by Bethany-Kris
“I’m scared,” Alessa added when Adriano stayed silent.
Adriano ghosted the pads of his thumbs over her cheekbones. “Yeah, me, too.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Pregnant …
Huh.
Adriano felt almost numb as he strolled through the hallway leading to the main area of the Trentini mansion. He knew he should be worried, maybe even scared, but something inside wouldn’t let him be either of those things.
Instead, he just shut it off so he could get through the night. Once he did that, and all was good, he could start putting together a plan for him, Alessa, and their unborn child. He’d gotten this far and did okay, he just had to go a little bit further.
“How in the fuck did you get in here?”
Adriano chuckled at Joel’s indignant, angry roar. The fool might as well have howled the words like a crying child, unhappy at having their fun spoiled. Silence followed Joel’s shouts, and then two soft pops echoed, like a gun going off with a silencer attached.
“Shit,” someone cussed.
Adriano slid into place at the large entryway to the entertainment area. Men stood around, mouths agape and confused. Riley, with his back facing Adriano, stood a few feet ahead of his son with his arms wide like he was gesturing at the party.
One of Joel’s men laid dead in the middle of the space with two bullet holes to the face and a puddle of blood pooling outward. A gun rested just a couple of inches from the dead man’s outstretched hand. He must have come at Riley.
Adriano’s father had been clear. No one was to shoot unless someone else did first or they were threatened. And then their bullets and guns would simply be used to make a point; to draw fear; to control.
Damn.
Adriano missed out on the first bit of fun.
“As you can see,” Riley murmured, taking a couple of steps further into the room and glancing around at the quiet men. “I am very much alive and well. My son handled a few things on my end while I took a break to clear my mind and get things settled. But I’m back now, and ready to discuss business.”
Joel scoffed. “Clear your mind?”
Riley acted like Joel didn’t say a thing. He snapped his fingers at one of his enforcers and said, “Get me a drink, would you?”
“Don’t touch a damn thing in this house,” Joel barked at the man.
“Oh, but it’s no fun to have a party without a drink. And you are having a party, aren’t you Joel?” Riley asked, unbothered by the dead man at his feet
Joel’s face turned red and his teeth gnashed together. “Who let you in?”
“That’s unimportant.”
“I think it is,” Joel spat. “You were not invited to my home. You haven’t been invited here since you killed my father.”
Riley barked out a laugh. “Now he’s your father? Because before, he was just the asshole who donated the sperm. I’m not surprised. You’ve got the chance to gain something with Terrance dead and your parentage out in the open, or so you think.”
Joel’s gaze narrowed. “This is my birth—”
“Birthright?” Riley interrupted calmly. “Is that what you’re going to say?”
Joel refused to answer, but his fists balled tightly at his sides.
Adriano scanned the faces of the men, taking inventory and tallying numbers. He wanted to know who they were up against if someone turned on them tonight and also, who seemed to be leaning toward his father’s side.
Most were quiet, gaging the scene with interest and worry. That was to be expected. Adriano quickly picked out the most important faces—the ones who would be valuable to their side of things.
Tommas Rossi. He stood in the far left corner with a glass of cognac lifted to his smirking lips as he watched the scene unfold. Tommas had a lot more to gain with Riley as the boss than with Joel.
Adriano found another face quickly.
Damian Rossi. The hitman leaned against the wall just a few feet from his cousin and barely graced Riley or Joel with any of his attention. But Damian had things to gain with Riley as the boss if Adriano’s last chat with him was any indication.
Walter Artino, a secondary Capo for the DeLuca family but still carrying weight, moved closer to Joel. Adriano didn’t give a fuck about that man. He could be handled easily and then his body would vanish before the night was over. Adriano just needed a reason to do it.
Adriano found the last man, the final one who could sway opinions.
Theo DeLuca. He was pissed and it was obvious. Adriano didn’t blame the man. Theo probably still believed Riley’s hands were all over Dino’s death.
Riley still wasn’t denying it, after all.
“Your birthright,” Riley repeated. “Isn’t that what you were going to say to me, Joel?”
Joel’s jaw clenched. “You know it is.”
“I know you’re thirty-years-old and in need of a reality check.” Riley dismissed Joel with a wave of his hand, saying, “The Outfit has never been about birthrights, Joel. None of the men in this room got where they are because their fathers were important men. They got where they are because they put everything but themselves first to earn it. You have done nothing but throw tantrums, make demands, and pull triggers.”
“Bullshit,” Joel hissed.
“Facts,” Riley retorted. “The only reason you got your button at eighteen was because Terrance felt obligated to give it to you. It certainly wasn’t because you deserved it. And if I remember correctly, there were at least ten men who objected to your nomination but despite their protests, Terrance went through with it. You never should have gotten it by the Outfit’s rules, but people turned their cheek, knowing there was nothing they could do about it.”
“You lying bastard.”
Riley shook his head. “I do not lie. But your father? He regretted giving you that button every single day after, Joel.”
“Let’s not forget that he’s the same man you killed to try and get where you are,” Joel said, sneering.
Riley waved his arms wide again. “I never killed Terrance. I never ordered his hit. I had no reason to.”
