“I have a white dress, but it’s shor—”
“Absolutely not,” Maria scoffed. “I am taking you shopping right now.”
“O-Okay,” Katarina warily agreed, clearly partly out of fear.
Before Dominic knew it, the words slipped right out of his mouth, “I’m going with you.” Grabbing his coat, he had to let Matthias down. “Matthias, you stay here with Cassius.”
Frankly, Dominic didn’t trust Maria not to kill him. She could see right through his playboy façade.
Maria tried to be polite. “That won’t be necces—”
But Dom had stopped her. “I’m not having Lucca find out I let you two go alone with this fucking idiot.” He didn’t fucking trust him to water a plant, much less watch his sister and the Caruso boss’s daughter.
“Excuse m—”
“Fine,” Maria quickly cut off her wannabe boyfriend.
With all of them going out the door, he saw the brand new Cadillac that he wouldn’t be caught dead in, next to his black Mustang, and he had to decide just how far he wanted to go …
“You know what, Ted …” He tried to remember the name he’d heard on the other side of the door before they had knocked.
Maria told him he was a letter off. “Todd.”
“Todd,” he corrected, trying to pretend he gave an actual fuck what his name was. “How about you go home, and we can all just pretend Maria snuck out by herself. I think we both know I won’t touch a pretty blonde hair on her head because of what Lucca would do to me if he found out. I’m sure it’s going to be similar to what he’s going to fucking do to you if you don’t leave.”
“Bye, Todd.” Maria gave him a sweet wave, clearly wanting the same thing as Dominic.
That was all that was needed for Maria’s puppy dog to leave with his tail tucked between his legs.
“Aren’t you cold?” a fully clothed Kat asked Maria, while closing her jacket.
Dominic tried his best not to burst out in laughter. The last ten minutes with her proved the theory he had of her when she was only fourteen. He decided to keep his laughter inside, but he was going to let Maria know he knew exactly what she was if they were about to do this so-called dance.
“You can’t feel cold if your heart is dead.” Dominic gave her a knowing smile before opening the passenger side door for her. “Isn’t that right, princess?”
The look Maria gave him as she chose not to answer his comment let Dom know he had her wondering how he had found out her little secret so fast, but he wasn’t going to tell her that just yet.
Watching Maria slide into his black leather seat was a dream he never knew he needed to come true until he saw his Mustang parked beside her Cadillac. That was another reason he had wanted Teddy to scram.
Fuck. If he was going to die by the hands of the Carusos for this, then his trip to hell was going to be worth it.
Eighteen
You Never Strike A Deal Until You’ve Won
Dominic pulled his black Mustang into the expensive drive. It looked like a goddamn mansion compared to his house, and it honestly could’ve been by the looks of it out here. The perfect white house was fit for a king, as it was spotlighted to light up how perfect the façade actually was. It was the first time he entered the Caruso family home, and coming from his side of town to this side made Dominic swear middle-class didn’t even exist.
Throwing the car in Park, he supposed he should feel scared or, in the very least, nervous to walk into the enemy’s den, but he wasn’t. The fury he felt boiling in his veins outweighed his possible stupidity.
Katarina was set to be married one month from when she’d been chosen, and now that the day was almost here, regret and rage overcame him. Determined to save his sister from her fate of becoming a Caruso, he had called Lucca, asking for a private meeting.
He would have asked to be in Dante’s presence, but Dom had a feeling it was Lucca pulling all the strings, and desperate times called for desperate measures. Getting out of the car and slamming the door shut, this was that time—he was fucking desperate.
Dominic walked straight up to the Caruso family home like he was on a mission, letting his determination flow through him. Heavily knocking on the door, there was no fucking way he was leaving this home without his sister’s wedding called off.
They’ll be taking me out in a body bag if they want me to lea—
The door opening had him unable to complete his vow, as his heart thudded at the image on the other side of the door.
