Bellissimo Fortuna
(Beautiful Fortune)
Leigh Ann Lunsford
Copyright © 2015 by Leigh Ann Lunsford
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the author, addressed “Attention: Permissions Coordinator,” at the email address below.
[email protected]
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Edited by Chelsea Kuhel (www.madisonseidler.com)
Cover design by Kristen Karwan (Kristen Karwan Graphics)
Image: Stock photos (Shutterstock)
ISBN 10: 1514302764
ISBN 13: 978-1514302767
Dedication
John and Evan . . . as always without your support my words would never be written and the stories in my head would still be a mystery.
Readers—THANK YOU for your support.
Hierarchy of the Mafia
Boss
Underboss
Consigliere
Capo (Captain)
Soldiers (typically “made” men)
Associates (non-“made” men)
Table of Contents
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Epilogue
Phrases Used In Book Translation
Playlist
Acknowledgements
Other works by Author
Author Bio
Prologue
The Beginning that Became the Ending
Bronson
Oftentimes when you lose someone close to you, the experience can be transformative. In grief, we find a side of ourselves that we didn’t know existed, a compassionate side, an empathetic side. Some people, however, are able to present a meticulously planned facade. Their grief isn’t real. Behind the mask, and the tears, and the sadness is a gluttonous, greedy, cold heart. These people are entitled, elitist, and you should be wary of them at all times.
Their intentions are malicious, calculated, and dangerous.
In the world I grew up in, people wore masks, but the truth was always wading beneath the surface. At their very core, they were always the same person, virtuous or vile, moral or malevolent, never a mix of both. Noble people can be dishonest, but corrupt people are only ever honest when it is for their own benefit. And that is the hardest lesson I have had to learn.
Mob, Mafia, Organized Crime, The Black Hand, or my favorite . . . The Syndicate. It’s said these racketeering groups have come a long way since the Prohibition Era, and I would agree. They are more cutthroat, devious, and treacherous with the end game. More control is acquired, more lives are ruined, and once your bridge with them is burned, it can never be rebuilt.
Sometimes they right a wrong with their own form of justice, and their way of payback prevails. But, sometimes greed and vengeance cloud their vision, and they are so off the mark, it’s just evil.
That is the case today. I sit in the front pew holding hands with the two people I love more than anything in this world. I watch as my father is eulogized, mourned, on display for the entire church to gawk at. The echoes of sobs vibrate through my body, making me steel my knees so I don’t crumble under the weight. I wish at this time I had an extra arm to hold my mom, but she is resilient. She knew what she was signing on for when she married into the Mob. It will be harsh, and she will never recover, but the two I’m most worried about are the ones within my grasp at this moment. I won’t let this taint them any more than it already has. One is my blood, but the other is just as important, and her life is part of this tangled mess, as well.
Despair and indecision linger around us, filling up the church. They weave through each and every one of us. My family’s loyalty will now be called into question. No one is sure what will happen to the former soldiers and associates that worked for my father. Decisions will have to be made. The man responsible was never relieved of his duties as second in command, and these men mourning my father aren’t in a position to question whatever orders they are given, not unless they want to meet the same demise my father did. Frank Locati will seek to destroy everything my father assembled. He will challenge these men’s loyalties and harm the ones he doesn’t deem worthy.
As I watch the casket being lowered into the ground, surrounded by loved ones, enemies, and friends, a decision is made. Today, I decide, retribution will be mine. The difference between my reckoning and theirs is that the justice system will take care of mine. It may not come swiftly, or as brutally as messy as they deliver, but it will come.
Chapter 1
Callie
Hiding in plain sight has become one of my most trusted attributes to date. I was born an only child, and to the dissatisfaction of my father, a girl. Frank Locati doesn’t take disappointment well, he looks at it as a failure, one to never be redeemed in his eyes. In turn, he makes those who fail him pay . . . and continue compensating him if he allows them to live. It can be in blood, life, or money, but he collects it. For me, it’s been my childhood, my self-esteem, and my spirit. He has tried to take my soul . . . and almost succeeded.
As the underboss of the Agosto crime family, he has power, wealth, and strength. He lives to lord that over your head, along with his brutal fists and slicing words. Plainly, he is not one to be crossed. Blaming my mother, Carla, for her failure at delivering a true heir, his constant abuse has left her a shell of a woman, one who doesn’t talk back, challenge him, or have her own opinion. My version of a “yes” woman. I loathe that in her, and I will never become her. As he berates me and dictates my choices, she sits back and allows it. I’m not even sure if she knows what happens around her anymore with the pills she takes by the handful. Another advantage to controlling people, my father can have my mother in a comatose state and all legally done under doctor’s orders . . . a doctor paid with dirty money.
