Page 53 of Love Me (Touch of Death 3)
“He’s no longer just a capo. He’s the boss. It’s different.” She sighs and tips her chin to her chest, staring at the ground. “Look, Sicily is the best shipping point for weapons and drugs to Africa. He who holds power here…”
“He can’t stand that Bianchi might have more power than him.”
She nods while shrugging a shoulder. Una and I are soldiers. We don’t care for politics or power, so I know this has nothing to do with her, not really. “If Bianchi is dead, Adelina can assume power…”
Of course. And wouldn’t she be so perfect. Alone, isolated, left clinging to a legacy she was never supposed to hold—a naïve girl with a powerful name.
“Nero wants a puppet,” I say quietly.
Her eyes search mine. “He wants a cut.”
“Damn it, Una. Here I thought you’d come to help me.”
A soft smile touches her lips. “I will always help you, brother, but men, weapons, resources…those are Nero’s domain. They don’t come free. Not even for you. Not even for me.”
“So, what? This is Nero’s army?”
“Yes. He wants to take down the Bianchi mafia.”
I frown. “I thought you said he wanted Adelina to run it.”
She shakes her head. “We’re beyond that. Gabriella was his ally and friend. They played together as children. Eduardo was like an uncle to him. Eduardo’s death was justified. Why do you think he allowed us to take the job?”
“Nero knew? He knew I killed Eduardo, and yet he still agreed to help Gabriella when she came to him?” This entire time, I assumed he didn’t know, that he hadn’t just deliberately put me in a compromising position with Adelina.
“He knew. He hated it, but Eduardo broke faith on a binding agreement—”
“Because he didn’t want his daughter marrying that animal!”
Her eyes snap to mine, burning with a rage I rarely see unless Nero or Dante is concerned. “Don’t think that I don’t sympathize with Adelina, Sasha! I do not support these backward traditions they insist on clinging to, and you know Nero doesn’t either, but you cannot change the world in a day. Bianchi was justified in taking out Eduardo according to every mafia law, and Nero couldn’t protect him. So, he made sure the man would die quickly, efficiently, with a bullet from the best assassin money could buy.”
“You set me up.”
She shakes her head. “I gave you a job. You’re a soldier. You don’t need to know the reasoning behind it. How could I possibly have predicted that you of all people would fall for the daughter?”
Dropping my head forward, I focus on the grass beneath my feet, dragging in a soothing breath. I don’t think any of us could predict how far this has gone or how wrong. “Well, I did, and I won’t allow her to be collateral damage in Nero’s latest power play.”
“He needs her.”
“How so? When he intends to destroy the Bianchi mafia entirely?”
“He wants to destroy it on principle, and then the Ricci mafia will be resurrected. With his backing, the Bianchi customers will come to the Ricci side, under Adelina Ricci-Bianchi…”
I snort. “He needs her name.”
“We all have our part to play, Sasha. This is hers.”
I glare at her. “No, it’s not. She is more than her family name.”
Una tilts her head to the side in that predatory way of hers. “Does it matter if it saves her?”
I don’t have an answer for that because truthfully, all I want is Bianchi dead and her free. If Una and Nero can get that done, then how can I oppose it? But then, freedom is subjective in this case. I want Adelina to be safe, and she never will be if she’s Nero’s body shield. I love Una and Nero like family, but right now, I hate how utterly heartless they both can be.
“If I don’t agree to this?” I ask.
“We already took a shipment of guns and killed his men yesterday.” She offers me an apologetic look. “I’m sorry, Sasha, but you and I have only ever been soldiers. Men like Nero and Enrique pull strings.”
“So, you’re simply acting on orders?”
She frowns. “No. That man attacked my home with my child in it. I will burn his life to the ground and kill everything and everyone he holds dear.” Thought not.
I really have no choice here, and though our common goal may not be aligned, the steps to get there are.
“Bianchi is mine. I want to see the look in his eyes when I kill him.”
A tiny smile pulls at the corner of her lip, and I know she knows this bloodlust all too well. How far we’ve fallen from the stoic soldiers we once were.
“Done. And afterward?”
“We’ll cross that bridge when we get there.”
“I know you love her, Sasha, but this is business.”
I turn away from her. “Not to me.” I walk back toward the house, and she lets me go without a word. For now, we are aligned on this, and that’s all that matters. I just need Enrique dead and Adelina safe. The rest can be dealt with.