“Hello, princess.” Dominic wasn’t afraid to let his eyes wander at the much different ensemble than when she’d unexpectedly arrived at his home. “I thought, even at home, you might wear heels and fur. Guess not.”
Dear God, he liked what she had worn last time, but this was something else altogether. The matching pink velvet set consisted of a little tank top that displayed her midriff and tight shorts that were the size of some women’s underwear. It had him almost willing to risk it all right here.
He was unashamed of his hazel eyes taking in her body, though it was a dangerous game to stare at the Caruso boss’s daughter like that, much less in his home. Nevertheless, the family had taken almost everything away from him, and there wasn’t much to lose, so the thoughts he had of Maria since seeing her just yesterday, and the many thoughts he planned to have of her tonight, gave him the little bit of respect he needed back.
“I don’t like to be called that, Dominic,” Maria told him harshly.
The way she responded definitely came as a shock to him—her green eyes lit up every time.
Maria might not liked to be called princess by other people, but from her pretty little face, she secretly liked it when he did.
“Well, that’s too bad,” he told her with a sly smile.
“May I help you?” Crossing her arms had her perky breasts raise higher. The motion had him about to ask her to show him the way to her bedroom.
Stepping into the doorway, he put his body an inch from hers, paying her right back for coming into his home uninvited. He couldn’t help but notice she wasn’t as tall as she was the last time, since she was barefoot and not in her stilettos. He had more of a height advantage, and he fucking liked it.
“Sure.”
He rudely pushed past her, getting to the real and only important reason he came here—his sister. “You can take me to Lucca.” His tone was serious now, his mind back on track.
Maria studied his changed demeanor before finally asking, “Is Lucca expecting y—”
“Take me to him.” He was slightly rude when he said it, but he couldn’t waste any more time talking to Maria. The power she held over him could have him forgetting everything.
Thankful that she seemed to silently understand his urgency, Maria show him the way.
The huge, wrought iron staircase in their foyer was only the beginning of the family’s wealth. Going down a hall that led to a door, he could smell the hint of smoke, knowing the one he wanted was on the other side before she even opened the door for him.
The moment he saw the Caruso underboss patiently waiting behind his desk staring at the burning flame of his lighter, Dom didn’t even notice Maria leaving, closing the door on her way out.
Not waiting to be asked to sit down, he took a seat in the chair on the other side of his desk.
“How did you know?” he asked, trying to keep his rage in check.
“Know what?” Lucca asked coldly, flipping shut his Zippo lighter.
This time, he failed when his voice came out guttural. “About Katarina.”
“I have my ways—”
“No.” He stopped his bullshit answer, getting frustrated that he was more interested in opening and closing the Zippo than their meeting. He hoped this would get his fucking attention. “I want the fucking truth.”
Lucca flipped his lighter closed again, letting it hit the desk, then finally look at him. “You sure about that?”
“Yes ….” He now feared the answe
r.
Smiling, it appeared Lucca didn’t feel an ounce of remorse. “Cassius.”
Dom’s brows furrowed in confusion … until it hit him. “Luke …,” he whispered the name of Cassius’s friend. He’d been talking about a Luke since before Dom had run into Lucca at the gas station on his side of town. That was why Lucca had been there. “All these years?”
Lucca slowly nodded.
Dom had thought Cassius’s friend was a fucking imaginary one at first, but then he figured it was just a kid from school … Not fucking Lucca Caruso.
“You … You …” Dominic’s confusion quickly turned back into fury. “You know fucking everything about us, don’t you?”
His blue-green eyes confirmed Dom’s fears.
Dominic ran his hand roughly through his hair. “He told you everything, and there isn’t a goddamn thing you don’t know about us.”
“He didn’t know it was me,” Lucca tried to excuse Cassius. “Not until I walked through the door the day Katarina was chosen.”
