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I thought so too. “He’ll understand.”
Arlo scoffed, unconvinced. “Lucca is in his study now. But within an hour, he’ll be gone for the rest of the day. I suggest you go in now.”
“Thank you.”
“Oh, and Ilias.” I turned to face him, and with a wicked smile playing on his lips, he said, “It’s much more fun on this side.”
There had been times I’d questioned Arlo’s sanity, and this moment was one of them.
Leave it to him to remind me that even if I were surrounded by blood thirsty fuckers, I would have the trust of at least three. The more I understood Lucca.
As I made my way inside, I tried to tune out the chaos. I wanted a clear mind before walking inside Lucca’s space. It was the sense of a set of eyes watching me that made my feet falter, and my attention to shift.
I found Esmeralda’s brown eyes, red rimmed from dried tears. Her dark brown waves were the messiest I’d ever seen, and her appearance screamed fear and concern. It had been so long since I’d seen her as I hardly went to Malvagio’s. She was one of the four aerial dancers of Lucca’s upscale club.
My brows pinched. The question wasn’t how she got inside, it was what was she doing here and in such condition.
My body turned away from my path and to her, but my head quickly snapped to my left as I watched Arlo making his way toward her. He, too, seemed confused but mostly troubled as his eyes roamed over her body. Her eyes left mine, finding Arlo’s, and her chest began to bounce from nerves. Although, her eyes softened while they filled with tears.
Arlo’s jaw locked, and his head craned to the side the closer he got. Once he reached Esmeralda, he held her elbow and took her away with him, away from view.
What the fuck just happened?
Something had to have happened to her while working. Arlo was in charge of, not only Malvagio’s dancers, but of Peccato’s too, the strip club that too often had handsy, drunk men get thrown out of. It made sense for her to look for him. Yet, Malvagio’s aerial dancers were never close to the crowd and hardly had any issues inside the club.
Knowing Arlo would take care of it, I made my way to Lucca’s. Two knocks later, I pushed the heavy wooden door open.
My back straightened as I stood alone with Lucca inside his office. Even with his attention on the conversation he had on his phone, his eyes shifted to me. With a nod, he asked for me to sit.
I did, and as I lowered onto the chair, I felt the shift. It was a shift that had to happen. Lucca was not only going to be my brother, but my boss. I’d never disrespected him. On the contrary, I always saw him as most young brothers saw their older siblings. But I’d always spoken to him without filter, without worry of retribution, even before Sal left Miami’s empire to him.
Lucca ended his call with a deep inhale. His crisp white dress shirt stretched as he pinched the bridge of his nose. I waited in silence.
“I can find another way,” Lucca said mostly to himself before his gaze slid to me.
“In less than twenty-four-hours?”
“It may not even be enough, Ilias,” his tone warned. “Are you willing to take the oath even knowing it may change your outcome but not hers? And that’s still a big maybe.”
“I am. Because if I’m not who you are worried about anymore, it means the attention to her outcome will now be first.”
“It’s not that simple.”
“Then simplify it.”
Lucca chuckled darkly.
“New York doesn’t trust us. How can they when we have Davina? The one thing that can take away not only Leo, but Enzo’s throne by locking them up for life. The two Vitelli principes.”
“I know Davina, she wouldn’t.”
“Tell that to New York, Ilias!” he exclaimed, waving his arm outwards. “Without trust, those are just words. They don’t mean shit in this world. It’s best you learn that quickly.”
“It’s all we fucking have, and we have the upper hand by me taking the oath and having Davina by our side—”
Lucca’s head shook. “Listen to me carefully, Ilias. Tomorrow, they’ll be here. Enzo is composed and careful, while Leo is a loose cannon. He will try to play his games as he’s known for, but he cannot harm one of us tomorrow night. Not without the rest of the families’ vote. But it doesn’t include Davina, and you need to keep your emotions in control because a war can start the moment they leave this house.”
It doesn’t include Davina.