I’ve learned to hate this life, no matter the perks or the status that come with it; it’s not worth it. My only saving grace is my best friend Bianca Agosto and her older brother, Bronson. We’ve grown up together, their dad, the Boss, and my dad’s boss. My father doesn’t like answering to anyone other than his conscience; he feels it’s beneath him. Yet, he chose this life, chose to join into the most prominent crime family in all of Florida, and he was thrilled for years. What changed? I don’t know that we will ever know. Was it a switch flipped in his brain? Was it wanting the utmost control?
All I know is that when he started going rogue, resenting not being ‘in charge,’ not being the end all be all, things got much worse for me and everyone underneath him. He was smart about it . . . only letting his true colors shine behind closed doors, and those he tormented would never speak out against him. Fear. It was a debilitating emotion, stifling the common sense right out of you.
Joseph and Gianna Agosto are far different from my parents. The family dynamics are opposite of mine, and I yearn for what they epitomize. Yes, they’re family is still a family laden with crime, but they are compassionate and honest. A contradiction in and of itself. They love their children, push them to be themselves, and not follow a pre-determined path. My future has been mapped out for me, set in stone. At least in my father’s eyes. Veering from it will come at a price. I will be shunned, my life only saved because I am a girl, and his daughter. The latter doesn’t matter to him, but there are rules that even the dishonest have to follow.
As I run up the lawn of the Agostos’ my breathing begins to regulate, and I don’t hear the blood pounding in my ears as my heart rate slows. I’m a disheveled mess, fleeing from my back door and running towards safety is all I thought about. Even a few blocks in the Florida sun was stifling, so I take a moment to collect my thoughts and pray divulging what I overheard doesn’t set us all on a path to careening off a cliff with no safety net. I can’t keep this from Bianca, try as I might she can always see through me. My father’s plan makes me feel foul, and I’m terrified of the future he has planned. I clutch my stomach as it rolls and revolts with those thoughts and push open the door into the cool foyer.
I inhale the scent I’ve come to associate with home. Fresh baked food, clean air, tinged slightly with the citrus scent of Mrs. Agosto’s air freshener to disguise the smell of the cigars Mr. Agosto thinks he sneaks past her. I’ve always felt safer here; Bianca and Bronson have always welcomed me. Even when the divide started happening with our fathers, I was always made to feel like part of the family. Never a burden like at home. That is why I have spent most of my sixteen years at the Agosto house. It’s my safe haven, my light in the storm, and two of the occupants hold my heart, each in their own unique way.
Bianca and I share everything, even when she has to keep the secrets from her father. After witnessing the conversation earlier today between my father and one of his underlings, I fled. I needed the solace of my best friend, the comfort I can only find here, in the home that’s not mine. Disgusted, scared, and questioning how I would find my way out of his latest scheme, I find myself on her bed, desperate, and pleading with her to help me.
“Callie, let me tell my father. It will all be taken care of.” She doesn’t know what she is asking. What she is suggesting will cause a war, nobody will come out unscathed, and she knows this, yet will risk it for me.
Shaking my head, I beg her to see reason. “You know that isn’t an option. Please, Bianca, don’t.” I see the frustration flash across her face, and once again, I have made her feel as helpless as I am. It was selfish of me to bring her into this . . . knowing how she would react. Her first instinct would be to protect me, at all costs. I need to leave, quit dragging her into this mess, and keep her protected.
She grabs my arm as I stand to go home. “Calm down. I won’t tell my dad. Let me get Bronson, he’ll know what to do.” She’s right, but I don’t want Bronson to know what my father has calculated. I don’t want him to think I’m dirty, not worthy of the way he has been looking at me lately. Bianca knows I have a crush on her brother; she encourages it. My dream has become hers, having Bronson and I together. He is only two years older than us, but thinks he is our bodyguard, a role he takes very seriously, and has since we were six and he was eight. With all the years that have passed his protective streak has remained unwavering. Boys, or men rather, in the Italian-American family tend to mature quickly, in this business there is no time for philandering. It is an unspoken expectation, one that shows respect to elders. No time to be the boy playing with figurines or joining organized sports. They are figureheads, problem solvers, and the first line of defense. It is ingrained in them from the early stages of life.
“Bianca, we can’t tell him. He will have to let my father do what he wants. You know the rules.” Bronson may not like this life, but he respects his father enough to obey the unwritten code. Once a girl is spoken for, or promised to another, it is cemented in stone, and only the Boss can intervene; much like an arranged marriage. I’m only sixteen, and the man my father has promised me to is twenty-three, and only an associate for now. Marco is around a lot more than other associates, so any day now I expect him to become a soldier, and then my father will make sure he is a captain. I can see Marco’s gain . . . being tied to the underboss is a privilege and any man wanting to be in this business will jump on this opportunity. I just haven’t found out my father’s side of this. I know there is something to gain for my father; he doesn’t do anything without an ulterior motive. Usually I can figure out his motivation, but this one is still lost on me, which is scarier than most of his plans. The unknown with Frank Locati is the worst . . . his surprises are never filled with cake and balloons, but rather blood, pain, control . . . served with a side of superiority.
