Alessio and Christian had reached a tentative understanding over the years. They were not yet friends, but they respected each other. Christian would never spread the news, even though it could have potentially improved his position. “Don’t waste your time,” I said before closing the door. There was only one person who could guarantee my parents’ silence at this point. The man my father feared like the devil, and not just because he was his boss.
“Is Luca still in Philadelphia?” Elijah frowned. “I think so. The meeting should be late. He won’t be back in New York until tomorrow morning.”
“Find out where he is and take me to him.”
Elijah shifted his gaze to me. “You can’t go to the Chief.”
“Said Capo is also my cousin. He can make time for family, right?”
“What’s going on, Gianna? You can trust me, otherwise Alessio wouldn’t have chosen me as your bodyguard.”
“I trust you.” I looked out the window. Elia was a good man, and an even better soldier and bodyguard. “But won’t you tell me what this is all about?” I leaned my forehead against the glass.
“I can’t.” Elia was Alessio’s soldier first. He was loyal to him. He would tell Alessio the truth the moment he found out.
“Why shouldn’t Alessio know.” A hint of suspicion resonated in his voice.
“Take me to Luca, Elia. That’s all there is to know.” Elijah’s mouth tightened, but he picked up the phone and called someone to ask where the Chief was. As it turned out, Luca was back in his hotel when we finally got back to Philadelphia. “Do you have Luca’s number?” I asked as we entered the luxurious lobby of the Ritz Carlton.
“No. Not every soldier has the Chief’s number, Gianna. He rules over thousands of men. So far I haven’t even talked to him.” I walked up to the front desk and smiled at the receptionist. Finding out Luca’s room number was difficult. The receptionist refused to give it to me.
“Then call his room and tell him that his cousin Gianna wants to talk to him.” The woman did just that, nodding as she spoke into the phone.
“All right, Mr. Vitiello.” She hung up and smiled politely at me.
“The presidential suite on the 30th floor.”
I headed toward the elevators. Elia shook his head as he followed me.
“He probably thinks it’s a trap and is waiting for him with guns drawn. Luca is the most wary man I know, and for good reason.”
“Well, he’s not going to shoot a pregnant woman. And he knows me, so calm down.” Elijah’s tension aroused my anxiety. The moment we reached the 30th floor, I touched Elijah’s chest.
“You stay here. I need to talk to Luke alone.”
Elijah’s expression stiffened.
“I can’t let you out of my sight.”
“Are you going to tell Luca that you don’t trust him with me? I’d like to see him.” Elijah swallowed.
“I’m standing right outside the door.” I rolled my eyes.
“So you can react if you hear me scream? Are you going to kill your Chief to defend me? Don’t be ridiculous. He would kill you before you could blink.” Elijah did not contradict me. I knocked on the door. Nothing happened for a while, then finally the door opened and Luke stood on the crack. He held a gun in his right hand, and his expression was the usual hard mask. I smiled, trying to mask my nerves.
“Good evening, Luca. I’m sorry to disturb you. May I have a word with you?”
Luca looked at Elijah behind me, and his gaze sent a chill down my spine.
“I didn’t expect that, Gianna.” His wary gaze settled on me. We were cousins, but that didn’t mean we were close or that Luca trusted me at all. He trusted no one. After a moment, he nodded and opened the door for me.
“Come in.” I walked past him.
“Elia will wait outside. What we need to discuss is private.” Luke raised an eyebrow but did not comment as he closed the door. According to the rules of our world, this was inappropriate. A married woman was not supposed to be alone with another man, but I had never bothered with such rules and was not about to start now. Luca motioned me to head for the lounge area of his suite. I sank down on the white sofa. Luca sat in an armchair across from me. He put the gun back in the holster he wore on his chest, but suspicion remained on his face.
“Does Alessio know you’re here?”
I tightened my lips.
