by Lux Miller
I blink as she throws her head back and laughs. Aleka’s eyes widen to saucers as she grips our grandmother by the arms and says hastily, “Puna, please don’t embarrass yourself in front of our cousins.”
My grandmother blinks and chuckles at Aleka, “The advanced age of a woman is nothing to be embarrassed about, Aleka, and I assure you that any deficits I have are strictly physical. I’m not senile yet. Perhaps our dear Kai-er, Emily… would be interested to know her full birth name?”
I open my mouth to argue, but snap it shut almost instantly. I know that my father swapped my middle and first names to disguise my island heritage and help me blend in once we reached New Orleans, but is it possible he changed my last name too? The viral curiosity that’s clawing at my insides overwhelms me, and I blurt out, “Tell me.”
She grins and nods, then lowers her voice. “I do not wish to draw attention to ourselves. Even here, your father’s name may have repercussions. You see, your father was no ordinary man. He was a good man, with a terrible job. A job he did well and once that garnered him many enemies. He was wise to change your name, but like I said before, our sins have a way of finding us. And your father’s found him. I had long worried that his sins had also found you. When we received word of his death and no mention was made of you, we assumed the worst.”
I’m so nervous to hear what she has to say that I’m practically bouncing on my heels, and I dig my fingernails into Luca’s palm. She exhales slowly and looks dead at Luca as she speaks, “Emily’s father was a Swede. He was quite the charmer. Had a silver-tongue that could have convinced Pele herself to hand over her islands to him. Visited many years ago with a legion of suave criminals who charmed the pants off many of the islanders, my daughter included.”
Luca is fidgeting nervously beside me, and I know that whatever my grandmother says next is going to change things. It’s going to change everything. Part of me dreads the words that’re going to come out of her mouth next, but part of me is hanging on every single one of them.
“My daughter, Leia, she fell hard for this tow-headed, blue-eyed man from the mainland, and he was captivated by her native beauty. They were married less than a year after meeting, and Emily was born six months later. They had many happy years here with our people before Leia got sick. Once her physical body had ceased to breathe, he was on the next flight out of here…”
I nod and murmur, “And straight on the path of a highway to hell. Without her, he was a shadow of a man. He gambled away everything and left us destitute and then… and then the night they came for him…”
I bite down on my bottom lip to hold back the tears, but my grandmother shakes her head. “He wasn’t a gambler, my sweet Kailani. The man never placed a bet in his life. He was certainly a criminal… and a hell of a good one, too... but one doesn’t become as good as he was and not make enemies. No, my sweet… he wasn’t murdered over gambling debts, because he had none. He was murdered out of revenge.”
I gasp, my eyes widening as she looks at Luca. Luca raises one eyebrow, but otherwise remains still as a statue, his gaze boring into my grandmother. He clears his throat and asks, “And his name? What was Emily’s father’s name?”
I shrug my shoulders, giggling nervously like an idiot. “It’s okay, Luca. Maybe it’s best I not know. It doesn’t matter what my name was once. What matters is what my name is now. I am Barresi, with no regrets.”
Luca turns to look at me, and I can see the sadness in his eyes. Part of me fears that he already knows the answer to his own question, but that would mean he knew my father. Or at least that his father knew my father. Is that even possible? Fate would certainly not be cruel enough to have me marry the man responsible for my father’s murder…
“It’s important Emily. You need to know. I need to know.”
My grandmother nods as she rests both hands on her cane, “Gunnar Fredriksson.”
Two little words. Two names that mean nothing to me. But as I look up at Luca, I realize they mean everything to him. The look on his face is one of horrified surprise as he shakes his head quickly. “No…”
My grandmother nods. “I don’t tell stories, boy. Emily’s birth name is Kailani Emily Fredriksson. I have her birth certificate. Her original one. And pictures.”
Luca’s still standing beside me, looking shocked. “It’s impossible. You can’t be Gunnar Fredriksson’s daughter. He didn’t have a family. My father would have told me.”
My grandmother sighs softly and shakes her head sadly. “Your father was a wise man. Brazen, arrogant, and dangerous… but wise. Gunnar was hunted and assassinated.”
Luca slams one hand down on the table, the glass jars rattling and clinking together. “That’s impossible! Gunnar Fredriksson was our assassin!”
I gasp as my hand goes to my mouth, my eyes widening with realization of what I’m hearing. I look at Luca and ask through my hand, “You did know him?!?”
Luca nods. “I was young. Fool-hardy and stupid. I was just a kid, and he was like a God among men. He was my grandfather’s top assassin before he became a deserter, the ultimate dishonor in la famiglia.”
Realization cracks over my head, and I struggle to breathe as I drop to my knees. Luca drops beside me, looking up at my grandmother. “He was a ruthless man.”
My grandmother nods, and her firm but gentle voice responds. “On the surface, yes. But all men have masks they wear and secrets they hide. Gunnar was no exception. Though he was not that way with my Leia, while wearing the mantle of mobster, indeed, I have no doubts he was heartless and cruel. And murdered by a man equally so.”
I gasp, clutching at my chest. “You know who murdered my father?”
