I watched him light the cig. If Don Vero approved the marriage, maybe Giulio’s family still had some loyalty to the old Don. Maybe he saw good in Luciano. That could work in our favor if there were still men who felt sentimental to Leona.
I sat back in my chair. “Thank you for that night at the Tommaso estate.”
He met my eyes in the same moment he pulled a long drag. “I’m not sure what you’re talking about. I didn’t see anything or anyone. We’re still not sure how those men got inside.”
I smirked. “Right.”
He held out the pack to both me and Wynn, but we both waved him off. He leaned forward, his voice dropping low. “Cas, what actually happened the night Don Vero died? Did Max really kill him? Did he try to kill Leona, too?”
My jaw clenched as memories of that night surfaced. Not one single man had defended the Don. Max had taken over so completely that the coup was seamless, except for Leona and I escaping. Was Giulio among the men who let the Don die?
“He murdered the Don in cold blood, and then he tried to kill both of us. We barely survived.”
Giulio sighed. “Fuck. I mean, it’s not like Max has been trying to hide it. But Leona, too?” He shook his head. “The men can’t quite wrap their heads around that one. She was always the sweetest girl. Spoiled, but kind.”
The absolute fucking sweetest. “I don’t know what the fuck he was thinking.”
Wynn shifted in his seat. “There are others like you? Who might take issue with Volpe’s choices?”
Giulio rubbed the stubble on his jaw. “You’re the Shadow, huh?”
Wynn stared at him through those light eyelashes, and thatdeadlyfeeling he carried when we first met returned. He went so fucking still. Even I felt a little chill run down my back at his expression.
“Yeah,” Giulio finally answered. “Well, not a lot of men. But a few of us that are wondering what Leona and you are doing. You’ve always held the respect of the Family, Cas. At least as equally to Max.”
“What have the men been saying?”
He leaned back in his chair. “For one, they’re surprised you’re both still alive, and they’re wondering why you didn’t just run and hide. For two, they’ve heard rumors of the Shadows.” He raised his chin at Wynn, exhaling a puff of smoke. “A lot of people don’t believe you allied with them.”
“All true.” A partnership with the Shadows. An alliance with the Bratva. Would the Italian men see that as a threat? Or as a promise that Leona was serious?
“I’ll be damned.” He looked between the both of us. “But that’s not all. Before the Don died, we all thought Max and Leona would marry. Now? Everyone knows women don’t inherit the Family, but…”
“But?”
“But you both survived. They’re speculating over what you’ll do to get revenge. Who does the Family belong to if Leona gets married? And what if she marriesyou?”
I almost choked. Marry me? The men thought that might happen?
I’d barely got her. She’d only just confessed to me. The idea of marriage…yeah, it was something I’d dreamed of for years. I used to lie awake at night hoping I could call her my wife one day. Mywife.
I glanced at Wynn. His stare was impassive, just like that night he sat in front of us at the safe house and said he’d kill us if we couldn’t pay our contract.
“And what if she did?” I rasped. My fuckingdream. But now that there were four other guys in Leona’s life, would that ever be possible? Would she want that?
“If she married you, you’d have rightful claim to the Family.” He shrugged. “Everybody would know that.”
A claim to the Family.
“She has rightful claim to the Family now,” I argued.
Giulio raised an eyebrow in confusion. “No, she doesn’t. You know she has to be married. Her husband becomes Head.”
I rolled my eyes. “Come on, Giulio. That’s older generation shit.”
He took another puff from the cigarette. “It’s tradition. I’m not saying it’s right, or modern, or whatever, I’m just saying that the Five Families run off tradition. Without it, we lose our stability.”
The Five Families had generations of tradition keeping us all in line, including years and years of politically arranged marriages, but still it made my chest tighten. She might not want Luciano’s legacy, she might be forging her own, but getting the men of the Family on our side was necessary to building our new empire.
