The men repeated. “Until the end.”
“Amen.” Luca whispered, a single tear rolled down his face. I gripped his arms as he slumped against me. With a curse I pulled him to the floor looking for injuries.
When I ripped his jacket open, it was already too late.
Two bullets had torn into his stomach. His eyes closed.
Luca Nicolasi, boss to the second most powerful Family in Sicily had just died in my arms—after blessing me as the new leader of the five families.
CHAPTER SIXTY-EIGHT
When a boss dies, his legacy dies with him, the men… they are lost.
Phoenix
I FOUGHT TEARS as I watched the life leave Luca’s body. What had I done wrong? I’d tried to protect him, pushed him out of the way, instead I must have pushed him in the line of fire. Guilt swarmed my every thought as I tried to take a breath only to need another and another. On legs heavier than lead, I walked over to the body and slumped to my knees. The man who had been closer to me than a father, the man who had saved my life, possibly my soul, had just died.
And to mourn him showed our connection.
So I kept quiet while my insides screamed with injustice. It should have been me. Men like Luca, you never knew if they were good or bad. One minute they were spouting such wise nonsense that you had to respect them, the next moment their words were lethal.
For the last month Luca had been my only friend. The only person who saw me for me and didn’t turn away.
I’d just lost everything.
And I couldn’t even cry.
Frank wrapped his arm around me and squeezed. He knew. Frank knew. I lifted my gaze to Sergio, he’d been standing near the Abandonato family during the fight. His face was pale as he bit down hard on his lower lip.
I’d done everything right.
And someone had still died by my hand. It had been my plan after all, make them fear Tex. Luca had said to invite the Alfonso and his men as a way to make for a way to make peace with Tex, he wanted them to discuss logically what should happen and who should take the place as head of the family.
And I’d gone against that, telling Tex to do the opposite, knowing this was a situation where words wouldn’t work.
“Not your fault, son.” Frank whispered. “He trusted you, this was his plan all along.”
Tex’s eyes flashed.
I swallowed the giant knot of guilt in my throat. “To die?”
Frank smiled sadly. “For you to live.”
We didn’t rush as the bosses all shook hands and made arrangements with each other. Numb, I watched as each boss kissed Tex’s right hand. We’d done the right thing. In the end, order had been restored.
At the cost of Luca’s life.
CHAPTER SIXTY-NINE
Maybe, just maybe, the ending isn’t all bad. Which isn’t to say it’s happy… but perhaps not being bad is all we’re given.
Tex
SHOCK COURSED THROUGH me as I rode home with Mo. She gripped my hand and said nothing. It terrified me that she’d witnessed that side of me, yet I was comforted that she was alive, breathing, okay.
We all decided to let the associates go back to the hotel while the bosses met. It was only four now. It should have been five.
I sent Mil and some of the De Langes to take care of the body, knowing full well that because of their interesting background, they’d be able to keep it on ice while we planned the funeral.
When I walked into the house it was to find Nixon beating the shit out of a wall.
Chase pushed Nixon towards a chair and yelled. “Calm down, man.”
Nixon pushed Chase away and jerked out the chair, sitting in it and crossing his arms.
Sergio and Phoenix were discussing amongst themselves, Frank stood near the kitchen.
“Enough,” I said softly.
All eyes fell to me. Mo squeezed my hand and walked down the hall.
“That was your plan all along,” Nixon whispered. “Why?”
“It was my fault,” Phoenix said. “Luca, Frank, and I… we knew that Tex had to make a stand, we knew it had to be in front of the entire family.” His shoulders slumped. “Luca wanted to use words. Sergio slipped me an invitation to Alfonso and his men. They thought they were coming to The Commission to celebrate gaining control of The Family—officially.”
Sergio groaned. “Actually…” He coughed and looked around. “Luca knew talking wouldn’t work.”
“What?” Phoenix hissed.
