No Boundaries(96)

We arrived at the restaurant first, which didn't surprise me. They closed down especially for meeting. We sat at a long table in the middle of the dimly lit room, waiting for the Irish to arrive. Marco was in the unmarked car parked across the street. It was just my father and I and two men of our security team inside. They stood behind each of us, protecting our backs. We waited anxiously for at most fifteen minutes before Armani walked in, alone.

“Luka, good to see you again.” He extended a hand to me and I shook it. Clearly we were going to pretend that he didn't have Vienna. Pops and I decided to just play along.

He wrapped his arms around my father. “What can I do for the both of you?” He asked as he stepped back.

Pops sat down while the rest of us stood. His body language made it very clear that he was in charge of this meeting, no matter what Armani had to say.

“Sit.” My father extended a hand to the seat next to his. Armani sat down looking smug. I just wanted to pummel him. Wipe that fake fucking smile off of his face.

“What has brought us here?” Armani asked us.

My father put his hands in steeple. “You tell me.”

“What does that mean?” He questioned.

“Tell me about Roberto. Tell me about how you’ve been watching out family. Watching me.” I said to him barely maintaining restraint. I just wanted to kill him but then we may never get Vienna back.

He looked surprised. “What are you talking about?”

“You’ve been watching us and reporting back to the Agnellis, and now you’re trying to run guns, taking business from your own men.”

“My men? I’ve been selling here for a decade.”

“We know that’s a lie.” I watched him wince. He knew he was caught. But that was dangerous too, a wild animal backed into a corner had the tendency to act out. “You’re trying to start a war, we know it.”

He shook his head. “It’s not just me.”

My body tensed. I could easily fly over this table and have my hands on his throat in a second. It would only take a few seconds for me to crush his windpipe. But even though he was putting on this facade of being alone during this meeting, I knew it wasn't true. He had to have more men on us, or worse, he would kill Vienna. I wasn’t willing to take that risk.

Movement near the door caught my eye. I turned to see a man in a suit walk in. He looked different—cleaned up, but broken. I had broken him. I had made him that way.

Because he deserved it. He tried to hurt her.

“I thought I handled you.” I said to Roberto as he stood near the door.

“You clearly thought wrong.”

“We have her, Luka, you know we do. But I'm not an idiot. I know you already knew that. Gossip in this town runs pretty quickly.”

Fucking Roberto.

“You’re supposed to be in Jersey.”

“I am, my family thinks I am as well. But I had to finish what I started. I had to end this once and for all.”

“I will fucking kill you,” I said, pulling the gun from my pants. The chair dropped to the floor and I stood, releasing the safety. “Give her back to me.”

Armani stood from the table, looking afraid. Somehow, he hadn’t planned for this. My father just sat at the head of the table, looking calm.

Pops spoke up. “Roberto, stop all of this. My son did what I asked of him, and you have no issue with him. Your pain is from my choice, from me allowing him to kill Maria’s husband. And you,” he said, turning toward Armani. “You’ve gotten yourself into more than you can handle. And we’ll kill you for it.”

“I won’t stop. Not until you’re all dead. You took her from me. She turned her back on us because of you!” Roberto looked insane. He pulled his own gun and another man came up behind him, protecting his six. We were outnumbered. I wondered where Luis was, if he was watching maybe he would back us up.

Armani spoke. “We needed a change. This city needs a change. We want a new family in power. We want all of you gone.”

Roberto fired a shot in my father’s direction, narrowly missing him on purpose. “You can’t get out of this. You caused it. You let her die.”

Jesus, they were serious. They really wanted a war.

Roberto looked over his shoulder. “Now go get the girl.”

One of the thugs walked out of the restaurant and came back only a minute later with Vienna clutching her by the upper arm.

She looked terrified. They had gagged her, a piece of white fabric wrapped around her head and mouth. She spotted me and her eyes grew wide. She didn’t want me to get hurt. But she didn’t need to worry. The thug pushed her in front of him and Roberto grabbed her, pushing his gun to her temple. “No one moves. Armani, get the hell out of here. No one can know we were working together.”