“You’re showing us one now,” Walter Artino put in.
“Wrong.” Riley smiled coldly. “I’m here to fill an empty seat as the only man alive in this family that is worthy of sitting in it.”
Joel scoffed. “You’re not welcome here. You weren’t invited. Leave.”
“I’m a made man, Joel,” Riley said. “Every man I brought with me tonight is a made man in the Outfit. Tell me this is not what I think it is, and we’ll turn around and go.”
“And what do you think this is?” Joel asked, seething.
“I think you opened the books. I know you spread the word over the last couple of weeks, wanting to draw me out like I was some scared little kitten afraid of you. Well, here I am Joel. I’m right here, my boy. I’m looking you right in your face and I haven’t given you what you wanted, I have yet to bow down to your ridiculous shows, and I have yet to turn tail and run.”
Joel’s fists shook. “I …”
“Speechless?” Riley asked. “Come on, Joel. A good boss has an excuse or a deflection right on the tip of his tongue, always. Where is yours? Where is your reason to make me give this to you? Where is your worth, Joel? Come on, give me anything!”
Joel took a single step back, frustration writing heavily across his brow.
Riley smirked and said, “You want to open the books, so let’s open them.”
Nobody said a word as Riley’s enforcer moved to the bar, poured a glass of forty-year-old cognac, and walked it to his boss. Nobody moved, blinked, and they might as well have not even breathed. It was like they were all waiting for the other shoe to drop.
Even Joel stood stunned and stupid.
That wasn’t particularly new.
“There is a man at every door,” Riley informed. “Each one is armed and willing to die to keep anyone from getting past them. There are six men in this room that everyone can alrea
dy see with guns ready, but I would be willing to bet there are more just waiting to show. No one leaves this house until we are finished. And if you do wish to walk out now, I will make it easy for you and have you carried out in garbage bags. I hope that’s clear.”
“Is that how you’re going to play this?” Joel asked quietly. “You’re going to force yourself into the seat and take it because you’ve frightened them into giving it to you? You’re going to strong-arm your way into a position you don’t deserve?”
Riley turned enough to give Adriano a view of his father’s amused profile. “Oh, Joel, you have a great deal to learn yet. I deserve this far more than you and I’m showing you exactly why that is. Can’t you see that, you fool?”
“I see a man unable to get it the right way,” Joel muttered.
“And the way you were going to take it?” Riley shot back. “Sneaky, on the down low, and without the approval of an entire crew worth of men? Come on, Joel, you know better than that. Your position never would have stood against me had I come at you for it.”
Joel swallowed hard. “I don’t know that at all.”
“Well, I suppose we won’t have to find out now, will we?”
“Is that why you had Laurent Rossi killed, too?” Joel asked. “Would his allegiance to the Trentini family have upset your scales?”
Riley barked out a laugh. “I didn’t do that, either.”
“Liar,” Joel accused.
“He is not lying,” came a quiet, sure voice from the corner.
All heads turned in Tommas Rossi’s direction. The man sipped from his glass of liquor without gracing anyone the pleasure of his attention, almost like they didn’t deserve it. He simply lifted his glass again and took another drink, completely unbothered by the situation happening around him.
“He is not lying,” Tommas repeated.
“And how can you be sure of that?” Joel asked his once best friend.
Adriano knew the two men had divided over the last couple of months. Joel was so distrustful of those around him that he even pushed his friend away. Instead of holding those people close, people he should have wanted surrounding him, he brought people who would use and manipulate him in. People like Walter and Dean Artino.
“I’m sure of it because I know who killed my father and it wasn’t Riley,” Tommas said frankly.
“Who then?” Joel demanded.
Tommas smiled. It came off cold and callous. His next word was just as heartless. “Me.”
A pin could have dropped and it would have echoed. That’s how goddamn quiet it turned in the room. Those who hadn’t been looking at Tommas certainly were now. The rest seemed to be gazing rapidly back and forth between the man in the corner and Joel in the middle.
“I killed my father,” Tommas said, sighing. “It only takes one stupid man in a group of the best to sour them all, Joel. I watched him drink himself nearly to death for years and make bad decisions over and over without consequence. I felt his abuse and his foulness for years. And when he hurt something else of mine, and they suffered for his stupidity, too? I couldn’t do that anymore.”
“You—”
“Me,” Tommas interrupted Joel, shrugging uncaringly. “And it was the best decision I have ever made. I warned him; he didn’t listen. So, I ended it. Simple as that.”
Wow.
Adriano felt like he’d just been picked up and dropped off in the Twilight Zone.
This was surreal.
Unbelievable.
Riley gave Tommas a nod and a smile. “It’s always nice working with you, Rossi.”
Tommas returned the gestures by tipping his glass in Riley’s direction. “And you, old friend.”
Joel glared. “How dare you?”
Tommas didn’t give Joel a reaction. “I nominate Riley Conti as boss for the Rossi crew. I can assure you my men are in agreeance with the nomination and none will object at this time. I am more than capable of speaking for them, but if any man from my crew feels the need to confirm their agreement, feel free.”
A beat of silence passed around the room.
