There are guns and phones among the glasses of whiskey. Rafiel’s motorcycle helmet is on a table nearby. Vincenzo swigs from a beer bottle. Dad would hate this. There’s no assembly of dozens of capos in a show of authority. No formal greetings and stiff tradition. He’s too old-fashioned, and he would patronize and insult these men for not being like their fathers.
But their fathers are dead or locked away. We are the new Malus. Fresh blood.
The new leaders.
As Lucy and I approach, her side pressed tightly to mine, Cristiano casts a speculative gaze over my sister, which lingers too long for my liking. Lucy is wearing the canary diamonds that Cristiano wanted to buy.
His eyes narrow. “I didn’t know we were bringing our women.”
“That’s not his woman,” Rafiel tells him. “That’s his sister.”
Cristiano looks pointedly at my arm around her waist. “Sister. Sure. Nice to see you again, Miss Barone. Does your brother ever let you out of his sight?”
“Never,” I answer for her, in a tone that tells him he’s stared long enough. The new Montoni don is unmarried, young, and arrogant, and he can look elsewhere for his bride.
I pull up another chair for Lucy and sit down beside her at the table. Rafiel offers her a glass of white wine, but she shakes her head and accepts water instead. I do the same. Tonight isn’t social, and I want to keep my head clear. I called this meeting behind my father’s back. If it’s a success, I might get away with it without my viper tattoo being burned off with a hot poker.
If it goes to hell, I’m fucked, and so is Lucy.
“So why have you called us all together, Damiano?” Rafiel asks. “Is this a murder mystery night? Are we going to solve a crime?”
Vincenzo’s lips tilt in a smile. “A murder? I probably did it.”
“No games,” I assure the men. “I thought it was about time we all sat down together as friends. We five are the future of Malus.”
Vincenzo glances at Lucy. “Your sister included?”
I reach for her hand and hold it. “My sister included.”
“Just because things have always been done a certain way, it doesn’t mean they have to stay that way,” Lucy says, gazing at each of the men. “We’re tired of the old traditions, the old rules. Aren’t you?”
“Barone business is Barone business,” Rafiel says with a shrug. “I don’t have a problem with you.”
“Sure,” Vincenzo says softly, but without feeling.
Cristiano says nothing, and I decide to take that to mean he’s not going to cause a fuss about Lucy being present.
I get straight to the point. “There’s been a lot of bad blood in Malus. Understandable tensions between our four families. The Barones have been feeling outside heat from the Sokolis, and some of you have been getting it from them, the Dervishis, or both. I think it’s time we reminded them that it’s our city. Not theirs.”
“And how are we going to do that?” Cristiano asks, with ironic emphasis on thewe.
“That’s what Lucy and I were hoping we could discuss.”
“If we’re going to work together, we have to trust each other. You really think that’s possible?” Vincenzo asks in an icy voice, glancing at Cristiano.
“I would have a hard time trusting the son of the man who murdered my family, but you have Adora in common. You haveMalus in common. The sins of the fathers do not have to be laid upon the children.”
Vincenzo glances at Lucy’s hand, which is resting lightly on my forearm. “Easy words, Barone. Cheap words. If my father had murdered your sister, you wouldn’t be sitting with me having a friendly little drink.”
My chest feels tight at even the suggestion that someone might hurt Lucy. “I understand how hard this is for you.”
“You understand shit,” Vincenzo seethes.
Rafiel sits back with a shake of his head. “Something about this doesn’t feel right. We’re all heads of our families, in one way or another. You’re not, Damiano. I have a hard time believing Don Carlucci would send a woman into negotiations. I don’t believe you have the authority to speak for your father.”
“Who said my father sent me?” I ask, my voice hardening.
“Will Ariana be coming to meetings next?” he asks with a lift of his brow.