My grandmother shakes her head and motions Aleka over to her. She whispers in Aleka’s ear, and my cousin disappears out of sight as I struggle to get in a full breath. Aleka returns and hands a small bamboo box that’s carved with ornate details. My grandmother hands the box to Luca, who opens it without a sound. Her voice is still low as she murmurs, “It meant nothing to us, but it found its way back to us somehow. I suspect your father sent it, or perhaps your grandfather, but it’s meaning is lost to us. Perhaps it will hold meaning for you.”
Luca lifts the lid away and nestled inside the box is a single item that makes my heart lurch into my throat. Luca lifts it out by a corner and looks up at my grandmother. “Why would he send this to you?”
My grandmother shrugs. “Perhaps he did not know that Leia had died, or that his next of kin was still in the Crescent City and under his very nose. Does it mean something to you?”
Luca nods solemnly as he crushes the Ace of Spades card in his fist and stands up. “It means that when I return home, I will not rest until I hold Daniel Parker’s head in my hands as I remove it from his body.”
TWELVE
After picking both me and my jaw up off the ground, Luca immediately tries to change the subject. I don’t know if he’s attempting to spare my feelings, if he’s trying to keep me from causing a scene in the crowded marketplace, or if he’s trying to tamp down his own temper. It’s likely a combination of all three, since I can definitely see the thunderous expression that’s overtaken his face. Until he looks at me. His face softens as our eyes meet, and he squeezes both of my hands gently, then tugs me into his arms, wrapping them tightly around my sides as he cocoons me against his body.
He brings one hand up to my hair and strokes it gently, murmuring, “Daniel Parker has caused my family so much grief, but none more than you, my love. I swear on my life that he’ll pay with his… no matter the cost.”
Luca’s words push me over the edge, and I tense as I feel hot tears pour out of my eyes. All these years I’ve spent hating my father because I thought he valued his gambling over me… all these sleepless nights because I thought he destroyed my life… when in truth, he selflessly saved mine, even when he knew his own was forfeit. The overwhelming guilt crushes me as I stand there in the middle of the market, in a place that should bring me
joy, and weep.
Despite my meltdown under the watchful eye of dozens of people, Luca doesn’t flinch or make any motions to move until I do. I slap the back of my hand across my face to wipe away the tears and look up at him, my cheeks crimson with embarrassment. I try to explain myself as hiccups cause my voice to become staccatoed. “I’m so...sorry...to act...like this…”
Luca shakes his head, sliding his hands onto my cheeks and brushing my hair out of my face. He uses his thumbs to wipe away my tears and shakes his head as he looks down at me. “Emily, don’t ever apologize for being human. It’s one of the qualities I admire most in you and something I strive to achieve daily. Some days I fail miserably, but you’re always gloriously human. And humans have feelings. You just found out a lot of information about a man you’ve hated for half your life, and to also learn that your hate was brewed from misinformation must be heartbreaking.
“Very few men still live who knew your father in his prime, and I suspect that none still live who knew he’d ever returned. But I swear to you, Emily… I will get to the bottom of this. I will find your answers so that you may find your solace. Until then, I need you to understand something. You may not feel like your father deserves your sympathy, but if you can see the good in me, even on my worst days, then I know that someday, you’ll believe that your father was a good man, too.”
I sniffle slightly and look up into the face of the man I love — the man I’ve sworn my life to — and nod slightly. “He was an assassin. His job was to kill people. How do I reconcile the man I knew on Hawai’i with the man who snuck around in the shadows of New Orleans… under orders from your father? From...?”
My eyes widen suddenly, and Luca shakes his head quickly, leaning his face down to mine. “I never had any business dealings with your father. The last time I saw your father was when I was something like five. I remember him coming to the house. I know there was an argument, and I know that my father was fuming for weeks after that confrontation. I admit, when I was young, I briefly wondered if my grandfather had ordered a hit on Gunnar, but…”
“He didn’t.”
Mike’s voice booms around me, and I feel my entire body tense all over again. I peer over Luca’s shoulder, and my guts twists in a putrid soup of conflicted emotions. I steel my voice against my tears and ask as calmly as I can, “How? How do you know that?”
Luca takes a step back from me and turns around, then motions to Mike not to say anything else as he shakes his head and waves his flattened hand back and forth. Mike sighs and responds, “Despite being on vacation, mob business is still a privileged topic.”
I follow Mike’s gaze to my grandmother and realize with sudden worry that what Mike and Luca have to say is not something anyone needs to overhear. They’ve probably already heard too much as it is. Luca clears his throat and replies, “Please excuse us, ma’am, miss. My wife and I need to discuss something confidential. If you knew Gunnar as well as you claim to have known him, surely you understand my request.”
My grandmother nods and silently bows her head, then smacks my slack-jawed cousin, who jumps slightly, then does the same, cutting her eyes at me worriedly. My grandmother says softly, “Come, Aleka. We shall go into the back and start to pack up some jars of my sauces. With the return of our Kailani, erm, Emily… we shall throw an enormous welcome-home party… island style.”
