“Maybe you could merge theborgatetogether?” I offer, unsure of what I’m even suggesting since this is pretty much uncharted territory.
“Even if that did work,” Gabriel says, “I’m an outsider. I have no right claiming the Grecoborgata. I’d be the same as my brother trying to exert control over something that doesn’t belong to me.”
“Not necessarily,” Florian says as he looks between me and Gabriel with a brewing idea. “Not if the two of you were married.”
“What?” The gasp comes out of my mouth involuntarily. Gabriel and I have just reached the point of finally telling each other how we feel, but marriage seems like a giant leap off the high board. I hadn’t even thought about getting married—like ever. I’ve just always been much too independent to think about being married to a man before. But I also never expected to find a man I loved and who loved me back as much as Gabriel.
One glance over at him shows me that Gabriel is every bit as caught off-guard by this idea as I am. I doubt he’s thought about marriage either, even though he’s quite a bit older than I am. “Well,” he says after a few elongated seconds. “I guess it could work. I’m okay with trying it if you are, Camille. What do you think?”
I feel myself freeze under the pressure, because it feels like all of them are staring at me and waiting for me to answer. I feel a small panic attack start to prickle at my nerves. But then Gabriel reaches his hand across the table to take mine. “It’s up to you,” he says with a calm, confident tone. “I love you, and if you want to do this, I’m all in.”
That was all I needed to hear. “Okay,” I say as I suck in a deep breath. “Let’s get married.”
The conversation between all four of us instantly turns toward the planning of a very small, very quick, impromptu wedding ceremony, planned for tonight in a secret location.
20
GABRIEL
While Camille makes some fast last-minute wedding preparations, I try to talk with some of the in the Greco crew. Florian has already clued them in on what’s happening, but I still feel the need to address them myself before stepping into this role. There can only be trust if there’s mutual respect, and respecting acapothat just barges in to take over control is a tough sell. It’s not that different from what my brother’s trying to do, except that I’m trying to be polite about it and Leo is acting like a crazed, power-hungry lunatic.
I’m pleasantly surprised when they receive me well. I thought it would be a hard sell, but since I’ve already made a name for myself as a well-respectedcapoin the city, they’re surprisingly okay with this arrangement—especially if it keeps my brother from overpowering them. “Camille is a good woman,” one of them says. “She’s tough, smart and brave. If she’s at the helm with you, then it’ll be like having two leaders in one.”
“Eh, it’s a novel idea,” someone else says, shrugging off the comment. “But when it comes to the fighting, a man needs to be in charge. At least it will be a decent man—that Leonardo Adami is a crazed fanatic.”
It doesn’t even bother me to hear my brother called such things, because he’s earned the reputation for himself. No one caused him to choose this path of lunacy and bitterness but himself. I try to push thoughts of Leo out of my head, keenly aware that he’s still looking for me and Camille, and at some point word will get back to him that we’re here in Hell’s Kitchen with the Grecos. Which is why the wedding ceremony needs to be completed quickly. As soon as we’re married, I’ll be installed as the new Grecocapo, with Camille Greco as my new wife andprincipessa. The ceremony will take place in a dead-end alley behind one of Christian Greco’s old restaurants that was closed down after his death. It’s not exactly the most romantic backdrop, but it’s a small nook inside the city where no one will notice us, since the block is mostly closed down and not many people traverse here. It’s a crevice that will one day be rebuilt into something better, but for now will serve as a hidden wedding location out of plain sight.
But even though the scenery isn’t the most gorgeous, Camille is. She looks absolutely breathtaking when she walks under the flickering streetlight in a short white dress that one of the Greco women managed to source for her at the last minute. There aren’t many people here, only a handful of the Grecos and a skeleton crew of soldiers, but enough to witness the little event. There’s an officiant who also doubles as a bookkeeper, I’m told, and Nick who hands me a ring he lifted from a jewelry store a few blocks over for the occasion.
“I promise I’ll get you a nicer ring when this all dies down,” I whisper to Camille as I stand beside her. “You deserve one that matches your radiant beauty.”
She smiles and her cheeks flush as she presses her hands against my chest. I wrap my arms behind her back and kiss her before the officiant even starts to speak. I mean, hell—this isn’t exactly a traditional ceremony anyways, so why follow the rules? I am absolutely taken with Camille, and nothing else about any of this matters besides holding this beautiful woman in my arms and saying “I do.” I honestly never thought I’d get married, and I certainly never thought it would be under these circumstances.