Just a beat …
And then …
“Aye,” came a voice.
“Aye.”
“Aye.”
It echoed over and over. Ten, twelve, and then fifteen.
Tommas’ smug grin grew a little more as he watched Joel fume from across the room.
Even Adriano found himself smirking as the confirmative votes passed through.
“Aye,” said another man from the Conti side.
Again, the word traveled through every man that had come along for the evening. All the made voices in the Outfit for the Conti side that could and would speak. Riley stood stock still, tracing his finger around the rim of his glass and looking at the golden liquid within as his seat was all but given.
He only needed the nomination. He only needed the second vote.
“DeLuca?” Riley asked quietly.
Theo sucked in a hard breath, rage swimming in his brown gaze. “I concede.”
Riley smiled. “Concede.”
“I don’t object, I concede,” Theo growled. “I acknowledge you, I don’t approve of you.”
“What that means is you’re a smart man, Theo,” Riley said, shrugging.
“So be it.”
“And my son,” Riley added, waving back at a silent Adriano. “He has amends to make with you, Theo.”
“For killing my men, yes. I’ve heard.” Theo gave Adriano a passing look and then turned his attention back on Riley as he said, “I want nothing from your son as of now, but I’ll take an apology from you when I decide to ask for it.”
Riley tilted his chin up at the man. “I look forward to it.”
“I wouldn’t,” Theo replied with a flash of his teeth as he sneered. “Aye, I concede to the seat.”
“Aye,” came the confirmation from another DeLuca crew member.
More followed.
Quietly, almost so low he couldn’t be heard, Walter Artino spat out, “Aye.”
When silence fell, Riley glanced up at Joel.
“You should be careful of those you trust, Joel,” Riley said. “No one around you is safe, my boy. They’ll only work for their own benefit, and you ran that course. Give it up willingly; give it up with some dignity. You tried—I’ll give you that. You tried damn hard. I know about your little trip to Vegas, and your chats with the smaller families in New York. I know about your request to the Commission for my hit, a hit they denied. You can’t do it, but you did more than most men would have. Take that from it and be happy I’ve given you that much.
“I’ll let you keep a spot in the Outfit as a Capo with a crew to run and money to make. You will have the same voice as any other Capo in this room does. It is not a loss, Joel. It is not a failure as long as you make the right choice,” Riley finished sharply. “Do not be an idiot. Make the right choice.”
Joel openly glared but he still couldn’t seem to form any words worthy of speaking.
Adriano could feel the shift in the room already happening. His father had it—he had gotten everything he wanted. Riley didn’t wait for someone to just hand it over to him, no, he took it whether they were willing to give it or not.
Fear and respect walked hand in hand.
This was the mafia way.
“Object, Joel, I dare you,” Riley threatened, smiling wickedly. “Object to my seat, and I’ll blow your brains out all over these beautiful Oriental rugs. If you thought washing Terrance’s blood off the wall was difficult, just imagine the artwork yours will make on this floor.”
Joel clenched his teeth, refusing to speak.
“Object,” Riley hissed.
Give me a reason, Adriano thought.
He only needed the one.
Just one to get what he needed—to get Alessa. With no one heading her house as the man for the Outfit, she was free to do as she wished.
Give me a fucking reason.
“Aye,” Joel whi
spered.
It was done.
Celebration would be an understatement when it came to the aftermath of Riley becoming the boss for the Outfit. Adriano assumed his father would take his win in a quiet stride, not draw attention to himself, and lay low for a while, but Riley went in the complete opposite direction.
He celebrated openly. He put his name on the streets immediately, uncaring of the tradition that the Outfit had always held for a formal front boss to the operation.
It was almost like Riley was challenging someone to challenge him.
Adriano didn’t really care.
He’d gotten what he wanted … well, almost.
A week after his father had taken the seat, Adriano was no closer to Alessa. His thoughts were plagued with her and for her pregnancy. He was worried what would happen when her brother figured out their secret.
Adriano had yet to come up with a plan that might actually work for them.
There was always running away, of course, but Adriano wasn’t the type. Alessa deserved more than that kind of shame, too. He didn’t want to embarrass the family that had loved and cared for her—minus her brother—simply because Adriano didn’t have a better way to correct their situation.
“Where is your head tonight?” Tommas asked, drawing Adriano from his thoughts.
“Hmm?”
“Far away in the clouds, like it always is,” Riley muttered.
Adriano shot his father with a dirty look, picked up his beer, and downed the rest of it in one go. “I’m just thinking.”
“About what?” Tommas asked.
“Unimportant things, likely,” Riley answered.
“Back off, Dad,” Adriano warned.
Riley shrugged and cut into his steak, turning his attention on Evelina. “Are you just about ready to leave your brother’s place and come back home?”
Evelina smiled sweetly. “If home means my dorm again, then yes, I am.”
“Evelina,” Riley said coolly.
“It’s over, Dad,” Adriano said for his sister. “Let her live in her dorm and get back to life. What is the fucking problem?”
Riley scowled. “The problem is that Evelina still broke my rules, son. Regardless of the rest, I still don’t trust her to follow my directions.”