Their stubbornness was a constant frustration. They couldn’t be separated, but they couldn’t stay here.
A life free from the Family was the only life that would keep them both safe. It was necessary.
The party itself passed in a blur. I was too focused. Too determined. All of my plans were coming to a head, and they had to work perfectly.
I watched Luciano like a hawk the entire evening. I’d made allies in secret, groups of men dedicated and loyal to me. Elio would be my new second-in-command. David would be my enforcer and head of security. They were both ready to act when I gave the signal.
When Luciano went upstairs, I followed him.
He was on the phone as I slipped into the study. “Max?” He covered the speaker, turning to me with a frown. “What’s wrong?”
I pulled my gun from my holster inside my suit jacket.
“Ah.” He ended his phone call and dropped the device on his desk. “So this is where you’ll try to end me. At my daughter’s birthday party.”
“I’m doing what needs to be done.” It was time. All the years I’d spent keeping quiet. All the years I’d focused on bringing him down. It all amounted to this. “It’s been a long time coming.”
“I thought we covered this four years ago. If you kill me, you have too much to lose.”
The last time we’d met head on like this, he’d told me I needed to learn how to hide my emotions. I’d spent four years doing exactly that. I’d trained them to leech from my body until I felt nothing, until I was blank.
I sank into that dead space now.
I raised my gun. “Not anymore.”
He pulled out his own weapon and pointed it at my face, squeezing the trigger without a word. He scowled at the chunk of metal when it didn’t immediately kill me.
I smirked. “I removed your firing pin yesterday.”
His jaw clenched, and then he weighed the gun in his hand. “Looks like you replaced my bullets, too.”
“Blanks. Just in case.”
He sighed. “You’re not going to kill me, Max.”
“Oh?” I stepped forward while yanking my knife from its sheath against my back. “Get out from behind the desk. Get on your knees.”
He stood unmoving.
“On your knees, Luciano.” My voice was deadly cold.
He did as I asked. “You would take Leona’s father from her?”
“I’m doing her, and the world, a favor.”
“Is that what you tell yourself to pretend that she won’t hate you forever? To rid yourself of the guilt?”
He was goading me, but I’d spent a decade preparing for this. There was no way I’d be derailed now. “Shut up.”
“What are you going to do about the Camorra?”
“I made a bargain.”
Hetsk’d his teeth. “That was a bad decision. Let me guess. You’re paving the pathway for them to take over New York.”
“Not like it concerns you. You’ll be six feet under.”
“They’ve been trying to push into the States for years. You’ll regret inviting them in.”
