LUCIANO
“I can not believe he would do such a thing,” Giorgia muttered glaring down at Luca’s unconscious form on the ground. Her eyes glittered with tears and I watched her blink rapidly.
Tearing my gaze away, I looked down at the jackass. The one I had called brother for as long as I could remember. There was no saving us, was there? He had betrayed the mafia and in turn the mafia would betray him as well. ]
Fuck.
How the hell was I supposed to handle this?> I’d rather he hadn’t put me in that position at all. He should have just stayed put! Whatever.. Hell, whatever he wanted I would have given him a million times more!
I ;turned around, not wanting to see him. I couldn’t waiver on my decision. Luca had to die. Giorgia must have seen the determination on my face because hers whitened in horror and she gulped.
“You can’t be serious,”
“I didn’t say a thing,” I grumbled in my defense and heard her scoff.
“I know you!” She hissed, stepping closer. Itr was then I noticed her get up. She had a black body suit on and a riding gear. l She had prepared for danger.
“Did you suspect Luca, Giorgia?” I asked. Her eyes widened a tiny fraction and she nodded meekly.
“I didn’t at first. Not while we were in New york. When you exiled me though, he followed me to the airport. Said something about making sure my pain would end very soon. And it was only for a little while longer.”
I hummed pondering over what she had just told me while she continued speaking.
“I hadn’t thought about him betraying you even then. I thought he meant he was going to get rid of that bitch…Yes I called her a biotch, quit looking at me like that! I was right about her wasn’t I?”
I chuckled and shook my head, glancing over my shoulder at Luca, “When did you realize he was the mole then?”
“The night you both fought. At the mafia house. I… I thought both of you must have lost y0our marbles. It was so damned annoying. bn But I know you. And I know Luca just as well. I have seen you both fight as kids or argue over the most trivial of things. But I haven’t seen him pick a bone with you like that,” Her voice grew hoarse and her accent thickened. @S9onmethingt was wrong. I knew that. After the fight, I had Luca follow. But I got nothing.“
“He was quite good at covering his tracks. Not even I could sniff him out.”
“Whatever it was that moved him to do this, I know I might as well be asking for the impossible, but-”
“You do not want him to die,” I said, schooling my face into a calm mask.
It made sense that Giorgia wanted Luca alive. We had all grown together as a family after all. I suppose that was the perk of having a family. They pretty much walk all over you just because of the bond you shared.
I had tolerated Luca’s folly over the years, not anymore.
“I want him to live, Giorgia,” I said. “But the famiglia, you know they will never accept it.,”
“They don’t have to know!” She cried, rushing towards me, her eyes staring up at me, looking as vulnerable as they did years ago.
I had sworn to protect them all. Luca, Giorgia, I had sworn that they would never have to suffer. Never have to cry. I reached out to cup her face in my hands, my thumb wiping the lone tear that slid down her cheek.
“They will know, Giorgia,” I told her, keeping a tiny smile in the corner of my lips. “Secrets are meant to be uncovered in the famiglia. Secrets are meant to be unburied. What happens when they find out? Who will take the heat, Giorgia?”
“You. I know, I know. I just…” She trailed off, dropped her head to my chest and cried hard.
Her body wracked with each sob that slipped from her and hesitantly, I patted her back lightly. I had to take action soon. If Luca woke up, he would be harder to subdue.
“We need to tie him up,” I mumbled. “I’ll decide what to do with him later, but we can not let him remain free. He’ll give us both hell,”
Giorgia sniffed and stepped away from me, nodding her head vigorously. We spotted then, searching the area for a sturdy rope that could hold him. My eyes scanned the dead men on the floor. Lives wasted. Blood spilled. All for a cause that was bound to fail right from the start anyways. Castello had deceived Luca, the real enemy was that bastard.
But the mafia would not understand. And Luca certainly wasn’t going to make it easy for them either. I recalled the wild look in his eyes when he almost pressed on that trigger, ready to end it all. He had given up the mafia. He had tossed them aside.
And the mafia certainly wasn’t very forgiving.
Hell, it wasn’t a virtue for them. Nor for me. But I supposed I could make an exception for Luca.
You know you can’t. My mind quipped. Yeah I really couldn’t.
My eyes fell on the FBI agent, Raven’s foster father. Frederick Gonzalez’s eyes were opened, staring right at me as if trying to blame me for it all. I never ask3ed them to investigate me. I never asked them to stick their noses in my business. They, hell, Raven would have been better off not involved with me at all.
“You sent her into this,” I mumbled. “If you hadn’t fed her ridiculous ideas of revenge,. she never would have ended up here. This isn’t my fault. It’s yours.”
Giorgia found some rope. I had no idea where and I couldn’t exactly give a shit. Raven was out there. The sooner I rounded up this mess, the sooner I could go after her. I couldn’t leave her to handle that Castello bastard. Sure the bastard was injured and shit, but he was still a threat to a woman lost in the throes of sadness.
I hauled Luca off the floor and propped him against the wall. Giorgia tied him with the rope she found around his hands and legs. I grabbed his gun, slung it over my uninjured arm.
“Do you have a phone?” I asked, glancing at Giorgia after she was done. She nodded. “Good, call Enzo. Get the boys here. We’ll clean up the any evidence that connects me or Raven to this place.”
“Raven?” Giorgia hissed, eyes flashing in anger. “You’re still worried about that bitch! She’s the one who caused all of this!”
“Justy do what I asked of you, Giorgia-”
“No!” Giorgia snapped, stepping away from me, her eyes flashing venomously. “I don’t fucking understand why! Why are you so damned obsessed with her?! What’s so special about her? You’ve sacrificed so much and it’s all for her!”
“One,” I spat, my eyes narrowed into slits. “Raven didn’t cause this. Luca did. Even if Raven hadn’t worked with them, he would have found a way to do this!”
“Luciano!”
“No! Look around you! See that man over there. That’s her foster father! You think she would have set up all of this just for him to die?!’
“I don’t care! I hate her. I hate that she’s all you think about. I hate that you’re obsessed with her!” She screamed, tears streaming down her face freely.
My lips curled in disgust. “Quit being hysterical!”
“I’m not hysterical, I’m just… fuck why can’t you see?!” She groaned, dragging a hand down her face. “I’ve always loved you-”
A loud bang resounded in the forest, cutting Girogia off and my stomach fucking emptied.
“Raven!”