With a curse, Sergio slumped into one of the chairs and spoke in a wooden voice. “He knew Phoenix needed to prove himself again, in order to gain back the self-respect he lost. He knew you—” Sergio glanced quickly at Phoenix. “Knew that you wouldn’t like the idea of Tex walking into a room only to most likely be shot… along with the rest of the Family. Luca discovered that Alfonso meant to make an example out of Nixon, Chase, the wives, Frank…” His voice broke. “So he gave Phoenix the choice, do the job you’ve been told, or make the call, only the call a boss could make.”
Phoenix paled. “But, what if I hadn’t told Tex?”
“Then we wouldn’t be here,” Sergio said quietly. “He trusted that in the end you’d do the right thing, redeem yourself, find your soul, and finally find peace. He knew it was a risk, he knew he may die in the process, knew that we’d all die if Tex didn’t do something. He knew you, Phoenix, better than you knew yourself.”
Nixon exhaled loudly and leaned back in his chair. “Why not tell us?”
“If things ended badly,” I said finally. “It would get traced to everyone but you…” I swallowed. “The Abandonatos are the most powerful family in America, we needed you guys clean, alive, and in the dark.”
“You shouldn’t have made that call,” Chase said.
“We did what was best,” Frank said. “You’re family has taken the brunt of things for the past twenty years, it was time we protected you, it was time to do the right thing.”
Shaking, I finally sat down. “What happens now, do I move back to Sicily, run the Family from here, make a second in command?” I groaned. “Marry into the Nicolasi family still?”
Frank hesitated briefly before drumming his fingers across the table. “Well, that all depends…”
“On what?” I barked, my patience was officially gone.
“On Phoenix.”
All eyes turned to Phoenix, his eyebrows knit together in confusion. “What do you mean, it depends on me?”
Frank stood, with shaking hands he pulled a piece of paper from his pocket and read. “On the terms of my last will and testament, I leave all of my earthly possessions, listed in detail within my will, to Phoenix De Lange.”
My mouth dropped open as Phoenix made a noise that sounded a hell of a lot like a whimper.
“I understand that The Nicolasi family will be in need of a leader, I also understand that in rare times it is allowed to choose someone who is not blood, someone who has within them the heart of a warrior, the loyalty of a true family member. Blood does not always win. After all blood is a part of the human heart, and I deem this heart ready to lead. I name the next boss of the Nicolasi family: Phoenix De Lange.”
Frank set down the paper and wiped his face with a cloth. “So, as I said, I guess it all depends on, Phoenix, what will be your first act as Boss?”
Phoenix had grown so quiet I was afraid he’d died of a heart attack, or at least shock.
His face had gone completely pale. “But I’m not his son, I’m not—”
“You were more his son…” Frank’s voice shook. “Than you will ever know.”
“I…” Phoenix’s voice cracked. “I need… some time.”
“And a drink.” Nixon exhaled loudly and knocked on the table. “Someone get him a drink.”
“He doesn’t drink anymore.” I took my eyes off Phoenix and made eye contact with Nixon. “But I’m pretty sure now would be a good time to pick up the habit again.”
“No drinks.” Phoenix held
up his hand. “Time, I need time.”
CHAPTER SEVENTY
The Mafia is where broken hearts go to die…
Mo
THREE HOURS.
I waited three hours for Tex to knock on my door. I willed him to enter into the room and at least tell me that things were going to be okay.
My arm was a little bit sore but it was barely scratched and hadn’t bled all that much, I took some painkillers anyway and tried to read a book.
But how do you read a freaking romance novel after surviving a gunfight? I mean seriously. It was almost laughable… almost. My stomach clenched at the sight of Luca slumping to the ground. I’d never fully trusted him, but he was good—in the end, he was good and he’d died. It was unfair, but then again, nobody ever said the Mafia was the place to go when you wanted fairness and equality.
Even though I’d been waiting for it, the soft knock on the door startled me. I opened my mouth to say “come in,” but Tex had already pushed the door nearly off the hinges. He slammed it behind him and stalked towards me, his face intense, serious.