Aleka opens her mouth to say something, but my grandmother whacks her on the butt with her cane. “Now, Aleka…”
Aleka frowns at me slightly, her brow furrowing as she tries to decipher the expression on my face. I don’t even know what kind of look I have. I’m somewhere between extremely curious and distraught with a side of horrified as to how what Luca has to say is going to change everything.
Luca leads me over to a small alcove where the booths are empty, most likely already packed up for the day. Mike joins us shortly, a stern expression on his face. He looks at me first, then at Luca. Finally, he exhales an unsteady breath. “Gunnar Fredriksson was one of Matteo’s most-trusted men. He was faultlessly loyal until a woman tore his loyalty between love and duty. Despite his shortcomings, Matteo appreciated honesty above all else, even above loyalty. I was not there for Gunnar’s resignation, but it was unlike Matteo to call a hit on an associate who had not betrayed him.”
Luca nods in agreement with him as Mike continues. “Enzo was a different breed of gangster. He came to power in the sixties when the mob was under attack, and the Don’s power was absolute. But Matteo was, believe it or not, a bit more lax. Technically, Gunnar had way too much power for a mere associate. He was never inducted into Omerta, because he wasn’t Italian, but he earned his rites through his loyalty to la famiglia. Had Enzo called a hit on any of Matteo’s elite men, deserter or not, Matteo would never have allowed it to follow through.”
Luca clears his throat and replies, “My father would have called the hit himself. Despite my grandfather being the figurehead of the mob, my father had as much power as him, if not more. Hell, my father was never officially the Boss. He died the underboss of the New Orleans mafia, but every man sworn to la famiglia honored him as if his word was the law.”
Mike nods in agreement with Luca. “Which means that, despite Matteo’s death, Luca was underboss and consigliere, but not the ultimate power. He was elevated to Boss upon Enzo’s death. It’s a position of absolute power, and with Luca on this side of the prison system, he’s poised to be one of the most powerful men la famiglia has ever seen. As such, allegiance to la famiglia is a life sentence. And one that’s only commutable by death.”
I gasp and look at Luca. “So, my father would’ve been put to death for his desertion?”
Luca shakes his head. “There are exceptions that can be made to every rule, Emily. Even if they were connected through life, I firmly believe that my father had nothing to do with your father’s death. This…” He holds his hand out to me where the crumpled up Ace of spades lies pitifully. “...my father had no idea of the significance of this card. Even upon his death, he had no idea that our once-powerful enemy had resurfaced.
“He sent this card to your grandmother years ago, because he didn’t understand its significance. He just knew it had some. Emily, I assure you that if my father had ordered a hit on yours, he never would have sent the family evidence that could potentially link him to the murder. Even in his scatterbrained final days, he’d never have been that bold or that stupid. I swear to you, my love, that la famiglia had nothing to do with your father’s death. If it’s found to be otherwise true, then I’ll pay a life for a life.”
I gasp at Luca as he kneels before me in a stance all too familiar from when I saw Dante kneel before him. I shake my head and drop to my knees in front of Luca. “No, Luca. La famiglia has caused enough bloodshed. Whether one of your men pulled the trigger or not, somebody wanted my father dead… and if he hadn’t hidden me away… if they’d found me, they’d have killed me, too. So, my father already paid the price of a life for a life. He forfeited his to protect mine. I have to live with the guilt of my hatred of him for the rest of my life, but I’ve lost enough. If you must pay for his life with a life, then create one.”
Luca coughs as he looks into my face. “What did you say?”
I sigh and blush as I catch Mike’s surprised face behind Luca. “I know you promised someday, so make someday now, Luca. If you really feel like you must make reparations for my father’s life, then create a new one inside of me.”
Luca opens his mouth to say something, but I shake my head and put my hand over his lips, narrowing my eyes at him. “Don’t give me the spiel about demon blood and all that mumbo jumbo of being worried what kind of life a son of yours would have. Because I don’t fucking care if you have demon blood. Our ignorance of my past does not change the fact that I was destined to be a mafia princess no matter what path I chose. So, if you insist that demon blood runs through your veins, then you have to understand that it runs in mine, too. Technicalities be damned, our
destinies were apparently always meant to collide.”
Luca nods and grabs my hands, yanking me forward as he kisses me soundly. He doesn’t bother with gentle motions and light touches. Instead, he pushes his tongue past my lips and claims my mouth with his, the overwhelming energy between us buzzing. My head’s spinning, and I’m sufficiently dizzy when he pulls away with a chuckle. “So, let me get this straight, just to make sure I’m hearing you correctly. You want me to have tons and tons of unprotected sex with you, so that I can fill you with my seed and hopefully put a baby inside you… and you want me to do it now?”
I nod in response as I bite my lower lip. Luca glances up at Mike, then back down at me, a shit-eating grin on his face. “What do you think I’ve been trying to do since we first arrived in Hawai’i?”
THIRTEEN
After several minutes of silence, I hear my grandmother’s voice break through it, “So… party?”
Despite the brevity of the conversation Luca, Mike, and I just shared, I burst out laughing in nervous giggles. I nod fervently and nudge Luca, who looks surprised. “A party?”