Dom wanted to fucking kill him, suck the life out of him with his bare hands, like he had wanted to do to his father. Every time he thought it couldn’t get worse, it did. He had officially reached his boiling point, as Lucca had managed to ruin every one of his brothers’ lives. Angel had been taken, Matthias was slowly withering away every day without him, and all the work he did to keep Cassius away from his father was for nothing, considering he’d been hanging around someone just as fucked up. All he had untouched by the boogieman was his Kat, and now he definitely wasn’t going to give her up.
“I’m not forcing my sister to marry.” Pausing, he made it clearer to the underboss. “I cannot do it.”
“Force is such a strong word,” Lucca told him, pulling out a cigarette from his pack that sat on his desk. “We like to use the word arranged.”
“Call it whatever the fuck you want, Lucca, but Kat’s no longer doing it, so Drago will have to pick someone else.”
“Pity.” Lucca flipped his lighter open to light the end of the stick he held in his mouth. He took a few quick puffs, letting smoke blow through his mouth before he continued, “I was just starting to like Angel working for me.”
Dominic had to flex his jaw to keep cool.
“He’s a better soldier than half my men combined, you know. Who do I have to thank for that?” Lucca paused. “Your father … or you?”
“I don’t know. You tell me?” he asked through gritted teeth, since Lucca knew so much that went on in the Luciano house.
“Doesn’t matter much now.” Lucca shrugged as he sat back and got comfortable in his leather chair.
The heat that came from Dominic was almost as hot as the tip of Lucca’s burning cigarette. Being forced to choose between letting him kill Angel or end Katarina’s future didn’t feel like much of a choice.
Dominic gave him a chilling look, his voice as deadly as his stare. “Lucca, you have taken everything from me. You’ve taken fifty percent of our profits, my brother, and now you’re taking my sister.” Pausing, he decided to give the underboss a warning and remind him that he might be a Luciano, but he still held power. “There’s not much else to lose.”
“Trust me, Dominic”—Lucca took a hard hit off his cigarette—“there is always more to lose.”
You would know. Dom desperately wanted to say what he whispered in his head, but he had to keep that card in his pocket. So, he just tried to get him to see reason. “Please, Lucca, Kat is innocent in all of this. If you talked to Cassius, then you know what it was like for her growing up. She deserves to finally be free, and she most of all deserves a future.”
“What about marrying Drago would mean she wouldn’t be free or have a future?” Lucca leaned forward in his chair, clearly taking offense.
Dominic’s brows drew together, wondering why the fuck he needed to spell it out for him. “Because she’s being forced to marry a man she doesn’t wan—”
“Did Katarina tell you she didn’t want to marry him?” he asked simply.
Thinking a moment, he realized she had never said a word. “No, but she wouldn’t do—”
“Of course she wouldn’t,” Lucca stopped him. “There are many things we have to do in our lives that we don’t want to, Dominic, but we do them for family.” Taking another hit of his cigarette, he hit Dom with the cold, hard truth. “She is doing the same thing Angel is doing by being here with the Carusos, and the same thing you had to do when you agreed to the terms.”
“No.” Dom shook his head. “Kat didn’t choose this life.”
“And you did?” Lucca asked, raising a brow.
“I said the Omertà.”
“You might’ve made the oath, but what choice were you given?” The underboss tapped his ashes into the crystal ashtray. “Do you honestly think you would have walked the same path if Lucifer wasn’t your father?”
Not only did Dominic know the answer, but Lucca did too. Still, he continued to fight for his sister.
“Katarina is better than us, than what we are. She deserves a happy life with a great husband who will show her how special she is, not Drago.”
Lucca’s strange colored eyes flashed at him. “Do you know why I picked Drago, Dominic?”
“I don’t know …,” Dom told him, exasperated, feeling like he had reached the end of his rope to save his sister. “Because it suits one of your sick agendas? Lucifer almost killed him, so you chose him, knowing he’d pick Katarina the second he knew she was his daughter.”
“No,” the underboss told him wholeheartedly.