I gulped. “Things not go well?”
“Marry me.” He kissed my mouth, hard, so hard I fell back against the bed with a huff.
“What?”
“Again, for real, marry me.” His lips collided with mine as his tongue entered my mouth. My breathing picked up as his hands moved to the skin of my stomach. “Please, please don’t say no. I won’t survive it, I won’t, Mo.”
“But…”
Tex’s mouth assaulted mine again, stealing my words.
“But, the contract.”
“Void.” He teased my lower lip with his tongue. “Ripped up.”
“What?” I gently pushed against his chest. “How? Why?”
Tex sighed and leaned back. “It’s a long story.”
“So tell me.”
“Say yes first.”
I grinned at his hopeful look, he was too beautiful, even after seeing all the death and destruction, I could look at him and see beauty, I could see goodness, love, desire. His blue eyes flashed with hunger as he leaned in, the roughness of jaw brushing against my cheek. “Say yes.”
“What was the question again?”
Tex pulled back and stood in front of me, gripping both my hands, then as if having second thoughts, bent down on one knee. “Marry me, not because you’re forced at gun point, not because you have to, not because there is no choice, or a damn contract signed in blood. Marry me because I love you. I love Monroe Abandonato with every bone in my body, I love you. Marry me, because you want to, because I can’t survive without you, because I don’t want to imagine a world where we aren’t together. Marry me, because I can’t stand the thought of waking up next to anyone one else but you, for as long as God allows me to live, I want to wake up to your face, your lips, your smile, you. I just want you. God knows Mo, if I were given one wish in this world, I’d ask for you. Every time. I’d ask for you.”
Tears streamed down my face as I nodded. “Yes, yes I’ll marry you.”
His mouth crashed into mine as he pushed me back onto the bed, hovering over me as he searched my eyes. Then with a soft moan, he tracked kisses over my lips, down my neck, back up to my chin… I groaned with delight as he lifted my shirt, his mouth moving across my stomach, caressing every inch of my skin until my body burned for him.
“Wait.” I gasped pushing at his hard body. “How?”
He stopped kissing me and rested his head against my chest. “Does it matter?”
“How did the contract get destroyed?”
Tex slowly lifted his head. “Phoenix.”
“Can he do that?”
“He’s the new boss of the Nicolasi family. He can do whatever the hell he wants, from ripping contracts to lighting his pants on fire.” He slowly inched his way up the bed until our mouths met. “Now, can we please make love? I’m tired of making war, Mo. I’m finally tired of making war.”
“Yeah,” I croaked. “We can make love.”
He kissed me soundly on the mouth. I arched up to meet him as a frenzy took a hold of me. Free! We were finally free to be together. I gave myself up to him with a cry as he pulled my shirt over my head and kissed me gently on the chin.
“Three hours?” I teased.
Tex’s breathing was ragged as he reared back and spoke in reverence. “Every hour.” He kissed my forehead. “Every day.” His kiss moved to my right cheek, then my left. “For as long as we both shall live.”
“Wow,” I breathed. “That’s a lot of hours.”
“Promise me forever—I’ll give you eternity.” His lips caressed mine. “I’ll give you everything.”
“Good.” I tugged on his hair as he let out a slight groan. “Enemies?”
“Always…” I teased as my arms wrapped around his neck. “Until the end?”
He chuckled and then peeled off his own shirt. “Damn right, until the end.”
CHAPTER SEVENTY-ONE
And so it begins… a legacy nobody wanted, dropped into a killers lap.
Phoenix
MY HANDS SHOOK as I stared at the stack of papers in front of me. A year ago I wouldn’t have been intimidated by black and white ink, by signatures and dotted lines.
But I was absolutely terrified.
My mind wouldn’t allow me to register the fact that Luca had planned the entire thing, that he’d pre-determined that I was worthy when he wasn’t even sure I would be.
Faith that I really didn’t deserve and a type of love I never really got to know—until it was too late.
