Luca’s eyes widen. “He is notgivingit…Don, you must explain or they will not—”
Maverick shoots him a look so sharp, Luca snaps his mouth shut.
Then Maverick turns back to Spike.
“Because this ring does not change hands,” he says. “Ever. Not even to my own brothers by blood. Only to the one man I trust above all others to lead if I fall.”
Is he saying what I think he’s saying?
Maverick continues, voice quiet but carved in granite.
“This ring means my soldiers will followyourorders as if they were mine. It means if I die in this war, my family ralliesbehind you. My territory. My resources. My men. My bloodline. Everything.”
Crusher mutters, “Holy shit…”
“And in the meantime,” he adds, voice dropping into that cold, quiet steel that absolutelyisthe Don beneath the Maverick we know, “my men will trust you simply because they do what they’re fucking told… or they face the consequences.”
His gaze flicks to Luca.
“And what are those consequences, Luca?”
Luca straightens like someone pulled a wire through his spine.
His voice is barely above a whisper.
“Depends on the sin,Don,” he says. “The lightest punishment is banishment from the Moretti clan.”
He hesitates. Swallows.
“The harshest punishment,” he continues, voice trembling despite the steel he’s trying to hold, “is not simply death. For betrayal within the Moretti family,” he says, voice dropping to a haunted whisper, “the condemned is… dismantled. Slowly. Piece by piece. Over several days. Sometimes longer. The kill wouldn’t happen until the very last moment.”
Bones exhales a quiet, “My second favorite method.”
Spike stares at the ring like it’s a viper waiting to strike.
Finally, he lifts his gaze.
“I don’t want this,” Spike says, low and steady. “I’m not looking for that kind of power.”
He holds Maverick’s eyes.
“I trust you,” Spike continues. "I don’t need an empire to make it real.”
“Same here,” I add. “Ring or no ring, you’re still our brother.”
One by one, everyone nods.
“Knew there was more to you,” I smirk. “I tried like hell to dig up information on you, but I didn’t have your last fucking name, and you would never give it to me…sneaky fucker.”
Maverick smirks and shakes his head.
“You were relentless, that’s for sure,” he says before looking back to Spike.
“I know you don’t want it,” he says. “I didn’t offer it because you crave power, Spike. I offered it because if I fall in this war… someone has to keep the Moretti empire from collapsing long enough for the rightful heir to rise.”
Spike freezes.
The entire room does.
