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Chapter 14 (Ricardo)
I step into DeLuca's old fight club with my guard up and my finger on the trigger of my gun.
It's one thing for the head of the DeLuca council to personally call you and demand you fly to Italy for a meeting...but it's a whole other thing when he calls you and declares he's in your hometown...waiting for you to meet him at one of your father's old establishments.
And warning you that you better come alone or the truce regarding Lou-Lou is off.
“Put your gun away, Ricardo. I'm not here to kill you,” he says in perfect English, despite his thick Italian accent. “And we both know you won't get away with killing me.”
When I don't do what he wants and point my gun at him anyway, he rubs his chin and smirks. “Looks like someone doesn't like being told what to do and not having all the power and control in the situation.”
He takes a step forward until we're face to face. And even though this man is a little over twice my age, he stands almost eye level with me and shows no signs of fragility.
“DeLuca indeed.”
He reaches out to pat my shoulder but I back away. “Don't touch me. Just tell me what you want.”
“A few things.” He circles me like a vulture and I have to remind myself that I can't kill him because then they will go after Lou-Lou.
“Bruno DeLuca wasn't a good father,” he starts and I have to hide my shock. “And he wasn't the greatest example of what it means to be a true DeLuca...because he lost control in his quest to gain it. He was so busy focusing on one thing...he lost sight of everything and couldn't foresee his own demise.”
He takes a cigar out of his pocket and offers me one but I decline.
“He left himself wide open to be overthrown...by someone who was younger, smarter, and loyal. Someone who had all of his good qualities, but only one of his bad ones...a weakness in the form of a girl.”
I open my mouth to argue but he holds up a hand and silences me.
“I'll get into that in a second...but contrary to what you think, son—the DeLuca's aren't bad. We're simply opportunists, driven by our underlying family loyalty and our thirst for power. We don't follow the rules...because we make them. Why be controlled by others when you can control them? Can you at least understand that?”
I reach into my pocket for my pack of cigarettes and light one. “Of course I can understand it. The problem is all the i
He throws his head back and laughs and I fight the urge to rock his jaw with my fist. “Says the man who savagely murdered and maimed ten men in the span of three hours.”
“That was different they—”
He cuts me off by holding up a picture of a baby girl. “The last man you killed had a 10-month-old baby, and by society standards was a stand up guy. He helped those in need, donated to a few charities, and took his wife out to the movies once a month for date night.”
I avert my gaze, not wanting to look at it anymore.
Not because I feel bad...but because I don't.
I did what needed to be done. Lou-Lou was in danger, she was almost killed...or worse.
And if that P.I. guy had kept better track of his team, he would have realized one of them was a loose ca
Hell, for all I know, maybe he was the one who put him up to it in the first place.
Either way, there was no way to know for sure and I had to go by the facts. And the fact is, he dropped the ball and Lou-Lou got caught in the crossfire, therefore he signed his own death warrant. I don't regret killing him...family or not, it doesn't fucking matter to me.
“Why are you telling me this?”
“Because whether you realize it or not...you're one of us. You've always despised us for all that we do, but you do the very same thing, Ricardo. The only difference is, you do it all in the name of love and play by your own rules. We do it out of loyalty and play by ours.”
I take a pull off my cigarette and stare him down, because him trying to flip the script on me isn't going to work. “You don't do it for loyalty. You do it for the control and power. You think by making others weak, it somehow makes you stronger. You do it because you enjoy having the upper hand and making those who don't follow your rules suffer. ”
He winks. “Yes, that too.” He stomps his cigar out. “I'd love to talk more about this with you, however, I've come here for another purpose.”
“Which is?”
“Oh, come on, son. You should already know.”
“You want to make a deal.”
He thinks about this for a moment before he says, “Your father was more of the deal maker. Personally, I'm a fan of ultimatums.”
“What do you want?” I grit through my teeth, hating that I'm at his mercy but knowing I'm powerless to do anything about it.
“John Travine will win the run for mayor of New York exactly 30 days from now.”
“The fuck he will. Besides, the election isn't even until November.”
He narrows his eyes and advances toward me. “There's going to be a special election after Mayor Gaffney and the vice-mayor both meet an untimely demise.” He takes another step. “And Travine will win...because you're not allowed to kill him.”
He makes a tsking sound when I open my mouth to object. “I don't care about your personal issue with him, we owe him a favor and this is it. He's an associate of the council now and his ideas align with ours. And after he wins the people over during his term as mayor, he will run for President, and he will win that too. He's become a very valuable asset to the DeLuca's...and if you do anything to get in the way of that—”
I grab him by his collar and throw him against the wall. “We made a deal. I gave you my fucking life in exchange for hers.”
“Which is why I gave you the heads up and let you have the lead. We're not killing her, obviously; or we wouldn't have allowed you to find her first. We gave you our loyalty because you are family, and blood family always comes first. Therefore, you now have what you want.”
He snickers. “So I suggest you hold her close, Ricardo. Because although we mean her no harm, what John Travine does with his daughter if he ever finds her is not our concern.”
He jabs a finger into my chest. “And just in case that genius brain of yours still doesn't comprehend what I'm saying—John Travine isn't allowed to kill you or hurt you...but the council won't do anything to prevent him from doing those things to her. It's up to you to protect her, not us.”
He tries to maneuver out of my hold but I tighten my grip. “Maybe he'll die of natural causes then.”
He laughs before his expression turns serious. “If he does...your friends will be following suit.”
He pushes me off him. “It's bad enough having one weak spot, Ricardo...but having two almost guarantees things won't end well for you. And if you think John Travine isn't aware of that...you're wrong.”
“So that's it...that's my ultimatum? If I kill him, Jackson and Tyrone die?”
“No...your ultimatum is to pick a weak spot and protect it. Because you can't have both...and in time...you'll find out why it was better to have none to begin with and never make the same mistake again. You'll learn and remember why your weaknesses made you a vigliacco and you'll come out of this a man. The man you were always supposed to be.”
“I'm not a coward—”
“You have 30 days to figure out what you're going to do, Ricardo. Because after that—all bets are off and John will be able to use whatever he wants to threaten you to get what he wants.”