Frank had the papers in his car—in his damn car! Like Luca knew he was marching off to his death!
After reading through the first paragraph my knees buckled and I fell to the ground, groaning, screaming—mourning.
It took Tex, Nixon, and Chase to finally pull me to my feet and take me into the office. Even then, I was so raw, so alive that I was afraid if anyone touched me I would scream in agony from the pain of the emotions swirling through me.
“Do you need me to read it?” Nixon had asked once I’d calmed down enough to breath and keep from passing out.
I nodded, biting down on my fist as I stared at the wall.
Nixon read, I heard nothing.
Two hours into it I finally told them to leave me alone… everyone left but Tex. I knew what he wanted, could see it in his eyes, tension and anticipation had wrapped itself so tightly around him that the guy hadn’t stopped clenching his fists.
“Phoenix.” Tex licked his lips and took a seat across from me. “I don’t know if threatening you will do anything. But I’ll threaten you if I have to.” His eyes flickered towards mine before staring back at the floor again. “If you’d rather I cry, I can do that too.”
I sighed, hunching my shoulders, trying to crawl into myself.
He cleared his throat. “If you want me to get on my knees, fine.” With a grunt, he dropped, his knees hitting the dark wood floors with a thunk. “I’ll get on my damn knees, I’ll beg and I’ll plead until my voice is hoarse… don’t make me marry someone I don’t love. Don’t allow that contract to go through. Make your first act as boss a positive one, for me, for Mo, for The Family.” His tone turned desperate as he reached for his hair and tugged tightly, his teeth clenched as a hoarse cry escaped his lips. “I love her so much. I can’t breathe man, I can’t freaking breathe without that woman, I can’t—” A tear fell down his cheek before he could stop it. “I can’t do this life without her by my side. The darkness… it’s so cold, but it’s inviting, you know? Like I could lose my damn soul and it would be okay—she pulls me from that, she’s the only one that can, the only one that makes that hole not feel so big.” His hands shook as he rocked back and forth. “Please…” His voice cracked. “Please, Phoenix, please give me this one thing. I’m begging you, man to man, friend to friend, boss to boss, please give me Monroe Abandonato.”
I didn’t deserve his begging.
I would have had said y
es had he decided to punch me in the face and laugh afterwards—I owed him that much. Besides, something told me that I would need a favor from him someday, one of epic proportions.
But it wasn’t the driving force behind my decision. I thought back to Luca, the type of man he was. In that moment, he would have looked stern, possibly pissed, but he would have done the right thing. He always did the right thing, so to honor his memory, I did the right thing for the second time in my life, I did the right damn thing.
“Tex.” I fought like hell, I fought the emotions coursing through my veins, I fought the anger, the fear, the humility. “You didn’t even have to ask.”
Blinking rapidly, he looked into my eyes, his own full of unshed tears. “What?”
I stood and held out my hand. He gripped it as I pulled him to his feet. “I want my first act as boss to be a good one, a pure one, God knows not all decisions will be as easy as this.” I pulled him in for a hug. His arms tightened around me as I whispered. “Be happy, brother.” Because that’s what he was, a brother, and I vowed in that moment to never, ever let my brothers down again. Not Nixon, not Chase, not Tex.
Minutes later when he walked out of the room, I broke down and cried. I cried because I’d finally been given what I’d wanted my entire life—but the cost had been too great.
The man undeserving.
How did people survive this? Tears poured down my face as the realization that I would never be able to earn what Luca had given me, but I sure as hell was going to try.
CHAPTER SEVENTY-TWO
Maybe blood doesn’t always win out—maybe sometimes love can trump blood.
Mo
I WOKE UP WITH a smile on my face—I tried really hard to look cool about it too. I’m lying next to the sexiest man on earth and he’s all mine, no biggie, right? Right?
No. I glanced to my left. That would be a hell no.
His arm was thrown above his head and the blanket had fallen down to his waist revealing his tight golden abs and part of his hip bone. My breathing picked up speed as I kept looking.