I spoke with Gabe about becoming my underboss, he was quick to recommend you for his replacement. You’ve shown remarkable dedication, drive, and intelligence. With so much of our business concentrated in online pursuits, I think it’s important for us to have plenty of young blood in our ranks. Us old-timers aren’t as savvy on the newest technology. Guys like you and Tony can bring your ideas to the table and be a great asset to our organization.” “This outfit is my life. I’ll do whatever I can to serve the family.” “That’s good to hear because I have a sensitive matter for you. As you heard earlier today, we have a number of difficult issues we are dealing with at the moment, making our lives significantly more dangerous than they’ve been in recent years. Now that I’ve come back into the limelight, my family will make for easy targets. Alessia, Maria, and my wife all have protection, but Sofia is a different matter. I know you two went your separate ways, but it’s been years now, and I’m hoping you can mend that broken fence. “She has no knowledge of our family activities, and I see no reason that needs to change, which makes security for her a bit of an issue. She won’t understand why she needs to be protected and would likely resist the intrusion. I’m hoping, perhaps, if her bodyguard was a childhood friend, we could play off your role as merely a reunion of sorts—an old friend come back into her life.” The longer he spoke, the louder the ringing sounded in my ears. Surely, it had interfered with my hearing, and I had misunderstood him. He had to have known I’d broken his daughter’s heart, and there was no way she would welcome me back in her life. This can’t be happening. The words repeated over and over in my head, but it didn’t matter how many times I heard them, Enzo’s intentions were clear. He wanted me to guard Sofia. I wasn’t sure if the concept made me more terrified or pissed. Walking away from her had been one of the hardest things I’d ever had to do, and now, I was expected to open that wound and possibly go through the whole process again. What s**t had I done in my past lives to deserve this? It must have been supremely f****d up because this had to be a punishment. I tried to remind myself that I was being presumptive. The assignment wouldn’t be all that difficult if Sofia and I could be casual friends. We had both grown up since I walked away, and time would have lessened the hurt. I was so full of s**t. What I’d done to her was unforgivable. The only explanation for Enzo entertaining this scenario was if he didn’t know. There was no way if she’d told him what I’d done that he’d still want me near his youngest daughter. f**k. My mind raced with panicked thoughts as Enzo continued. “She’s living with us for the next couple of weeks and will be protected under my roof. I want you to use that time to get reacquainted so that when she moves to her new apartment, you have a reason to stay near her. Usually this type of job would be delegated to a soldier, but considering all the circumstances, I think you’re the best fit for the job. It won’t be permanent, just while we get our s**t straightened out with the other families and the damn Russians. Once things settle, I’ll assign her a driver who can act as her security. This may not be the normal task of a capo, but it’s more important to me than any other. My family is at risk, and until things settle down, their protection is paramount. I think you, more than any other man, would protect her with your life.” He smiled at me, believing he had given me a great honor, which he had. But he had no idea just how impossible the task was. Double f**k. How could I possibly argue my way out of my first assignment as capo? I couldn’t. It was my responsibility to do my job, no matter how unrealistic it might seem. I would have to do my best to protect her from a distance because the chances were slim to none that she was going to welcome me back into her life. “Carlotta and I will do our part to help bring you back into the picture, and we’ll leave the rest up to you. When you’re not actively working on this assignment in the coming weeks, Gabe will help get you up to speed on handling the books in his territory. Hopefully, with your background at the fights, you’ll have a good understanding already.”