“I know the rules, and there are ways around them. If we tell Bronson, he will decide he really wants you. He can tell my father, and it will be handled. It hasn’t been brought up yet, formally, so if my father speaks now, it’s the end of it.” Allowing sixteen-year old kids to deal with lifelong decisions isn’t the smartest thing. I silently give her my nod of approval, and my stomach churns. Bronson is in another league. Beautiful is the best way I can describe him. Protective, sincere, and just flawless in my eyes. Perfection. He’s never made Bianca and I feel like pesky little girls, and he sure doesn’t treat me like a little sister. I’ve always wanted us to end up together, and I guess I will have my answer today. “BRONSON!” I have never understood why she doesn’t use the intercom on the wall like a normal person. She prefers summoning people by shouting through the house. I roll my eyes at her, and she just giggles and shrugs her shoulders.
I watch her door, having memorized this routine. We call, and he comes running like one of us is in peril. It never changes, and I start counting down the seconds in my head . . . five, four, three, two, and, “What’s wrong? Who’s hurt?” comes flying out of his mouth, as the door swings open. I can’t help it; I smile like a loon, and watch my best friend collapse on her bed in hysterics. Bronson looks over at her and then back at me with his grey eyes boring into mine, all while I still stand there taking in all that is Bronson Agosto. He’s always been built, but at eighteen, he is pretty solid, spending lots of time in the gym either sparring or lifting weights. His olive complexion is the perfect backdrop for his sandy brown hair, strong profile, and sturdy jaw, which right now has a twitch in it because he is realizing that once again, his sister just wanted to talk to him and scared him to death. “Bianca, one day I’m not going to come running, and you’ll be sorry.” We both know that is an empty threat . . . he may be exasperated with us now, but he would never risk us really needing him.
“Chill, Bro. We actually do have an emergency this time.” I inhale a deep breath, needing more than oxygen to get me through her spilling the truth. He watches his sister’s face, trying to gauge the intensity of what he will be facing, when her eyes slide over to me he whips his head, staring at my face, and I try not to let my apprehension show. I know he has memorized all my ticks, telltale signs of distress, and when I’m hiding something. Obviously he knows this is going to be monumental because he walks towards me, and shrouding me with his arm, draws me towards him and places a kiss on the side of my head, his classic comfort stance with me. He knows I don’t get much of it at home, so he gives it to me freely. “Come on, Callie, tell him,” Bianca encourages me.
I’m speechless. I thought she was going to tell him. Knowing this is my fate becomes too much for me to articulate. Bronson has always
held my heart, but in this moment, he holds my future. He murmurs in my ear, “It’s okay. Tell me, so I can fix it.” His voice seems to wrap around me, enveloping me in safety, security only he can offer me, the shelter he gives me so willingly and without question each time I need him. He still has his arm around me and tucks me closer to him, giving me everything I need without me ever vocalizing it. I look to Bianca, begging her wordlessly to tell him. I can’t get the words out of my mouth. Telling Bianca was difficult, but repeating them to Bronson isn’t an option. He knows vaguely what goes on in my home, but only Bianca knows everything. I couldn’t begin to tell him everything. I don’t know what he would do, but he is very predictable, so I am sure it would involve taking care of me. He would surely involve his dad, in turn that would anger my father, and it would be worse for me. My father hasn’t crossed any invisible lines, he is just nasty, hurtful, and very erratic. So in turn, all their dad can do is issue a “friendly word of advice,” and in turn, my penance will be swift and excruciating. My biggest fear is being shipped off and separated from Bianca . . . and Bronson. It wouldn’t be in his best interest because I am of value to him in negotiations and with the Agosto family, but he would do it if left no choice.
“Let her sit down then I’ll tell you, Bronson.” Bianca, forever my friend, saves me yet again. I give her a weak smile, trying to convey my thanks. Once he has me settled next to him on her loveseat, Bianca sits across from him and lets him have it. “Mr. Locati promised Callie to Marco today.” No preamble, no warning, she just delivered the blow. A monumental turning point in my life was just handed to Bronson, and he wastes no time becoming enraged.
“He what?” Bronson is seething mad. His voice may be level and low, but his body is rigid, and anger is radiating from him. He is a hothead, and as I watch his fists clench and unclench I pray he keeps his temper in check. It won’t benefit anyone if he loses control. I reach out and cover one fist with my hand. He immediately turns his hand over and laces our fingers together. He seems to gain some control, and I watch his chest rise and fall as he breathes deeply to get his bearings. Turning to look at me, he says, “Tell me, Callie. Everything.” His tone leaves little room for argument, and I know it won’t get me anywhere.
Bellissimo Fortuna (Beautiful Fortune) Page 1