If I were to even fathom a wedding ceremony for my bride, it would’ve been an over-the-top, extravagant ordeal featuring the best money could buy. Somehow, none of that seems to matter right now, though. My money isn’t going anywhere, and none of it could buy the amount of love I feel in my chest for this woman. The only thing that matters right now is getting married, becoming the Grecocapo, and putting a stop to my brother’s schemes. After things settle down, I’ll give Camille everything she deserves, including countless nights of making love to her until her body shakes with pleasure.
But just as the officiant starts to say the abbreviated script of the ceremony, all hell breaks loose. The little event takes a bloody turn when my brother manages to discover where we are. There are screams and an instantaneous splattering of blood spray as a shot lets loose into the alley and hits one of the Greco women in the chest, dropping her before anyone has a chance to react or do anything to stop it.
“I have to say,” Leo’s voice booms and echoes through the narrow alley, “I’m pretty offended I wasn’t invited.”
The Grecos immediately pull out their weapons alongside the men of the Adamiborgatawho are here in attendance of the ceremony and allegiant to me. Leo’s mismatched gang of strays charges into the alley with guns firing and shivs drawn. There, just barely hidden from the public eye, a street fight breaks out in the alley between the splinteredborgate. It is mass chaos.
“I can’t tell who is who!” Nick shouts as we fight alongside each other. He’s right, it’s impossible to tell who’s on which side when some of our own crew has defected and some of the Grecos are with Leo. It feels like we’re fighting against ourselves. Some of the men are outraged and furious over the betrayal of their brothers, taking no pause when firing off guns or slitting throats, while others are torn and hesitant about killing the men they’re used to fighting alongside and not against.
All of the guns have silencers on them, but most are quickly knocked out of hands as the fight turns to one of fists and knives. I keep a close eye on Camille to make sure I don’t lose her in the confusion again, and instruct my men to circle around her. Not only is she the love of my life but also the key to keeping the Grecoborgatawhole. But Camille doesn’t seem to need my protection, as she’s fully capable of holding her own.
The Grecos that didn’t defect to follow my brother are all fighting beside her, and I can see the glances they give her—they’re impressed. Good. They should be. And now they’re becoming more comfortable with the idea of having her in leadership, especially when they see she can fight and defend not only herself but those she cares about too. Camille fights without fear. She’s fast and agile on her feet, and her aim is impeccable. With nothing more than a shiv in her hand, she’s already slit two throats and hasn’t even slowed to lament it. She’s suddenly gone from having never killed anyone in her life to slashing through men who would seek to harm her. And as twisted as it might sound, it makes her all the sexier, to see how lethal and strong she is.
Still, I don’t let her out of my sight. She’s mine and she was only seconds away from being my wife. I will protect her with my life. When she trips over a dropped body that falls at her feet, I reach out and grab her in a seamless movement that keeps us both squarely in the fight. Our men have the upper hand, and Leo’s disorganized and scattered little posse is falling.
“There he is!” Nick shouts as he points at my brother. “Let’s take him!”
“No, Leo is mine,” I growl as I head toward my brother. “Stay with Camille.”
“So, this is what it’s come down to,” Leo laughs as he holds a pistol in his hand. He’s barely been fighting at all, and still has a firm grip on his gun. He’s been standing back and letting his followers do the grunt work for him, and he doesn’t even have a silencer on his gun which is sure to draw the attention of any nearby patrolling cops if we haven’t already. The cops tend to turn a deaf ear to the sound of street fighting, especially on mafia turf, but the sound of a gunshot will still bring them around. My brother is an idiot. He doesn’t even know how to lead.
“Stand down, Leo!” I shout at him. “I’m going to give you one last chance to back down and see reason. You can’t be acapo; you don’t have it in you, and your men aren’t worth their salt. I give you credit for being able to round up some big numbers, but numbers don’t do you any good when their leadership is ineffective.”
“Ha! Ineffective?” he scoffs, visibly insulted. “I’m standing here with a loaded gun, and you’ve got a knife in your hand. Didn’t our father ever tell you not to bring a knife to a gun fight?”