Yeah right. As far as he was concerned, he had hit the fucking nail on the head.
Dominic sat back, waiting to hear how Lucca was going to spin this shit. “Well, you tell me then, Lucca.”
“Did I know Drago would pick her? Yes,” Lucca told him without a hint of remorse. Crushing the butt of his cigarette into the ashtray, he looked Dominic in the eyes. “But I picked Drago because, not only is he loyal, strong, and determined, but he’s the best goddamn man I have. Do you know why Lucifer was almost successful in killing him? Because he’s the only man I trusted to leave Chloe in his care, and he took five bullets to the chest to try to save her.”
During his speech, Dominic’s rage had slightly softened at hearing Lucca talk about his man in that way, knowing each word he said about Drago was true.
Lucca continued, “I don’t know a better man than Drago, inside and outside of Kansas City … except for one.”
Dominic’s brows furrowed at his last line, but before he could ask who, Lucca answered.
“You.”
“Oh, come on, Lucca.” Dominic got up from his seat in frustration, unable to stay in the chair any longer, afraid he would jump across the desk and strangle him if he didn’t put distance between them. “What are you doing? Trying to butter me the fuck up? Do me a favor, since you know every damn thing about me, let’s cut the bullshit and stop the pretending between us. ’Cause, if you’re going to continue to fuck me in the ass, I’d like to at least keep my dignity.”
“I don’t pretend, Dominic,” Lucca told him, deadly serious. “I meant what I said.”
“What is your game here, Lucca?” Giving him a stern look, his hazel depths searched the blue-green ones for answers to make sense of this. There was a reason why he was putting all this into motion when the underboss already had everything he could ever want—the city, the money, the throne, and Dominic on his knees, trying to save his family, thanks to his father, so … “What is it you want?”
“You’re right. I do know everything about you, Dominic … I know the things you went through in that house, how you were raised, and what you’re capable of.” Lucca stood, walking slowly around the desk. He stepped right in front of Dominic. “You and me will burn this fucking city to the ground if we don’t see eye to eye.”
“So”—Dominic gave him a strange look, his heart accelerating—“what are you saying?”
“We work together,” Lucca said
simply, “and when I get my father to step down, we run this city together … fifty-fifty.”
Dom laughed then suddenly stopped. “You’re fucking serious, aren’t you?” When the underboss nodded, he asked, “Why?”
“I have my reasons. Now”— was all he would give him before Lucca held out a hand—“do we have a deal … or not?”
Staring at the boogieman’s outstretched hand, it were as if all the air had been sucked out of the room. Everything felt ominous as the crystal ball he had always seen his future in violently shook. The wind began to change, and not only did he get to decide which way it blew, but he could finally choose his own destiny. However, if he shook the boogieman’s hand, it could be worse than shaking his hand with the devil and, from personal experience, that never went well. Then, suddenly, he came to a decision.
“Call off my sister’s wedding, and we will.”
Lucca only stared at him a moment then turned. “No.”
“You said fifty-fifty,” he told him, wondering if he should have shaken his hand first before fighting for his sister, but then he thought no, he had done the right thing. You never strike a deal until you’ve won, or at the very least was fair. “And you’ve taken everything from me. Kat is the only thing I’m asking to get back. My profits and Angel, you get to keep. You don’t even need her anyway.”
“But I do.” He stuck another cigarette between his tilted lips. “Making Katarina a Caruso ensures our deal and that you will never betray me.”
Fucking sick bastard wasn’t only smart, he was right.
“What about me, though? I’ve taken loss after loss. What ensures my deal with you? You have to give me something that proves your deal is in good faith and that you won’t stab me in the back one day.”
“Unfortunately, the terms you agreed to are off the table until I replace my father, but besides those”—Lucca flipped his Zippo open, the glow from the small flame illuminating his face as he lit the end of his cigarette—“what do you want?”
Dominic (Made Men Book 8) Page 13