Vinny didn't turn to Dante to see if he agreed. He knew, as well as Lucca did, that the ridiculous offer wouldn't deter his father's anger.
"Half." Vinny increased Dominic's offer to one that would hurt.
Dominic sharply nodded his head, his quick response showing he had expected his low ball offer to be refused.
Vinny hadn't become Dante's consigliere by being an idiot. His sharp gaze watched Dominic's expression as he dropped the next bombshell. "The Luciano men need help rebuilding their bloodlines. The Italian blood running through your blood is weak and diluted," Vinny spat out, his voice hitting the three like a whip with the insult. "A woman from the Luciano family who is at a marriageable consent will be chosen to wed one of the Carusos."
Lucca evilly grinned as he rolled his Zippo through his fingers. The show he had expected from Vinny was much more pleasing than he had originally thought.
Dominic clearly hadn't planned on that, and Angel and Matthias weren't able to hide their own horrified expressions.
"Which one of the women do you want? Which Caruso would she be expected to marry?" Dominic grated out.
Vinny shrugged. "Both will be up for Dante and I to decide. Whoever we choose from the Carusos will be able to see that the Luciano will live up to the contract this time. Trust will be earned, one child at a time, as the Caruso's blood mingles with the Luciano's. Maybe by the time we have four or five Carusos born, Dante will feel more forgiving. A child can heal a lot of wounds."
Dominic wasn't as quick to agree to the second term when he nodded his head. "Are we done?"
"Not quite." Vinny smiled. What they had thought was hard before wasn't going to compare to this. "Until Dante can find it in his heart to find forgiveness, one of the twins will be our insurance. If any part of the contract isn't enforced, one of your brothers will pay the price."
It just keeps getting better.
The twins looked at each other. Neither brother wanted the other chosen.
Angel stepped forward. "I'll stay."
Matthias moved to stand beside Dominic. "No, I will."
Both of them were trying to protect the other. Lucca guessed it wasn't the first time.
He studied the men. Opening his mouth, a name was coming to his lips, when Vinny spoke before he could.
"Angel."
Lucca took out one of his cigarettes from his pack. It was a no-brainer for Vinny to choose Angel. None of the Lucianos would ever be considered classy, but the twins looked like thugs. The number of tattoos and overblown muscles were more suited to the riffraff found in the dark alleyways of the old city of their heritage. The identical twins were mirror images. From what Lucca knew, everyone in the Lucianos joked that the only way to tell them apart was to stare at the images of their tattoos. The twins shared the same exact tattoos, even going so far as placing them in the same exact part of their bodies. The difference was, Angel's tattoos were the mirror image of Matthias'. Lucca understood what Vinny didn't. Angel was the twisted image of Matthias.
Lucca debated challenging Vinny's choice. Instead, he decided to keep quiet. He wasn't fooled by the attempts of the Lucianos to save their lives. They reminded him of a rabid dog that was just waiting for the right time to attack, ripping off the hand that fed them.
Dominic shook his head. "Matthias would be the better choice. I wouldn't do anything that would jeopardize either of my brothers' lives."
That Lucca believed.
Vinny raised his hand, stopping Dominic. "Angel is the younger one. The Lucianos have taken a protective attitude toward him."
Lucca lit his cigarette to keep from laughing.
Angel was lazy. He let everyone do his dirty work for him. Matthias would break bones if the gang bangers and drug dealers didn't pay for their protection. If breaking bones didn't work, that was when Angel would be sent in. When he was finished, the protection was paid for with interest.
Lucca had a better chance of controlling Angel than his own family did. He didn't want Angel to do anything to break the fragile peace that was being given to them.
Lucca remained silent, feeling a flash of respect for Dominic. The new boss of the Lucianos wanted a true peace for the first time in decades.
Lucca met Dominic's gaze. "I supervise the men. I'll find the perfect place for him."
Everyone in the room could see them size each other up as Lucca silently told him he wasn't fooled by Angel.
