Chapter 4 The Secret Warehouse Meet
Alessandro stops a few feet away. My uncle brings four armed men with him. Luca brings one. The contrast speaks volumes. Luca does not fear my uncle. The tension in the air is thick. It suffocates the space between them.
"You requested this sit-down, Alessandro," Luca says. His deep voice echoes off the concrete walls. It carries no warmth. "Make it fast. My lawyers expect me back in Manhattan."
"The FBI took twenty million from my accounts on Tuesday," Alessandro says. "They took your shipping manifests on Wednesday. We are bleeding."
Luca tilts his head. "My accountants handle my bleeding just fine. Worry about your own."
"Do not play games with me, Moretti," Alessandro growls. "They are building a RICO case. They tied the cemetery shooting to your dummy corporation. They tied the nightclub bombing to my cousins. If we go to trial, we face multiple life sentences. There is no beating this with high-priced lawyers. We need a drastic shift in the narrative."
"You sent men to my clubs last month," Luca says. His tone remains flat. "You put a bomb under my capo’s car. I am returning the favor. This is the bed you made."
"I did not shoot at your sister!" Alessandro shouts. His voice bounces off the metal rafters. "Someone took a shot at Valentina at Enzo’s grave! Military hardware. Untraceable men. We are being played, Luca. A third party wants us blind. They want us fighting while they steal the city from under us."
Luca goes still. His dark eyes lock onto my uncle. The silence in the warehouse turns heavy. I hold my breath behind the glass. Luca knows my uncle speaks the truth. The devil of New York is not blind. He knows someone else moves in the shadows.
"Let us say I believe you," Luca says. "What do you propose? A ceasefire? Your men hold grudges. My men hold grudges. A handshake means nothing. The second I turn my back, one of your cousins will take a shot to make a name for himself. The feds will use the body to lock us all away."
"We need a public display," Alessandro says. He steps closer to Luca. "Something the Commission cannot ignore. Something the feds cannot break. We merge our interests. We show the streets that the Russo and Moretti families are united. A united front stops the third party from picking us off."
Luca watches him. He does not blink. "Get to the point."
Alessandro takes a deep breath. His chest rises and falls. He looks at Matteo, then back to Luca.
"A blood pact," Alessandro says.
The words hang in the cold air.
Luca stays quiet. He waits.
"A marriage," Alessandro finishes.
My stomach drops. The cold floor seems to vanish beneath my feet. Ice floods my veins. I stare through the dirty glass. My uncle’s words echo in my skull.
A marriage.
He has no sons. Enzo is dead. He has no daughters of his own.
There is only me.
I step back from the window. My chest tightens. The air leaves my lungs. He wants to sell me to the man who murdered my brother. He wants to hand me over to our greatest enemy to save his own skin from a federal prison cell. He wants to trade my life for a truce.
Rage ignites in my chest. It burns away the shock. It burns away the fear. Enzo’s face flashes in my mind. He bled out on wet pavement because of the man standing on that warehouse floor. I will not share a name with a monster. I will not share a bed with the devil.
I grab the metal door handle of the foreman's office. I shove it down.
I push the door open with all my strength. The heavy wood slams against the drywall with a deafening crash.
Every man on the warehouse floor turns to look at me.
I step out of the shadows. I wear a sharp white blazer and dark trousers. My heels click against the metal stairs as I descend to the main floor. I walk straight toward the men. My hands curl into fists at my sides. My nails bite into my palms. I ignore my uncle’s armed guards. I ignore Matteo.
I lock eyes with Luca Moretti.
He looks at me. His expression does not change. His dark eyes trace the line of my jaw, lingering for a heartbeat on the thin cut on my cheek. The cut I got at Enzo's grave.
"Valentina, go back inside," Alessandro barks. His face flushes red with anger.
I ignore him. I keep my eyes on Luca. I stop two feet away from the Moretti boss. The height difference is staggering. I have to tilt my head up to meet his gaze. His presence is suffocating. The air around him feels heavy, charged with danger. The heat rolling off his body clashes with the freezing air in the warehouse.
"I will burn this entire city to ash before I let you touch me," I say. My voice does not shake.
Luca stays quiet. He looks down at me. A dangerous, unreadable shadow crosses his face. He does not look away. He steps closer, closing the distance between us until I can feel the heat of his breath on my face.
"Is that so?" Luca whispers.
