“Good.” I get on my toes and kiss him again. “You want to hear something weird?”
“Always.”
“Now that I’m pregnant, I’m having these… urges.” My cheeks turn pink, and I suddenly regret saying anything.
He looks uncertain. “Like food cravings?”
“Like that, but not for food. I’ve been, you know, really, uh?—”
Understanding dawns on him, and he licks his lips. He bends down to kiss me again. “If you have needs, I’m happy to fulfill them.”
“I had a feeling you’d say that.”
“Later tonight then.” One more kiss before he lets me go. “First, I need to convince my boss that getting involved in a war is a good idea.”
“Sounds easy.”
Chapter 30
Luca
Adriano pours two drinks and hands me one. I take a sip and smile to myself.
It’s the good stuff. That’s a positive sign.
He sits in the chair beside mine and angles himself toward the fireplace. Flames crackle behind the grates. It’s warm but comfortable in his study, and we sit in silence.
I owe him a lot. He raised me to be one of his most trusted Capos, and without him, I never would’ve met or married Fiorella. I consider him a close friend, even though our relationship is more complicated than that. We have layers of honor and duty between us, all wrapped up with the Famiglia and our places within it. But in the end, we’re still two men who care about the organization, and we both want what’s best for it.
“Do you know how often I get calls from politicians?” Adriano’s not looking at me, but I assume it’s not a rhetorical question.
“Every day. You’re good on the phone.”
He smiles slightly. “You’ll be surprised to learn that most legitimate people don’t want to associate with me if they can avoid it. That includes our elected officials.”
“Their loss.”
“But in the last couple of days, I’ve spoken with two state senators, several city councilmen, two high-ranking police officers, and more business leaders than I’m comfortable with. Can you guess what they’re all saying?”
I don’t like where this is going. Adriano’s usually more direct, so I assume he’s got a point here. “They’re telling you to invest in Bitcoin?”
“They want peace.”
He swirls his drink. I sip mine and let that linger. It’s a good whiskey, nice and smoky with a smooth finish.
“But what do you want?” I finally ask. If there’s anything I know about Adriano, it’s that he hates being pushed into a corner.
“I think my reasons for allying with the Serranos haven’t changed. Their business is solid, despite the debt. Their trucks and cars will help with our cross-country distribution problems. They’ll make us stronger in the end.”
“Then it’s obvious what we have to do.”
He tilts his head, jaw tight. “I’m not so sure it is.”
Anger swells in me. I push it back down. Adriano is thinking about the Famiglia, not about my pregnant wife. Whereas Fiorella’s the only person on my mind anymore. It’s dangerous, but I’ve come too far down this path to turn back now. She’s become everything.
“What’s the alternative? We need Raf to become the new Don.”
“I’m not convinced of that.”