It was a strange thing but, for once, Lucca actually wanted peace between the two families. After his mother had been killed, he hadn't given two shits if they were in a war. He had begged for it to exact revenge. Chloe had changed that, however. He wanted peace to keep her safe.
It had taken years to fully understand the enormous responsibility his father held.
Dominic turned back to Vinny. "So, we good?"
"Dante?"
His father's expression was torn.
Lucca looked down at the glowing tip of his cigarette. He wanted peace for Chloe's sake, but it was Dante's wife they had killed.
"Dante," Vinny repeated sadly. "Whatever you do will not bring Melissa back. If the Lucianos redeem themselves, then what have you lost? You already lost what was most important to you. A child born with Caruso and Luciano blood could accomplish what generations have tried to do-bring true peace."
Dante held out his hand to Dominic then, and the younger man took his hand in his firmly, agreeing to the terms.
A threat came to Dante's eyes and voice when he warned, "Don't you fucking disappoint me."
Lucca inhaled deeply, letting the end of his cigarette burn bright red. He remembered an old Italian proverb Dante had drilled into his head when he was younger. Come semini, cosi raccogli.
As ye sow, so shall ye reap.
Forty-Five
Not Even in Death
Chloe had stayed at the house with Lucca for a week, not leaving, giving herself time to heal and for Lucca to make sure all threats were gone.
It was weird to think of the future, something she had pushed out of her mind for the past week, unsure of where exactly she belonged anymore.
Ever since her scars, she had no longer felt she belonged in this city because it had betrayed her, but she no longer felt she could belong anywhere without Lucca, and Lucca did belong in Kansas City.
She once thought she always belonged beside her best friend Elle, but it had been unrealistic for her to think it would last past college. Now, Elle had found her place in the city beside Nero.
The future was a scary, dark thing, especially when she felt the bond between her and Lucca so strongly and so soon. It scared the shit out of her, to be honest.
On one hand, she loved being protected by him. And the power he held made her feel as if she could never be hurt and always be saved. And yet, the little girl in her still believed it was too good to be true, that Lucca might get sick of her and toss her aside, just like her parents had.
So, when Lucca had asked her to pack her bags, a creeping fear had snuck in that it was already that time. Then he had brought her to the casino hotel, carrying her bags up to the top floor and heading down toward Nero and Elle's place.
Even though she was excited to see her best friend for the first time in a long time, she was also scared that Lucca was leaving her, dropping her off to become Elle's problem until she could go to Stanford, for real this time.
Getting to almost the end of the hall, Nero's door flew open and Elle ran out. Then she froze in place the second she saw Chloe, who was just as frozen.
A furious Nero came out of the door a moment later.
"Lucca, I tried t-" He stopped when Lucca raised his hand behind Chloe, stopping him. That was when Nero finally noticed the girls hadn't yet moved.
Not until Chloe saw Elle's face had she realized just exactly how much she had missed her. Then Chloe was the one to take the first step toward her, opening her arms when Elle closed the distance between them. They held each other tightly for a few minutes, their eyes becoming teary.
"I've missed you so much," Elle cried. "I haven't even been able to watch a movie without crying, wishing you were here."
Chloe giggled through her own cries. "I've missed you so much, too." She had been sure Elle would probably hate her guts for lying to her for over a month. "I-I'm sorry I didn't tell-"
Elle quickly pulled away from her then, going right up to Lucca's face and shoving him right in the chest as hard as she could.
What the-
"I told you that you couldn't have her!" Elle pushed him harder this time. Lucca didn't budge.
"What the fuck!" Nero yelled, running to get her away from him.
Lucca held his hand up, stopping him again.
"I told you that if you hurt her, I will kill you!" Elle hit his unresponsive chest again.
Chloe's mouth dropped to the floor.
Lucca stood there, taking the hits. "I promise you that if I do, I'll let you."
Elle, who was mid-hit, stopped, shocked by the answer. "Really?"
Lucca nodded. "Yes."
What Chloe saw next shocked her even more while it also warmed her heart.
Elle wrapped her arms around Lucca, hugging him. "Thank you for saving her."