“No, and I would appreciate it if he stayed that way.” Luca squinted his eyes. Like my husband, Alessio had a right to know if I was meeting someone, especially a man, especially the Chief.
“What do you need to discuss with me that you don’t want your husband to find out?” He looked at my belly and my eyes widened.
“It’s not about this baby,” I said quickly.
“It’s about Daniel and Simona.”
I hesitated. Alessio respected Luca. He called him the best Boss the Family had ever had, but trust each other? No. Men like them could not afford to trust many. But Luca was the only one who could silence my parents. I had to risk telling them because otherwise the truth would come out without question.
“What about them?”
“They are not Alessio’s.” Surprise crossed Luca’s face. Then his expression became even harsher.
“How do you know that?”
“Because Mansueto told me. He did a paternal test after the thing with Andrea and Gaia.”
The moment the words came out of my mouth, I realized my mistake. Luca did not know it. Every muscle in his body was being instructed as he bent forward.
“The thing with Gaia and Andrea?” I blinked. Had Alessio never told Luca what had happened? I thought Luca knew about Gaia’s death and why she had killed herself.
“Gianna.” The word pierced me like a blade. I looked away. It was too late to lie. But what would the truth mean to Alessio? I swallowed.
“Gaia was having an affair with her half-brother, and Alessio found out. Mansueto suspected Andrea was the father, and the test confirmed his suspicions.”
“And now you are here because you want your son to become Alessio’s rightful heir instead of Daniel.”
“No,” I whispered, horrified.
“I don’t want Alessio to find out. I don’t want anyone to find out, and that’s why I’m here. I ask you to force my parents into silence. They know and are anxious to spread the news.” Luca looked at me, and some of that brutality slipped away.
“You don’t want your son to become Underboss.”
“Daniel is my son, too.” Luca stared sideways for a couple of heartbeats.
“Keeping this kind of news a secret is difficult.”
“No one knows except my parents, my brother, and Mansueto. Mansueto won’t tell anyone because he fears Alessio’s reaction, but my parents will. My father is terrified of you. If you talk to him, he will keep silent.” A grim smile curled his lips.
“Do you want me to threaten your parents?”
“Just threaten my father. My mother will do as he says. She is obedient.”
“A trait you didn’t inherit, of course.”
He blushed, uncertain whether it was praise or not.
“I do what I think is right.” Luca stood, towering over me.
“Your husband told me he killed Andrea because he was a rat. Now I find out that he killed the man who fucked his wife. Alessio lied to me about one of my soldiers. I need to talk to him.” The ground opened up beneath me as I realized what this meant. Alessio had lied to his boss. This could be interpreted as betrayal.
I staggered to my feet and staggered toward Luca, grabbing him by the arm. I didn’t care if his expression brought grown men to their knees, if he was one of the most feared men in the United States, rivaled in his cruelty only by the monsters of Las Vegas. Luca would not kill his pregnant cousin, but he could kill the father of an unborn child.
“He was devastated by Gaia, out of his mind with grief and anger. He didn’t know what he was doing.”
Luca’s expression did not change. Maybe my words only made things worse? If Luca thought Alessio was acting on impulse, spurred on by his emotions, he could remove him even faster. Bile rose in my throat. “Andrea could have been a rat anyway. I don’t know.” Luca released my arm from his grip.
“I’ll talk to Alessio and he’ll explain everything.” I stared at him.
“You’re not going to kill the father of my unborn child.” It was meant to be a question, but somehow it came out as a threat, and for a moment I wanted to laugh at the insanity of the situation.
“A man would die for threatening me.” “I’m not a man.” Luca pulled out his phone.
“I’m calling Alessio now, and you’re going home with your bodyguard.” He pulled the phone closer to his ear.
“Hello, Alessio, I need you to come and see me.” Alessio said something on the other end, and Luca’s answering smile made my blood run cold. He put the phone back in his pocket.
“Your husband is already here. Your bodyguard called him the moment you entered this suite.”